In the news today, NBC fails to medal in its online streaming of the Olympics, but Google never fails to meddle (by driving up and down your private roads). OK, that was a Tom joke. Also, the Obama text dissected (but not in a political way), the Pentagon and its fake cat brains, and how to vote better.
Listen now:
Download today's podcast
 |
EPISODE 795 |
FCC outs HTC Dream’s dimensions: It’s smaller than the iPhone 3G
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/25/fcc-outs-htc-dreams-dimensions-its-smaller-than-the-iphone-3g/
iPhone 3G reception just fine, say curious Swedes with engineering degrees
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/25/iphone-3g-reception-just-fine-say-curious-swedes/
http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=444&a=440573
Google finds no privacy on private roads
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10024294-93.html
No matter how NBC spins it, Olympics Web strategy comes up a loser
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/25/no-matter-how-nbc-spins-it-olympics-web-strategy-comes-up-a-loser/
The Obama SMS: (Un-)gratifying instantification
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13641_3-10024350-44.html
NZ judge bans online publishing of accuseds’ names
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/25/0424230
Amazon may enter college textbook market with new Kindle
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080825-amazon-may-enter-college-textbook-market-with-new-kindle.html
Scrabulous users: Stunned, bemused, baffled
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2008/08/scrabulous_users_stunned_bemus.html
Pentagon begins fake cat brain project
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/08/darpa-fake-brai.html
Most sung-about body part? The eyes have it
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/08/most-sung-about.html
VOICEMAIL
Brent Ohio
Voting PSA for Ohioans and beyond.
Anonymous
Critique of new CNET design.
Hey BoL,
I saw this on CNN last night and thought it was interesting. If you go to ObamaBiden.org you are sent directly to Ebay. That's a smart fella to get that domain. CNN also reported that the domain obamabiden2008.com was bought back in 2006. I think I’m going to have to do some political investigation for some 2012 names. Maybe a Merritt/Wood ticket, or Wood Merritt. Either way would be great. Hey, maybe even a Howell/Best Buy Guy ticket. Love the show.
Emmanuel from Madison, Wis.
**********
Hey Tom & Molly,
I’m catching up on episodes--in Episode 791, Mike in New Hampshire wrote in about the ban on cell phones for air traffic controllers in the U.S. The Federal Aviation Administration claims that this ban is a concern because of interference, but we never had any problems that I or my co-workers are aware of. Also, when dignitaries, visitors, or Secret Service agents are in the control room, they are not asked to check their phones at the door.
This was purely a smack-down move on the part of the FAA. I understand that we cannot be using our phones for personal calls while controlling aircraft, but I, too, have experienced situations where our personal cell phones have been instrumental in saving the day when FAA equipment failed.
I believe Tom mentioned the possibility of using Skype, but our computers are not considered secure until they are broken. I don’t mean the computers that are connected to the radar scopes, I mean just the Windows computers that have no tie-in to our operations. We can’t even download a PDF file or access a USB drive or a CD--Skype would be waaaayy beyond our realm of possibility.
On a side note, I have accidently taken my iPhone into the control room, and while I can hear the zzzt-zzzt sound from the GSM, the pilots don’t hear it (I asked a few).
As they say--love the show,
Molly in Albuquerque
**********
Hey Tom Molly and Jason,
It’s, oh, let’s say Chris former snowman hunter. Recently I got a bug up a certain bodily place to purchase the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers neo-Capraesque Hudsucker Proxy. Like a good Buzz listener, I checked out the DRM-free Amazon MP3 store first, but no joy. I checked iTunes to similar no joy results.
So I checked out Amazon CD sales. The price for said CD was $16.98. The price for the whole fracking movie on DVD, actors, story, music, and ALL was $9.99. Say what you want about the MPAA’s thug tactics recently, but they’ve got a ways to go before they’re fighting in the same weight class as the RIAA. How is the music for a movie on a CD more expensive the movie?! Under this logic, shouldn’t the RIAA be suing the MPAA for undercutting the market? I mean, every bar of the music on that CD is in the movie’s soundtrack.
I offer this to ask if there’s a clearer illustration of the hellish music scape the RIAA has cursed us to, I’d like to hear it.
Insert robotic LOVE THE SHOW here.
Chris
**********
Hey BOL Crew,
I was just listening to Episode 794 where you guys were talking about Verizon having to go back and inspect all its FIOS installations, and then comparing that to AT&T’s U-Verse and how that service has been blamed with starting a few fires, and I think this begs the questions: is this what these companies meant when they said we would get “Blazing” fast speeds? Should your fiber installation kit come with a fire warning? “Warning: blazing fast speeds may cause fire. Please surf responsibly”.
Love the show!
-Ryan from Boise, Idaho
According to Google, there's no such thing as complete privacy. And while we tend to agree, we don't necessarily think that should mean Google can drive up into the driveway, take pictures of the inside of our houses, and put them on the Internet. Maybe we're just not all on the same page. Also, new Mac notebooks and iPods are likely coming soon, along with, but not related to, a new Internet.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 778 |
Apple Warns of iPod, Mac drought
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Apple_Warns_of_iPod_Mac_Drought/551-91696-615.html
GENI To Replace Internet, Gets $12M Funding
http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/07/31/1316257.shtml
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080730/ap_on_hi_te/tec_techbit_rebuilding_the_internet
Yahoo offers up coupons and refunds to DRM server-shutdown victims
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/31/yahoo-offers-up-coupons-and-refunds-to-drm-server-shutdown-vict/
AT&T could cut off P2P users
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/31/131257
Google: No such thing as complete privacy
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10003036-93.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7534755.stm
LG Blu-ray box to stream video from Netflix
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10003525-1.html
Scrabulous returns with new name, new look
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10003366-36.html
Can’t get out of bed? Log on and buy a sick note
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25943423/
Life at Cuil: Strawberries, muffins, and porn
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/07/31/life-at-cuil-strawberries-muffins-and-porn/
‘Fat Princess’ game stirs up heavy debate
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25939266/
VOICE MAIL
Rick
More on Chinese Internet control.
Eric
Unique copyright issue.
In episode 777, Molly stated that Silverlight only works with Vista. In fact versions (http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/resources/install.aspx?v=2.0#sysreq) are available for Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and even the Mac, so unless you happen to be working somewhere that's still using NT4 it's simply a question of whether you can install it.
There is also a compatible plug-in available from the Mono Project called Moonlight (http://www.mono-project.com/Moonlight) for Linux, though you currently need to build from source for media playback support and 2.0 support is only at the prealpha stage.
Love the show
James Hudson
Hey guys,
In episode 776, there was a voice mail about driving slower to save gas. There are a couple of points I would like to make. First, yes it does save gas. I don’t think there is any debate about that, but to have fun I created a special calculator. If you drive slower, you save gas but it also takes longer to get to work. Time that you could have spent working. So, you can’t drive 35 mph and get the best fuel efficiency. My calculator - http://www.dotphys.net/page1/page10/efficiency/calculator.html determines the optimal speed that would cost the least amount of money in gas and time lost at work. All the details of the calculation can be found somewhere on that page also. If you are driving a prius and you make $1,000 an hour, it might give you an optimal speed of 90 mph--DON’T really go that fast, it’s illegal.
Second point. I started driving slower than the speed limit, and I really like it. I never feel like I am competing with traffic and I never have to pass anyone. Rarely do I have someone zoom up behind me. Maybe this is completely different in LA (not Louisiana, which is where I am).
The show is great.
Rhett
JaMoTo,
My 4GB (yeah, I know - SUCKER!) iPhone just filled up its entire memory--which, apparently, causes problems such as when people call me the damn thing doesn’t ring anymore.
So, I decided that I would go ahead and upgrade to the 3G phone. I went to the Apple Web site and used their nifty “find a store” utility. Turns out that there isn’t an Apple Web store real close to me--but there is an AT&T store within a couple of miles.
So I called them (the local store--during operating hours) to see if they actually have the new iPhone in stock. The automated operator gave me three options--none of which really matched “Do you have the new iPhone in stock?”--so I tried them all.
EVERY single one of them told me to hang up and call a different number! I mean, seriously, really? Really? You’re AT&FreakingT! You can’t manage your network to the point where I could press 1 or maybe 3 or, better yet, 8 (but, clearly you don’t want to give me 8 options--slackers!) to talk to someone in the GD store that could answer my fairly simple question?
So now I am trying to decide if I should remove my "Dr. Horrible" videos so that my phone will actually ring--not cool.
Still anonymous,
Snit
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/38630/135/
It’ll be a while until FireWire dies, from 400MB now 800MB and 3.2GB is coming soon.
FireWire is a superior technology to USB but it’s only disadvantage is the price.
Best regards
Khaled
BOLers,
Checking my isp’s speed this morning (14.1Mbps down! 1.2Mbps up, Cox) and came across this: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Wouldnt-Let-Doctor-Use-His-Real-Name-96592
Poor dude…
Love the show,
rt, San Diego, Calif.
Hey Tom Molly Jason,
I just wanted to stick up for my industry a bit and give a friendly “well actually”. In episode 773 or 774 (can’t quite remember) Molly mentioned California’s “Bluetooth headset law.” While I’m not a complainer/nitpicker by nature I felt I had to write in to clarify. The fact is that California has a hands-free law, not a Bluetooth headset law. While the difference may seem trivial, I work for a company that lives on, and is helping to define this distinction. Many people perceive Bluetooth headsets to be the only option for talking hands-free. However, the fact is that there are many options which are easier to use, more comfortable, and by-far more stylish than an uncomfortable little thing clamped onto your ear. Installed Bluetooth car kits and portable Bluetooth speakerphones are just two of the several options for people who want a premium option to Bluetooth headsets. Without asking for free-advertising by saying my company’s name, I would appreciate it if you could mention this difference. It is difficult enough for companies like mine to combat the perception that “Bluetooth means headset” and in the interest of marketplace competition please just realize that laws like California’s do not leave consumers with a single option.
Thanks and love the show.
~Chad from Michigan
P.S. *personal interest only* If you are interested in a review of one of my company’s products check out this CNET Review: http://reviews.cnet.com/car-audio/parrot-3200-ls-color/4505-3425_7-32138918.html
On today's show, we discover that it's hard to stand out in an orgy, only about a quarter of things Molly says are words, and EA poops all over you. That's just the kind of show we have when Rafe Needleman fills in for Tom.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 777/b> |
Happy birthday, NASA!
http://science.slashdot.org/science/08/07/29/2120225.shtml
EA: Hack took Facebook Scrabble down
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10002363-36.html
Garmin delays Nuvifone
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121742654018296961.html
Dell tests player to renew iPod battle
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121738346889295815.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10002382-1.html
DNS hacker victim of his own creation
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/30/1242229
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/073008-dns-attack-writer-a-victim.html
‘Pentagon hacker’ loses extradition appeal
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/30/uk.hacker.ap/index.html
http://www.crn.com/security/209900321
IOC admits Internet censorship deal with China
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/08/07/30/1551211.shtml
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10002097-93.html
Apple says MobileMe is fixed! Seriously! Go try it!
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2326792,00.asp
Amazon unveils online payment service
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10002259-93.html
Face swapper software protects privacy
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/29/face-swapper-softwar.html
VOICE MAIL:
Anon:
Cops on cell phones!
E-MAIL:
Dear Buzzcrew,
Don’t you hate it when people make inaccurate statements like Sen.Stevens calling the Internet a series of tubes or like when you demonstrate you entire lack of political knowledge when you say he is the head of the Commerce Committee which he in point of fact hasn’t been since January 2007.
But then why let the truth stand in the way of a good story,
Thomas
Dear Buzz Crew
You mentioned on episode 776 the “Mojave experiment”, where Windows Vista was disguised as “Mojave” to make people see past the prejudice that vista faces, and how that doing this led to hugely increased customer satisfaction and popularity. This begs the question, why bother with the “Hey Look, Vista’s all right when it’s not called Vista” marketing campaign, and just not call it Vista. Just make up a cause for a new OS, and then release “Mojave”. Problem solved, and Mojave starts working for Microsoft and Vista is relegated to the nether land of Microsoft Bob and the infuriating paper clip.
Just a thought, keep up the great show
Techpriest
Hey guys,
I can’t believe you didn’t think of this but:
Search engines “help” you find something--a synonym for help is “aid”
Cuil-Aid!!!!
You’ll tell your friends to get some Cuil-Aid, and then have to explain that you don’t want them to grab a sugary drink, but that you want them to look something up.
Keep up the most excellent work!
Respectfully,
Chad
Dear Tom, Molly and Jason,
In your discussion of the new Cuil search engine there was one point you missed, namely its privacy policy. To quote from the site: “…our privacy policy is very simple: when you search with Cuil, we do not collect any personally identifiable information, period.”
As privacy is an increasingly important issue to web users, I’d suggest that this will be highly attractive to many people, especially given the concerns in this area that surround the current search imperator Google. Could Cuil’s privacy pledge be the wedge that prises apart Google’s search monopoly and frees us from the Black Iron Prison of cybersurveillance?
Your show is the tops for tech, and always entertaining. Keep up the consistently engaging (OK, I’ll say it, GOOD) work.
Best regards,
Andrew
Hello buzz crew,
I think the Olympics won’t be a problem for the IT department, because all the competitions will be at night in the U.S. So pretty much nobody will be working by that hour. If everyone gets to see the Olympics it would still be a problem, but for the HR department. People are supposed to sleep at night!
Here in Brazil, back in 2006 during the world cup, what i thought would be a joke worked pretty well: our major TV broadcaster streamed live all the world cup games in the Internet, and pretty much every place where I know there were computers, there were people watching that. There were no network problems because it was so popular, that usually people left one computer per room dedicated for streaming that video in full screen, which looked like as there was an actual television there. It was a total success in every office.
And guys, who are you fooling? People watch YouTube the whole day, and there has never been a problem before 
Alexandre
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
Episode 776 |
Yahoo says DRM issue overblown by media, but will offer refunds
http://www.betanews.com/article/Yahoo_says_DRM_issue_overblown_by_media_but_will_offer_refunds/1217287551
Microsoft goes live with Mojave videos
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10001331-56.html
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/29/mojave-experiment-goes-live-doesnt-fail-to-annoy/
Dell hints it’s working on smartphone
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10000833-1.html
T. Boone Pickens dumps Yahoo stake
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10001380-93.html
‘Scrabulous’ disappears from Facebook
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10001319-36.html
Dave from Dallas has started a scrabble boycott group. You can find it by searching for “Scrabble Boycott” in the groups application.
When the ‘wisdom of crowds’ turns on itself: IMDB edition
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10000650-2.html
Why the Olympics Scare Tech Pros
http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/07/28/why-the-olympics-scare-tech-pros/
‘New car smell’ becoming less toxic, report says
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10001060-54.html
Voice Mail
John Southern Illinois
About that Internet in space effort.
Mike Sherman Oaks
Trying out driving 65.
Jason Marietta
Thoughts on the Cuil name.
Hey, guys!
So perhaps Steve & Co. (otherwise known as Apple, Inc.) didn’t learn their lesson the first time around. You guys remember the whole pushed-Safari debacle, right? Well, as it turns out, Apple has now pushed a MobileMe preference pane onto unsuspecting Windows users via iTunes 7.7!
Wait, what?? That’s right, they did it again! Those people just… ugh. Here’s the link to the Ars story:
http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/07/18/apple.puts.mobileme.on.win/
J-2
**********
Hey, Tom, Molly, and Jason
I found who the old lady is. A simple Google Image Search for Molly Wood and getting to page 7, I find her. Her name is Molly Wood. Below you’ll find more info. For Tom I found the pic's origin; Cuil got that picture from Google--click on the link. BTW here's the guys e-mail [REDACTED] he works for a car company. All this from a Google search. Amazing. I tried cuiling Jason but Cuil was down when I wrote this e-mail--darn. Love the show.
P.S. I mentioned the links in the chat room but was ignored 
Leo S.
Link to article (Molly)
http://washburnlaw.edu/news/2005/
Link to image (Molly)
http://washburnlaw.edu/news/2005/2005-03flss-wood.jpg
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 774 |
Escaped ’spam king’ allegedly kills self, family
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-9999451-83.html
Cancer doc urges cell phone precaution
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9999188-1.html
Reports: AOL cuts XDrive, Pictures, some blogs
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-9999471-93.html
Report: MySpace could work with Amazon on music service
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-9999472-93.html
IPhone 2.1 Update to Bring Turn-by-Turn GPS?
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/07/iphone-21-updat.html
EFF: Yahoo Music should compensate customers
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-9999244-93.html
The Death of Nearly All Software Patents?
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/24/1458215
Hasbro Finally Sues Makers Of Scrabulous; Invokes DMCA To Get It Removed
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-hasbro-finally-sues-makers-of-scrabulous-invokes-dmca-to-get-it-removed/
Users can automatically encrypt Gmail traffic
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-9999473-93.html
Internet Firm Says It Targeted Ads To Customers’ Web-Surfing Habits
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/24/AR2008072403603.html
Vint Cerf Preps Interplanetary Internet Protocol
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/24/1728214
VOICEMAIL
Steve Tampa
What about the accessories.
Sorry to burst your bubble Tomolly, but Richard Vobes has been doing daily podcasts from his beach hut in Worthing UK since January 2005 and is currently up to show 1009 as of July 25th.
I don’t know if Vobes is THE MOST prolific, but the bar is substantially higher to pass than Curry’s measly 777.
Your long term fan (Since 2005),
Scotto
**********
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/columns/story/1152083.html
Finally! For once, the internet is being considered a utility. Wilson,
North Carolina did what the telecoms wouldn’t and installed fiber
optic all of the city. However, by opening that network up to
different carriers and being a carrier themselves, they have solved
several problems that plague the telecommunications industry. I hope
other cities and towns (and possibly telecoms) will see what Wilson
has done and follow their example. I salute Wilson for finding a
better, cheaper, and faster way to connect its citizens to the Internet.
Si
Durham, NC
**********
Hey Buzz Crew,
In episode 722, in responce to the whole “3D Standard” and 3D movies at home, Molly (almost rant-ally) says “What will it take to make the 3D glasses go away?”. Well, guess what, the technology already exists. I was in Seattle at the Boeing Visitors Center about to get a tour of the biggest building in the world by volume, and in the lower level of the building they have displays and exhibits to look at current and future technology. There was an exhibit from engine manufacturer Pratt and Whitney talking about their engine for the new 787 Dreamliner. Around the exhibit were 3 plasma TV’s with the imagies POPPING out at me with no glasses involved. You could walk to the right and left and see around the image… it was amazing!!! I had never seen anything like it, without glasses of course 
I went home and looked it up based on the information I could get off the plasma TV’s and it seems to be Phillips WOWvx 3D Technology.
http://www.presentationtek.com/2007/11/11/philips-wowvx-3d-display-technology/
Anyway, lets bring these into the homes, no glasses necessary!!!
Love the show,
Jordan from Cincinnati
**********
Hey buzz crew, jamoto (did i spell that right?) here’s some story for you.
http://equiliberate.org/?q=node/3
I’m a windows, mac and linux user, flexible to which any OS i use and i bought a laptop a couple of months ago and if i only had read the license terms of windows vista, i could have got my $699 Dell Inspiron laptop to be $499 if i got that refund. I didn’t even used the original windows vista in there. Oh well, but still happy because Mac OS X runs smoothly in this machine, made it to dual boot with Windows XP for the sake that my clients use it so i have to (work thing). If only Apple legalizes or distribute their OS on pc’s, businesses would embrace it in no time. Definitely. (hmm.. What would PC guy say about this… i wonder… =p)
ciao!
Polo
We've offered more than 99 pennies in reward money as a challenge to the first person who can make some e-salt that will stop the snail robots from taking over our planet. Of course, running would probably also work as they are snails. Also Microsoft and Yahoo are fighting and we children don't like it. But Time Warner might. We also talk a little bit about some phone that's coming out this week. From Apple. I think it's called the over-hyped phone. Or iPhone. Or something.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
Episode 760 |
Microsoft letter backs Icahn, renews Yahoo focus
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9984466-7.html
Icahn letter outlines Microsoft’s support
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9984467-7.html
Yahoo statement in response to Carl Icahn’s latest open letter
http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?&ReleaseID=319847
Yahoo re-enters merger talks with Time Warner
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article4281977.ece
iPhone 3G: The waiting is getting old
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9984288-36.html
O2 starts 3G iPhone stampede, and runs away
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/07/o2_apple_3g_iphone_upgrade/
Pioneer fits 400Gb on Blu-ray with 16 layers… (Thanks Shalin!)
http://gizmodo.com/5022420/pioneer-pushes-blu+ray-discs-to-16-layers-400gb-capacity
Microwave ray gun controls crowds with noise
http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn14250-microwave-ray-gun-controls-crowds-with-noise.html
As price of fuel soars, so does a dirigible renaissance?
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/05/as-fuel-prices-soar.html
‘Scrabble’ on Facebook: Too little, too late
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9984477-36.html
Voice mail
Ali
What about the library stupid?
How many piece of tech do you all own? I’ve heard TM mention 10 different laptops between him and his wife. I’ve heard MW talk about so many different cell phones that I’ve lost track. Veronica B. used to talk about different MP3 players like they gave them out for coming to work. Do you all actually own this stuff or is it tech that you’ve test driven for CNET? HOW MANY DIFFERENT PIECES OF TECH DO YOU OWN?
Ok show I the love,
Jason in Marietta, GA
**********
Robots could “slime” themselves all around the world?…
http://gizmodo.com/5022353/mit-professor-studies-snail-slime-to-create-go+anywhere-anytime-robots-of-the-future
—–
Forget legs or treads or wheels, everyone, because tomorrow’s robots will traverse the earth on a thin film of slime, just like the humble snail.
—–
huh…so just in case, is anyone working on e-salt? ya know, just sayin’… 
Best,
Shalin
**********
Hello from Canada!
I’ve been quite surprised that BOL hasn’t mentioned the Canadian iPhone data plans (see them at http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-products/iphone_voice_data_packages ). As you can tell, they are outrageously high and have been the cause of a lot of rage among Apple fans in Canada (as well as people who just wanted an iPhone and now can’t afford the plan; without settling for being able to check email once or twice before reaching the data limit).
I’m sure you have heard of it, but the petition at http://ruinediphone.com/ has been circulating quickly (another online petition of probably no consequence). This morning I read an interesting blog post based on rumours about Rogers: http://smithereensblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/apple-flips-rogers-bird-week-before.html .
I was wondering if you had heard anything about this or could confirm the rumours are false/true?
Thanks - love the show!
Mila from Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
**********
hi jamoto i was reading my favourite uk tech blog http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/blog/ when i came accross a link to this story and thought you might be interested
THOUSANDS of Scots telly viewers have had their programmes blacked out without warning.
Bosses at Freeview decided to bring in a new transmitter signal which doesn’t work on several types of set-top boxes.
But many Scots didn’t have a clue about the change - until their screens went blank.
It’s believed that around 16,000 Scots who get their telly through Freeview are now saddled with useless boxes. One of them, Campbell Bosanquet, 61, of Aberdeen, said: “I was flicking through the channels when my box just stopped working.
“I find it absolutely incredible that they can just change the signal without announcing it.”
love the show
rob from felixstowe uk
**********
hey bol crew, I was India for a vacation and was trying to get an internet connection and I stumbled across this, turns out we got WIMAX before you guys! the service isn’t great but better than what was going on in auzzie land because the ISP is using fullsized WIMAX recivers and turning that into wifi instead of using wimax through those tiny laptop things. Its pretty darn cheap ($1 = Rs. 42), a 1 mbps 4gb cap plan is abt $17 a month. But so for the reviews have been bad because they have not erected enough Wimax transmission towers.
Jatin the numb sandal man
**********
Hi Buzzcrew,
This is Duy, from Vietnam (if my email makes it into the show I’m interested to see how you pronounce that, people who don’t speak Vietnamese never get it right on first try)… Anyways, I’m a long time listener, but first time emailer. Been catching up with a few episodes from this week and this is a response to Episode 757, more specifically the Microsoft codename to the new Windows: Fiji… As far as I know, a lot of the codenames I’ve seen from manufacturers like Intel very often are references to places… Just to name a few: AMD’s Barcelona (formally the Opteron Quad-core), AMD’s Manchester (Athlon64 X2), AMD’s Paris (Sempron CPU), Intel’s Bearlake (the P35 family chipset), which is a lake in Utah, US, Intel’s Dothan (Pentium M) which is an ancient town in Israel, Intel’s Prescott (Pentium 4), is a town in Oregon. More codename references from AMD and Intel can be found on wikipedia… Even Microsoft’s own Windows 95 was codenamed Chicago, and the recent Windows 7 was originally codenamed Vienna.
So as far as I know, using places as reference to codename is nothing new in this field, and not just places… Even nVidia has the codename Bladerunner for its GeForce 2 Ultra cards… So I’m surprised that this time the codename raised such reactions… Why why why?
Oh and by the way, in response to all the WiMAX news, in Vietnam WiMAX has been rolled out since mid-2006 as an experimental program in some of the more remote provinces with harsh mountain areas that make it impossible to deploy cables… So far the program’s supposed to be successful with more deployments scheduled for big cities that will provide the necessary competition against DSL, so what’s the fuzz all about over there?
Anyways, love the show
Keep up the good work
Duy Nguyen.
**********
Hey JaMoTo,
A while back (episode 733) you had a story about Google not wanting to put a link to their privacy policy on their front page (original story ). Well, it seems that they finally caved . What I find interesting is that they actually count the number of words on the front page, and to add the privacy link, they changed “@2008 - Google” to “@2008 - Privacy” to keep the word count at 28.
I know it’s a good policy and I love the Google homepage (compare it to Yahoo or AOL), but the first impression I god when I read this was “obsessive-compulsive disorder ”
Love the show,
Adrian the student from Europe
**********
Hi folks,
I am currently working on my PhD in Biostatistics, and during my two years of study thus far, I have never heard of the term "average" being interchangeable with "median" or "mode." The previous e-mailer's comment could possibly be due to a confusion of "average" as a technical term versus its use in speech; if we say "average" to mean "a typical value," then yes, the median, mode, or mean could suffice. The only way I have heard "average" used in a technical way is to specify the arithmetic mean we know and love. Even if the headline writers meant "average" to mean "a typical value," they should have chosen differently since it is bound to be confusing.
:o) Sylvia
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 697 |
Yahoo versus Microsoft: Thanks for the letter Steve; Now give us more money or get lost
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8396
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04072008/business/
yahoo__sets_reply_to_microsoft_attack_105424.htm
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9912556-7.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7334475.stm
Rumor: Mossberg says 3G iPhone coming in 60 days
http://gizmodo.com/376519/walt-says-3g-iphone-coming-in-60-days
Gates: Windows 7 may come ‘in the next year’
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9911470-56.html
Pizza.com domain name fetches millions
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9912380-7.html
In Web world of 24-7 stress, writers blog till they drop
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/technology/06sweat.html
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8389
Bell wants to dump third-party ISP's entirely
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/04/1857245
Men more vulnerable to Web fraud than women
http://www.news.com/8301-10789_3-9910844-57.html
Craigslist responds to craigslistblog
http://blog.craigslist.org/#please
Facebook to settle thorny lawsuit over its origins
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/
facebook-to-settle-thorny-lawsuit-over-its-origins/
Scrabble launches on Facebook: Yanks need not apply
http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9912587-36.html
Scientists discover gene for ruthlessness
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/06/2056240
VOICE MAIL
Joel
I think it's OK for Apple to push Safari.
KBliss
More Java annoyances.
The Rolling Stones land on eMusic!
I’m an episode or two behind, but I’m sure you guys will mention this as it seems to be fairly big news.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones! For once, the hyperbole is right: the world’s greatest rock and roll band, and we have the band’s entire catalogue through 1969 to prove it.”
Regards,
Jason@Scarsdale
Digg (& Mets) may kill the Rickroll
Dear Molly and “others”,
You may have half succeeded in killing the Rickroll, but Digg and the Mets may give the final blow to it.
http://digg.com/baseball/ Digg_users_unite_Let_s_Rickroll_the_NY_Mets_all_year
Love the show, bye!
Sincerely,
Saimon
Concerning trend emerging
Dear Jamoto,
While catching up on past episodes I have come to realize that whenever Molly refers to a technology that kind of sucks or has yet to reach its full potential she refers to it as “Janky.” This is a very disturbing revelation because “Janky” sounds so close to the commonly used Indian name Janki. So in defense of my dear sister and the thousands of other Jankis of the world I wish for this atrocity to stop. (Beginning of fight club style rant) If my demands are not met immediately and an appropriate substitute for “Janky” is not put in place, you my friends will feel a wrath to horrid to imagine. The wrath of Indians. You may be faced with the most severe counter attacks that we know of, including you may receive more stern e-mails, frequent calls, and if worst comes to worst, nonviolent-protest. I know what you are thinking Jamoto but stop it right now, we Indians control much more than you can imagine. We control the temperature and spiciness of your curry, we invented Web based e-mail, and we will disinvent it twice as quick mind you, and most important we control your technical support. Who do you call when vista crashes now buddy boy. DONT BUZZ WITH US. Hopefully buzz will become a cursing substitute in all of buzz land.
Love the show,
Anonymous Indian on the edge
Mind control
Hey BOLers,
I just noticed that Buzz Town seems to do pretty much anything you ask us. The Last Rickroll video, So Say We All, the Most Gamingest Country, etc…
Not that this is a bad thing, I think you are lucky to have such a great community. Just don’t get too power hungry and start asking for donations for a “Buy Molly a Ferrari” fund, (which I would graciously volunteer to host the PayPal account for!) Rock on.
Drew from Collierville
Exotic caller
Hi BOL Crew 
I was doing some C code whilst listening to your show number 695 and heard Molly expressing her satisfaction at getting correspondence from exotic countries like Iran and Romania, so I thought I’ll send in a couple of lines so that she can actually add my country, Malta to the list.
Problem is I don’t really have anything to say except than confirming that the much-hated iTunes-Safari update keeps on bugging me too…
Keep up the good show…
Chris Tanti
from Malta
A (very) small Republic-island situated in the Mediterranean Sea Just under Sicily, Italy
--Tom
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 673 |
Sanity prevails: IE8 will default to standard-compliant mode
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/
20080303-sanity-prevails-ie8-will-default-to-standard-compliant-mode.html
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9884688-56.html
Survey: Warnings from ISPs could slash file-swapping by 70 percent
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/
20080303-survey-warnings-from-isps-could-slash-file-swapping-by-70.html
Nokia to bring Microsoft Silverlight-powered experiences to millions of mobile users
http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1197788
Official Google Mobile Blog: Shifting Google Gears to mobile
http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2008/03/shifting-google-gears-to-mobile.html
What price, Scrabulous? Mergers, acquisitions, venture capital, hedge funds http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/ scrabulous-founders-look-to-score-big-report-says/?hp
Microsoft offers $100K to testers of Office Live workspace
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E1800257402000312F0.html
Ranking corporate America on identity theft
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/ranking-corporate-america-on-identity-theft/
Movie studios could be behind missing iTunes rentals
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/03/04/
movie-studios-could-be-behind-missing-itunes-rentals
Daylight Saving wastes energy, study says
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/
SB120406767043794825-UOLcfJA8×9Gw9ozbCz77MiLmtaE_20080327.html
Do coat hangers sound as good as Monster cables?
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/03/do-coat-hangers-soun.html
MySpace gets its own MTV show, but only in the U.K.
http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9884700-36.html
Cyber-goggles: Record and identify every object you see
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/03/2117250
VOICE MAIL
Alex Columbus
Why nobody’s got paid from Napster settlement.
Jared Omaha
How come I can’t record?
Alex? iPhone
Price cut.
Where’s Stage 6?
Hey Buzz team,
I had to catch up on the episodes from Tuesday of last week up until Monday...of today. And was extremely sad that there was absolutely no mention on the shut down of the highly beloved Stage 6. It was really a boundary pushing Web site, which actually offered hi-def uploading, free of cost when no one else did. It was awesome, and the DivX player is the best video watchy thing, hands down.
I understand, that if with the death of Netscape and HD-DVD, maybe it was just too morbid to talk about it.
Ajay from Ontario.
Mind you, I might have just missed it, and sorry if I did.
*****************************
Vista cracked by Iraqis
Hey Buzz crew
On Episode 672 of Buzz Out Loud you were talking about the “new way” of activating Windows Vista. Just to make things clear, I did pay for my copy of Windows.
I’m around a lot of Iraqi Interpreters that the Marine Corps hires to work for us, and sometimes they ask me to fix their computers. One Iraqi I met showed me how he had activated and fully updated the copy of Vista on his computer, using the same method described by the Pantheon group.
I don’t know if they managed to get an early crack from them, or somehow they have set up their own “Crack Group” out here in the Middle East. But the computer I saw was cracked about a month before the Pantheon release.
I just wanted to ask what your thoughts are on this.
Thanks for the podcast
Dusty (Cpl Parra, Manuel) in Ramadi, Iraq
*********************************
Bootable flash key makes disk encryption attacks super-simple
Hey guys, this is Adam the Grad Student from Miami. Thought this was in interesting article about encryption, easier than air canisters. (Yay, first mail sent!)
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/04/ bootable-flash-key-makes-disk-encryption-attacks-super-simple/
Adam the Grad Student
**********************************
Another U.S. government effort to unregister a domain name
Thought you might be interested in this.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/us/04bar.html?hp
“Steve Marshall is an English travel agent. He lives in Spain, and he sells trips to Europeans who want to go to sunny places, including Cuba. In October, about 80 of his Web sites stopped working, thanks to the United States government.”
Now the U.S. federal government is unregistering domain names — without a judicial say so. I’m outraged. But someone else’s feeling might depend on how they feel about the embargo.
thanks,
New England Kent
**********************************
OMG I’m using WiMAX!!
Hey JAMOTO
Longtime listener first time writer
I just moved to Denmark for work and my company was very nice to rent me an apartment. I get settled in and find a regular box with an Ethernet cable coming out of it. So i plug my PC and voila, I'm on the Web. However I realize there is no other cables plugged to the box! (Except for power.) I went online and looked for the ISP that provides the box.
So the box transforms the WiMAX signal to regular old Ethernet.
I feel sooo avant-garde
Buzz out loud j’ adore 
Love
Jean-Philippe
PS
The name of the company?
clearwire
http://www.clearwire.com or .dk for denmark
--Tom
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
Episode 672 |
Judge: Wikileaks gets its domain name back
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9883240-38.html
First spam felony conviction upheld: No free speech to spam
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/
20080302-first-spam-felony-conviction-upheld-no-free-speech-to-spam.html
Vista prices fall even further
http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9883961-56.html
Pirates find proper way to crack Vista’s activation schema
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/03/0622230
More audiobook publishers drop DRM: Will Audible follow suit?
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/03/more-audiobook-publi.html
Nine Inch Nails uploads new album on Torrent sites
http://torrentfreak.com/nin-uploads-new-album-on-torrent-sites-080303/
Fan-funded music
http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13526_1-9882091-27.html
Woz strikes again: Disappointed by iPhone, wary about MacBook Air and Apple TV
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/
woz-strikes-again-disappointed-by-iphone-wary-about-macbook-ai/
MacBook Air aflutter: Demand stays strong, sold out often
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/
20080302-macbook-air-aflutter-demand-stays-strong-sold-out-often.html
iPhone jailbreak tools updated to open firmware 1.1.4
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/02/29/iphone_114_hacks_released/
Source: Apple may not restrict free iPhone apps
http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/02/29/apple.and.free.iphone.apps/
Advocacy groups bash Comcast’s “technical-sounding nonsense”
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/
20080303-advocacy-groups-bash-comcasts-technical-sounding-nonsense-fcc.html
Will RealNetworks buy Scrabulous?
http://gigaom.com/2008/03/02/will-realnetworks-buy-scrabulous/
Mark Shuttleworth reveals definitive list of Ubuntu code names
http://menpro.blogspot.com/2008/02/mark-shuttleworth-reveals-definitive.html
Voice mail
Anonymous Darwinist
Robot-Grandma love anecdote.
Brian
Tax the filing process.
Alex Romania
Warranty on unlocked iPhones.
Comcastic!
Hey buzz crew,
I opened my current Comcast statement and on the last page after all the stupid fees there was “IMPORTANT ACCOUNT NOTICE” it said “Effective March 2008 - Standard cable service will no longer be sold. Current standard Cable-Only customers may continue their subscription at the new monthly rate (see enclosed) but new customers will no longer be able to purchase, upgrade or downgrade to the standard package.”
Now this is where it is stupid.
Standard cable's new rate is $54.40.
Digital started package is $55.40.
Just a dollar more?
Patrick
**********************
The Tilde
The tilde in URLs came from many of the original Web servers running on Unix. If my account on a server is chris on a Unix server, then my personal home directory is probably something like /users/chris2x but can also be referred to by “~chris2x”. URLs often had ~ because that was shorthand for where this particular user’s home page was stored. Since the users on the Web in those days were nerds, it probably did not occur to people at first that this was obscure. The death of the tilde in the URL was caused by people trying to tell their less nerdy friends how to type the darn thing.
Here is a good reference:
http://diveintomark.org/archives/2002/10/04/history_of_the_tilde
Chris the podcaster
***********************
The Archivist!!
Hey Buzz Town,
I’ve been listening to TWiT for about a year now, and finally decided to try BOL a couple weeks ago. Now, of course, I am kicking myself for not having come over sooner. However, I am now on a mission: archiving ALL of BOL.
When I noticed that iTunes did not have all of your backcasts (I wonder if I just created a new word…), I started listening to the earliest episodes available, starting with episode 483. Then, even though I knew it was coming, I was distraught at episode 521, when Veronica left. I decided that I needed more Veronica, so I wanted to find even older eps. I heard alpha.cnet.com from the older eps, and was able to find all of the backcasts. I am still working on downloading all of them, since I could not find a single link for all of them.
As I have been downloading, I have imported them all into iTunes and am working on making all of the titles uniform to comply with the format of the recent episodes. I am still deciding on whether or not I want to put the show notes in. The problem that I am running into is that there are some episodes that are just interviews, and I don’t know whether they count as separate for the episode count. For example, by my count, Episode 089 is “What the heck is Google Base?” dated October 26, 2005.
Also dated October 26, 2005, is an interview with Cory Doctorow. Neither of these intros actually list episode numbers yet, so I don’t know if the interview should be Episode 090, or 089i, or what. I would hate to get back to 483 and find that I have been counting wrong all along!
Also, I was fortunate enough to have heard your request to make a list of all of the things that Molly has said she wanted to buy, and once I start listening from episode 1-482, I will do so.
Thank you all for a wonderful podcast. Veronica, even though I see you on Mahalo, and BOL is still great, I miss you.
Thanks,
Joshua the Archivist
Wichita, KS
P.S. I also work for the post office, and was wondering what position Remmy (sp?) is in. My guess is he’s a DCO like me, and thus has 8 hours a day to podcast.
***********************
HD-DVD disc best-selling HD movie last week.
American Gangster HD DVD Tops VideoScan’s weekly high-def disc sales chart | High-Def Digest
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Sales/
Universal/American_Gangster_HD_DVD_Tops_VideoScans_Weekly_High-Def_Disc_Sales_Chart/1526
Ha!
-Nav
**********************
Buzz Town motto - Vote!
Jacob here to let you and the rest of Buzz Town that you can now vote for the Buzz Town wiki motto at: http://buzzoutloud.wikia.com/wiki/Buzz_Town_Motto
Thanks for the podcast,
Jacob the student from Australia
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
|
EPISODE 645 |
Netflix on Apple.
Craigslist phishing.
Monkeys and robots hack voting.
In regards to 644
I had recently updated my iPod Touch on Monday (yesterday). I searched and searched for the "No Thanks" button, but it was not found until today. It seems it takes about 5 reconnects before this button shows up. But now I'm getting this pop-up "An error occurred. The iTunes Store could not process your request, please try again later." Then resumes normal operation. Then if I reconnect my iPod, it's as if I said no thanks and bugs me again and repeats everything all over again.
Chris
I can confirm that there is no 'No Thanks' for the first three times you plug in a non-updated iPod touch.
Cameron from London, Ontario
Hey TMJ,
The 5/5.5G iPod Videos send video out through either composite or S- Video, and it is analog (also it does not require a proprietary cable with a chip to (prevent piracy?)). Maybe this shows why there was that dumb TV-out change in the new iPods. Theoretically you could hook it up to your TV and since it doesn't require the new proprietary chip video cables, you could potentially capture the analog to pirate the content. But come on, if I wanted to pirate the dumb 480p video I would rip the DVD...ever heard of handbrake?
This is completely ridiculous and annoying, but remember there are studios, not just Apple.
Tim from Dallas
Also, iPod Touch users, get over it (2 reasons): 1. Shoulda just bought an iPhone...way better. 2. It's called Sarbanes-Oxley and Apple's interpretations of it.
And the MacBook Air owns. Tim
Hey Buzz crew,
I just wanted to let you know that immediately when i heard you talking about Comcast finally getting TiVo I called them and I have an appointment on Sunday between 3 and 5 for them to do a 'software upgrade'. They are charging me $14.95 to send a technician out to do this upgrade and it is 2.95 more a month (for as many DVR as you have, we have 2). But, in the end I don't care because the Comcast DVR awful and I can't wait to have TiVo back!
Mike
Gardner, Massachusetts
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/01/digital-picture.html
Excerpt:
Digital picture frames were one of the hit gifts this holiday season, but at least some consumers have ended up with an unwelcome extra present--a computer virus.And our next story--why you should look twice before sharing songs between Zunes... ;)
Electronics retailer Best Buy acknowledged this weekend that some private label Insignia 10-inch digital frames it sold over the holiday season were contaminated with a unidentified virus. The frames have now been pulled from store shelves and the product discontinued, Best Buy said in a statement.
Best,
Shalin
Hello!
Long time subscriber from the U.K., I seem to remember listening to shows where Veronica hardly ever talked! First time for me getting more actively involved somehow (never have time to get on the forums etc) so would love to get a mention!
Anyhow, wanted to show you that one of Tom's 2008 predictions about a big TV network showing programmes live on TV and Web at the same time will be coming true...and the key new bit of jargon to remember is "simulcast"
BBC Three Controller Danny Cohen set out his plans for the future of the channel at a season press launch earlier today.
Danny revealed that BBC Three is to become the first BBC channel to change from a linear service to a fully joined-up multiplatform venture. This means that all the channel's programmes, content, and experiences can be available on TV, online, mobile, and on-demand platforms--and that's just the start.
BBC Three will be simulcast live on the Web for the first time. Programmes will be available on demand for seven days after first transmission and in some cases previewed on the site in advance. This will make the channel's content vastly more accessible to audiences who wouldn't necessarily seek out or stumble across its programmes on conventional TV.
This is from the BBC's Internet blog. Some of the BBC's biggest programmes for 16-to-34yr olds are being shown on the BBC3 channel, so this isn't just niche content.
All the best!
James
P.S. Before you ask, yes, my real name is James Brown!
I came across this web site this morning and think we should all join the "No More LOL" cause.
Thank you,
Klo Utley
Tom Merritt appears on
CNET TV, specializing in help and how-to and the ever popular Top 5
lists. He also co-hosts CNET's The Real Deal podcast. 
Jason Howell can
often be found producing Buzz Out Loud from the audio studios at CNET,
updating XML feeds from the comfort of his cubicle, and saying "uh-oh"
from time to time. 
