Episode 597: Duh. Google phone.
Was there other news today? I guess there's a little news, but it's really all about the Google phone. Which is not a phone. Huh.
Molly Wood Former Executive Editor
Molly Wood was an executive editor at CNET, author of the Molly Rants blog, and host of the tech show, Always On. When she's not enraging fanboys of all stripes, she can be found offering tech opinions on CBS and elsewhere, and offering opinions on everything else to anyone who will listen.
5 min read
Was there other news today? Sure, there's a little news, but really, the only thing happening is the Google phone. Which is not a phone at all, but rather a platform based on open standards that aims to release the cell phone industry from the shackles in which it's held us all this time. OK. So, that's cool. But where's the pretty?
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
--Molly
Listen now: Download today's podcast
 | EPISODE 597 |
TODAY'S LINKS:
TODAY'S VOICE MAIL:
Chris in Greensborough
Most shows in progress now have enough scripts to get through the season. But late-night shows will suck.
Most shows in progress now have enough scripts to get through the season. But late-night shows will suck.
John Denver
Put YouTube stuff on TV!
Put YouTube stuff on TV!
Tony from Florida
Thoughts on iPhone
Thoughts on iPhone
TODAY'S E-MAIL:
Cabbage Patch Kids fiasco
I was surprised that on episode 596 you had never heard of the "1983 Cabbage Patch Kids holiday riots." OK, maybe there weren?t full-fledged riots, but Coleco basically didn?t have enough for the demand, and with no eBay, shoppers were a bit aggressive trying to get them. Broken legs, black eyes, and crazy 80s soccer moms. BTW, My sisters got them for Christmas that year.
Here is an article from Time magazine that references the craziness.
some excerpts:
"...so many people that 5,000 of them staged a near riot last week at Hills Department Store in Charleston, W. Va."
"What are we to think of a woman's suffering a broken leg when another crowd of 1,000 turned violent after waiting eight hours to get into a Zayre store in Wilkes-Barre, Pa."
"Departmental Manager William Shigo could provide no explanation either. He armed himself with a baseball bat to defend his position behind the counter."
Jonathan
I was surprised that on episode 596 you had never heard of the "1983 Cabbage Patch Kids holiday riots." OK, maybe there weren?t full-fledged riots, but Coleco basically didn?t have enough for the demand, and with no eBay, shoppers were a bit aggressive trying to get them. Broken legs, black eyes, and crazy 80s soccer moms. BTW, My sisters got them for Christmas that year.
Here is an article from Time magazine that references the craziness.
some excerpts:
"...so many people that 5,000 of them staged a near riot last week at Hills Department Store in Charleston, W. Va."
"What are we to think of a woman's suffering a broken leg when another crowd of 1,000 turned violent after waiting eight hours to get into a Zayre store in Wilkes-Barre, Pa."
"Departmental Manager William Shigo could provide no explanation either. He armed himself with a baseball bat to defend his position behind the counter."
Jonathan
The great Cabbage Patch fiasco of 1985
I worked at a toy store back in the mid-80s during the height of the Cabbage Patch craze. We had a RIOT at our store on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Why Wednesday? Well, the store had advertised the dolls for sale on Friday after Turkey Day. However, a truck arrived Wednesday morning full of hundreds of the dolls. The loading docks for the store bordered a heavily traveled road. And the manufacturer in their infinite wisdom had a giant COLECO painted on the side of the truck. It didn't take a Mensa candidate to realize what was in the truck...
The riot itself was something to behold. Picture Dawn of the Dead...
Love the show!!!
Tom in Des Moines
I worked at a toy store back in the mid-80s during the height of the Cabbage Patch craze. We had a RIOT at our store on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Why Wednesday? Well, the store had advertised the dolls for sale on Friday after Turkey Day. However, a truck arrived Wednesday morning full of hundreds of the dolls. The loading docks for the store bordered a heavily traveled road. And the manufacturer in their infinite wisdom had a giant COLECO painted on the side of the truck. It didn't take a Mensa candidate to realize what was in the truck...
The riot itself was something to behold. Picture Dawn of the Dead...
Love the show!!!
Tom in Des Moines
Hello, Buzz crew,
Here is another case for net neutrality. So we know that Comcast is controlling bandwidth, but I always got the impression that they were just doing it to torrents. However, I recently found out that they controlled more than just that. I was trying to have a video chat conversation with someone through iChat and noticed that initially bandwidth was high and the video chat was of excellent quality, but quickly (about a minute later) dropped considerably until the quality was horrible. I've used video chat with this same person a few times before the past year with the same setup but never had this problem.
A call to Comcast confirmed that they were throttling bandwidth and wouldn't do anything about it. (They also admitted that there was a lawsuit currently about it).
This is ridiculous! Throttling torrents is one thing, but you should be able to video chat!
Have others had this problem?
Paul
Here is another case for net neutrality. So we know that Comcast is controlling bandwidth, but I always got the impression that they were just doing it to torrents. However, I recently found out that they controlled more than just that. I was trying to have a video chat conversation with someone through iChat and noticed that initially bandwidth was high and the video chat was of excellent quality, but quickly (about a minute later) dropped considerably until the quality was horrible. I've used video chat with this same person a few times before the past year with the same setup but never had this problem.
A call to Comcast confirmed that they were throttling bandwidth and wouldn't do anything about it. (They also admitted that there was a lawsuit currently about it).
This is ridiculous! Throttling torrents is one thing, but you should be able to video chat!
Have others had this problem?
Paul
DARPA self-driving cars
So let us just open our minds to the idea that we will soon have self-driving cars...
The people that need to talk on the phone while driving, well now they are not driving, so they can do whatever they want, check your e-mail, start your work day when you get in the car...
No more traffic Jams....no more stop signs...Every intersection could now be merge areas as the cars could broadcast their intentions (I am going straight through--I am turning left, go ahead and pull out because I am turning). No more wondering if their blinker really means they are turning or just a bluff.
Nanny Cabs--point-to-point Cabs for Kids...put the kids in the Nanny Cab and they are off to Grandma's house, off to the mall or off to school. If the car is safe enough to drive you around at high speed (cause you know if they can do it well and fast, we will want to go fast) you will trust the software to drop off the kids, take the dog to the vet and Amazon & UPS will have merged so that all your shopping and deliveries come via the UPS POD that drives to your house.....
So let the "I have to talk and drive people" get behind the self-driving car thing and you will cut the development time in half.
Love the show,
Jeremy the House Husband
So let us just open our minds to the idea that we will soon have self-driving cars...
The people that need to talk on the phone while driving, well now they are not driving, so they can do whatever they want, check your e-mail, start your work day when you get in the car...
No more traffic Jams....no more stop signs...Every intersection could now be merge areas as the cars could broadcast their intentions (I am going straight through--I am turning left, go ahead and pull out because I am turning). No more wondering if their blinker really means they are turning or just a bluff.
Nanny Cabs--point-to-point Cabs for Kids...put the kids in the Nanny Cab and they are off to Grandma's house, off to the mall or off to school. If the car is safe enough to drive you around at high speed (cause you know if they can do it well and fast, we will want to go fast) you will trust the software to drop off the kids, take the dog to the vet and Amazon & UPS will have merged so that all your shopping and deliveries come via the UPS POD that drives to your house.....
So let the "I have to talk and drive people" get behind the self-driving car thing and you will cut the development time in half.
Love the show,
Jeremy the House Husband
Wal-Mart Zune display
Dear BOL Crew,
I just got back from a trip to Wal-Mart in Kingston NY and I wanted to send you pictures of their new Zune display. Their supply for Zune 1.0 was dwindling and there obviously was none of the new generation models since they do not come out for another few weeks. I snapped an angled picture in order for you to see that even though on the surface the device looks real, it is really just the outer cover attached to a piece of laminate. Here are links to the pictures I took.
PIC-0145.jpg
PIC-0144.jpg
PIC-0143.jpg
Enjoy; there were people drooling over the display, saying "80 gigs, 199 bucks, wow."
Mike C.
Upstate NY
Dear BOL Crew,
I just got back from a trip to Wal-Mart in Kingston NY and I wanted to send you pictures of their new Zune display. Their supply for Zune 1.0 was dwindling and there obviously was none of the new generation models since they do not come out for another few weeks. I snapped an angled picture in order for you to see that even though on the surface the device looks real, it is really just the outer cover attached to a piece of laminate. Here are links to the pictures I took.
PIC-0145.jpg
PIC-0144.jpg
PIC-0143.jpg
Enjoy; there were people drooling over the display, saying "80 gigs, 199 bucks, wow."
Mike C.
Upstate NY
BOL gets props with Millenium Music
I don't know if you're aware of it, but Millennium Music is giving you guys some props. Check the bottom of the advertisement. Thought you'd like to know.
"Hear about us on CNET's Buzz Out Loud!"
William
I don't know if you're aware of it, but Millennium Music is giving you guys some props. Check the bottom of the advertisement. Thought you'd like to know.
"Hear about us on CNET's Buzz Out Loud!"
William