MYSPACE PUTS ITS NEWS FEED ON STERIODS, CLIFFS NOTES COMES TO THE IPHONE, AND
THE INTERNET HELPS YOU AVOID YOUR FAMILY. ITS TUESDAY, JUNE 16TH. I'M NATALI
DEL CONTE, COMING TO YOU FROM SAN FRANCISCO THIS WEEK. IT'S TIME TO GET
LOADED.
[*]
CUSTOMERS OF BRITISH CABLE COMPANY VIRGIN MEDIA WILL SOON GET FREE MUSIC WITH
THEIR MONTHLY SERVICE, COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL. VIRGIN AND UNIVERSAL ANNOUNCED A
DEAL WHERE VIRGIN CUSTOMERS COULD PAY AN EXTRA 10-TO-15 POUNDS PER MONTH TO
GET UNLIMITED DOWNLOAD AND STREAMING TUNES. THIS SEEMS LIKE ONE OF THOSE GOOD-
FOR-EVERYONE ARRANGEMENTS AND I WISH WE HAD SOMETHING LIKE IT IN THE U.S.
CUSTOMERS GET CHEAP MUSIC THAT THEY GET TO KEEP. VIRGIN MAKES SOME EXTRA CASH.
AND UNIVERSAL GETS PIRATED LESS OFTEN. EVERYBODY WINS. OR SO IT WOULD SEEM.
[*]
YOUTUBE WILL NOW LET YOU CHOOSE WHEN YOU WATCH ADS AROUND YOUR VIDEOS. YOU CAN
CHOOSE TO WATCH AT THE BEGINNING OF A VIDEO OR AS THE VIDEO PLAYS. YOU CAN'T
CHOOSE TO WATCH AFTER THOUGH BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE NOTHING TO PREVENT YOU
FROM JUST LEAVING THE SITE WHEN YOUR VIDEO WAS DONE. THIS IS JUST A SMALL
TEST, MEANING THAT GOOGLE IS STILL FIGURING OUT HOW TO MONETIZE YOUTUBE
WITHOUT BUGGING THE HECK OUT OF YOU. SO NOT EVERYONE WILL SEE THIS OPTION FOR
NOW.
[*]
THE NEW MANDATORY FILTERING SOFTWARE THAT WILL BE PRE-INSTALLED ON ALL
COMPUTERS IN CHINA IS UNDERGOING SOME CHANGES, AFTER A LOT OF CONTROVERSY.
LAST WEEK THE PROGRAM CAME UNDER FIRE BECAUSE 1) IT IS SCARY AND OPPRESSIVE,
AND 2) IT COULD POSSIBLY ALLOW HACKERS TO MONITOR ALL INTERNET ACTIVITY, STEAL
DATA, AND PLANT VIRUSES. CHINA IS STILL COMMITTED TO THE IDEA THOUGH. THEY ARE
MOVING FORWARD BUT THEY HAVE ORDERED ALL POTENTIAL SECURITY BREACHES TO BE
FIXED FROM THE PROGRAM. THEY ARE UP AGAINST A DEADLINE THOUGH. THE MANDATE FOR
THIS PROGRAM BEGINS ON JULY 1.
[*]
DON'T SAY VERIZON DOESN'T GET ANY COOL PHONES. THE COMPANY ANNOUNCED TODAY
THAT IT WILL CARRY THE SAMSUNG OMNIA II. THIS IS THE WINDOWS MOBILE OLED
TOUCHSCREEN PHONE WITH A 5 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA AND RUNS ON THE NETWORK'S EVDO REV
A NETWORK. IT WILL LAUNCH WITH WINDOWS MOBILE 6.1 BUT BE UPGRADEABLE TO
WINDOWS MOBILE 6.5 WHEN THE NEW OS COMES OUT INTHE FALL. UNFORTUNATELY, WE
DON'T HAVE A LAUNCH DATE OR PRICE FOR THE OMNIA II YET.
[*]
MYSPACE HAS MADE CHANGES TO ITS NEWS FEED AND IT IS A LITTLE AMBITIOUS. THE
SITE NOW HAS APP ACTIVITY IN ITS ACTIVITY STREAM. THAT IS A LOT OF
INFORMATION. SO IF YOU START PLAYING BEJEWELED, WE WILL ALL KNOW ABOUT IT EVEN
IF WE DON'T NECESSARILY PLAY BEJEWELED ON MYSPACE. THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO
BE A TMI SITUATION.
[*]
THIS IS GOING TO SEEM LIKE A JOKE BUT IT ISN'T. A NEW SEARCH ENGINE CALLED
KOOGLE LAUNCHED THIS WEEKEND. IT IS DESIGNED TO BE A SEARCH ENGINE FOR JEWS.
IT WILL FILTER OUT IMAGES AND RESULTS DEEMED INAPPROPRIATE FOR JEWISH PEOPLE.
IT IS PRETTY STRICT. NO NUDITY, NO NON-KOSHER RECIPES, AND NO ONLINE SHOPPING
DURING THE SABBATH. IT IS AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND HEBREW. IT MAY BE FAIRLY
OBVIOUS BUT I WILL DISCLOSE THAT I AM NOT JEWISH BUT I AM CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT
MY JEWISH VIEWERS THINK OF THIS. WRITE ME AT LOADED@CNET.COM.
[*]
CLIFFSNOTES ARE NOW AN IPHONE APPLICATION. THE BOOKS THAT SUMMARIZE
EDUCATIONAL LESSON PLANS ARE NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH ITUNES. THE APP IS FREE BUT
EACH EDITION OF CLIFFS NOTES ARE 99 CENTS. THERE ARE ONLY FIVE TITLES FOR
IPHONE NOW BUT THAT WILL GROW FAST. THEY COME WITH MULTIMEDIA GUIDES AND TWO
VERSIONS: CRAM PLAN FOR WHEN YOU MUST CRAM, AND E-READER MODE FOR WHEN YOU
HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO CHEAT. THEY ALSO COME WITH QUIZZES, TEXT
HIGHLIGHTING, CHARACTER MAPS, AND AUDIO PLOT SUMMARIES. KIDS THESE DAYS HAVE
IT SO EASY.
[*]
IF YOU BUY YOUR NEW IPHONE 3G S AT BEST BUY, YOU CAN GET EXTRA INSURANCE,
COURTESY OF GEEK SQUAD. FOR AN EXTRA $15 PER MONTH, YOU CAN GET THE GEEK SQUAD
BLACK TIE PROTECTION ON TOP OF THE TWO-YEAR EXTENDED APPLECAR WARRANTY. THIS
COVERS DROPS, SPILLS, AND ANY OTHER BIG FAT FAIL. SO IT IS PERFECT FOR SOMEONE
LIKE ME.
[*]
THE INTERNET HELPS YOU AVOID YOUR FAMILY. A NEW STUDY OUT OF USC, (FIGHT ON
TROJANS), SHOWS THAT 28 PERCENT OF AMERICANS SAY THAT THEY SPEND LESS TIME
WITH THEIR FAMILIES, BUT MORE TIME ON SOCIAL NETWORKS LIKE FACEBOOK, MYSPACE,
AND TWITTER. THIS IS QUITE THE JUMP FROM THE 11 PERCENT WHO REPORTED THE SAME
THING IN 2006. AND DO WE ALL AGREE THAT THIS IS A BAD THING?
[*]
THOSE ARE ALL OF YOUR HEADLINES FOR TODAY. I WILL SEE YOU TOMORROW WITH MORE. THANK
YOU FOR WATCHING. I'M NATALI DEL CONTE WITH CNETTV AND YOU JUST BEEN LOADED.
