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>> Google launches Earth for the iPhone. The HTC Touch Pro hits stores. And Twitter may be a tool for terrorists. It's Monday, Oct 27th. I'm Natali Del Conte, and it's time to get loaded.
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Tech Crunch is reporting that Sling.com is set to launch on November 10th. This is Sling Media's video portal. Sling Media is, of course, the creator of the Sling box. Sling.com will bring video from Hulu, CBS, and other online video locations to one place. You can also access your own slinged content on Sling.com. So if you've got a Sling box at home, it will send the programs that your DVR records to the site. This is clever because you don't have to own a Sling box to use it, but it would help. I have several programs that I watch over Hulu and on my DVR, such as Heroes or the Daily Show. This would, in theory, help me consolidate my programming into just one portal, if I had a sling box that is, which sadly I do not.
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Google has released Google Earth for the iPhone and the iPod touch. This is Google's graphical software that lets users fly around a 3-D version of our planet. The iPhone version reproduces this experience, and this marks the first time that Google Earth has been available for mobile. It's actually easier to use on the iPhone than it is on the desktop because of multitouch. This is all great, but Google Earth is more of a toy than a useful application. I mean what do you really need it for other than exploration? The desktop version has several layers of information about the places that your flying over, but the iPhone application is more limited than that. For instance, the crisis in Darfur is very explicitly mapped in desktop version, but not so much on the iPhone application. Hopefully that information will come with software updates.
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Could Twitter be used for terrorism? The United States Government is looking into it. A report from the US intelligence community says that Twitter could be used to coordinate attacks. The report has an entire chapter called "Potential for Terrorists Use of Twitter." It describes how Twitter works and points out that it has been used by socialists, human rights groups, and anarchists among others. It says, quote, "Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideology and perspectives. Extremists and terrorists use of Twitter could evolve over time to reflect tactics that are already evolving and used by hactivists and activists for surveillance. This could theoretically be combined with targeting. I'd never heard the term "hactivist" before. Apparently it's a politically motivated hacker. This all seems way to serious for a micro-blogging tool that's usually used to just publicize what you had for lunch. But it's possible. Now you'll have to watch who's following you just a little more closely.
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The HTC Touch Pro goes on sale this week through Sprint. This is the keyboard version of the Diamond. It launched yesterday with select retailers and will be available in Sprint stores on November 2nd for $299.00 with a two-year contract and a mail-in rebate. The touchscreen phone market -- it's getting crowded.
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The official release of Guitar Hero World Tour was on Sunday. The fourth installment of the popular series now incorporates percussion and vocals into the ensemble. We dropped by Gamestop's flagship store just before the midnight launch madness to talk with Gossip Girl's Blake Lively about her obsession with the game. Take a look.
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>> I hear that you're somewhat of a Guitar Hero aficionado.
>> Somewhat.
>> Is that true?
>> Somewhat.
>> Somewhat?
>> I'm incredible.
>> Really?
>> Yeah.
>> Are you gonna demo your skills for us here tonight?
>> I don't know, maybe. My four-year old nephew is an amazing expert. He gets, like, 100 percent.
>> Was he the one that introduced you to the game? Or...
>> No, I introduced him. I definitely introduced him. We were having a family game night one night, and our family friends brought it over. And everyone from the parents that are, you know, in their '60s to the three-year olds became obsessed with it.
>> And I hear that you also play in competitions in Brooklyn on occasion.
>> I do. I do. So we went to Ricky's and got a bunch of fake tattoos so that we looked like rock starts. Everybody there looked normal. So we stuck out like a sore thumb. But it was really fun.
>> What's your favorite song?
>> I still love "Bark at the Moon" from the first one because it's so much fun. It's so hard.
>> Do you, like, rock it and get all into it.
>> No, yeah. You can't just stand there and play. Style points completely matter. Flip the guitar around. Slide down on your knees. I mean if you miss a note, and you have a really great move, it's better in my book than standing there and just playing.
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You can now download Disney and Indie movies directly to your TiVo. This capability was announced earlier this year, but it has finally started to work. From your TiVo series two or three, you can download movies from Disney via Cinema Now or Indie movies from Jammin.com. These are movies for rent, and they start at $1.99 per Indie film and $2.99 per Disney film. Keep in mind these mind these are standard definition movies, not high definition.
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Get ready for more Kindle spotting. I've personally only ever seen one in the lab besides my own, but we may start seeing more now that Oprah Winfrey has endorsed it. The queen of daytime TV did a show on Friday about how much she loves Amazon's digital book reader, and even offered her own discount code. Whether or not you watch Oprah, you can use her name as a coupon code, all one word, and get 50 dollars off. I wish I could do that, but unfortunately, there is no Loaded coupon code. My little show doesn't have Oprah power like that, but I'm hoping on day.
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Sprint was the last carrier to prorate their early termination fees, but at last they're giving in. CEO Dan Hesse told the Associated Press that the company would start to prorate the fees that it charges users to get out of their two-year contracts. T-Mobile started doing this in June, and AT&T and Verizon followed suit shortly after. Sprint was holding out, but apparently will start doing this as early as December. Keep in mind this isn't really a charitable move. The Federal Communications Commission is considering making prorated early termination fees a mandatory policy. But for now, it's voluntary. Either way, thank goodness.
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Those are all your headlines for today, but I will be back tomorrow with more. Thank you for watching. I'm Natali Del Conte with CNET TV, and you've just been Loaded.
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