Hi, I'm Molly Wood, and welcome to the Buzz Report � the show about the tech news that
everybody�s talking about. This week, it�s the Green Dam delay, a universal charger, and
burning, burning iPhones. But first, it�s the gadget of the week.
The Gadget of the Week is the Sony Walkman, which is 30 years old this week. Can
you believe that? The seminal portable music player, the gadget that launched a
personal music revolution, the ICON of on-the-go listening � is 30 years old. Huh. I
wonder if it now thinks the music is too loud.
And now for the news.
In other news this week � and this is a surprise. China pushed back its deadline for
PC makers to preinstall the mandatory filtering software called Green Dam. All
manufacturers were supposed to preinstall Green Dam on PCs sold in China by July
1. But there were some serious problems with the software itself � for example, it
apparently blocked images of, say, Garfield, cooked pork, and Johnny Depp�s face.
Although, let�s face it. That�s porn. But there was also, of course, international
pressure, Internet outcry, and an unprecedented joint letter from tech businesses
around the world. End result: China decided at the last second to �delay� the July 1
requirement. PHEW. The news came too late for Sony, though, which started selling
computers with the software installed a few days before the deadline and hasn�t
really said whether it plans to stop. Nice. Hey, China! You�re gettin� a Dell.
In other news, Europe will get a universal mobile phone charger by 2010. Lucky
buggers. Ten of the world�s biggest mobile phone makers have signed on to deliver
the new handsets next year, and of course, the EU is hoping the initiative will spread
`worldwide after that. The phone makers on board include Nokia, Research in
Motion, Motorola, Sony Ericsson � oh, and you know who else? APPLE. Yeah!
Remember back in February when the GSMA announced the universal charger spec,
and Apple refused to sign on? I really think it was the Buzz Report�s logical, cogent,
and well-reasoned commentary that convinced them to change their mind.
Yep. You�re welcome.
In other Apple-related news, reports are coming in that the new 3GS iPhone might
have a little bit of an overheating problem. One user posted a photo of a white
iPhone 3GS that had turned pink around the back, reportedly from high heat. A PC
World blogger said her handset got so hot from constant use that she couldn�t even
put it up to her face. This week, Apple issued a support document that warned
against leaving the iPhone in a hot car, using it constantly in direct sunlight, or
exposing it to extreme temperatures. The document revealed that the iPhone
apparently has a temperature warning if the device is overheating. And lest you
think I�m going to be totally snotty about this, let�s all please try to remember that
the iPhone�s 600 megaherz processor used to live in something like this:
And now lives in a gadget only slightly larger than my hand. Computers get hot. It�s
a thing.
Seriously, though, it turns pink? You think that�s true? That�s hilarious. That�s why
you don�t make a white phone. It blushes. Awww.
In ridiculous Twitter news of the week, co-founder Biz Stone responded to Internet
speculation with news that the company is applying for a trademark on the word
�tweet.� A �tweet,� as you know, is what you call the actual message that someone
Twitters. That is, if you can bring yourself to say it with a straight face. But
apparently, so many Twitter-related businesses are being built with �tweet� in their
names that Twitter is concerned there might be confusion over whose tweet belongs
to whom. Wow. First case on the docket: 50 million canaries. Next stop: Tweety
Bird. When will it END!?
And finally, let�s have a look at what�s Clogging the Tubes. Obviously, this week, it
was only one thing: Michael Jackson. News of the King of Pop�s death absolutely
destroyed the Internet. It broke Google, which thought a spike in news searches was
actually a virus. It broke the L.A. Times, it broke TMZ, it broke CBS News, it broke
Twitter, it broke Wikipedia, it broke AOL, and of course, it broke my heart.
The online frenzy also caused Internet douchebags everywhere to start making up
fake stories of other celebrities who had died this week in terrible ways, making the
Internet, as usual, the best and worst possible source of information to ever exist in
the whole of human history. Oh, and sorry, Iran. Guess we�re kind of over you, now.
Good luck with that whole democracy thing.
And that�s the Buzz Report for this week, everyone. I�m Molly Wood! Thanks for watching.
