[ Music ]
>> Today is Wednesday, April 15, 2009. I'm Natali Del Conte.
>> I'm Will Goodman.
>> And I'm Jason Howell.
>> Welcome to Buzz Out Loud, CNET's podcast of indeterminate length. This is podcast episode 953, Tom is away and this is our first episode from the New York City Studio where we have new tricasters and a brand new guest. Welcome to Will Goodman. He is my producer at the CBS Early Show and he covers technology and tech related stuff so thank you for coming on the show today.
>> Will: No problem at all I'm happy to be here. Awesome.
>> Natali: And Jason how are you enjoying New York so far?
>> Jason: Well I'm loving New York. I haven't actually seen much of New York proper so I guess I should say I'm loving New York's CNET studio. I've seen a lot of this building and seen a lot of recycled air since I've been here, but.
>> Natali: Of this room in particular.
>> Jason: Yeah, exactly but I'm having a good time. We're getting this New York Studio all set up with the video and the tricasters so even more of our podcast will have kind of a video component and I'm pretty excited about it. Everybody seems pretty apt about it here to.
>> Natali: I've got to say the 404 guys have really cleaned up their act since you've been here. They've seem to have such reverence for you in a way that's so cute. They're kind of following you around like little ducklings. What's going on now? What are we going to do next? So they're really excited about this tricaster but also they just think you're a cool dude.
>> Jason: Aw shucks well I'm having a good time. They're bringing me on the 404 all week and hey it's a fun show to be a part of so.
>> Natali: All right. Let's get into the line up and we would like to talk about the fact that the EU is now showing the entire nation of Britain over Internet privacy, specifically over the use of Form [assumed spelling] which is a software that watches how users surf the web. Now the EU does not allow this kind of tracking of its users, but the UK has had this in place for a while. In fact, Amazon had it up and running for a while, and Amazon just blocked it today. So now the EU and the UK are going to battle it out over whether or not it is lawful to use this kind of spyware I guess we could call it right? Do you want to call it spyware?
>> Some sort of detection.
>> Natali: It's not really spyware right because it's not with mal intent unless you want to say that advertising to people based on their usage is mal intent; but it's more or less a program that watches what you're doing and that's not allowed in the UK.
>> It's on your computer. It's like you're out there doing your thing and somewhere in the background there's someone possibly watching, or there's at least something going on that you're not really kind of keen on or that you're aware of. It's different levels of privacy choices for each individual but I don't know. I think there are certain limits that shouldn't be crossed.
>> Natali: Exactly. ZDNet UK reached out to Form and they said there is a process in place that allows publishers to contact Form out of the system, but we don't comment on individual cases so they know something bad's going down. We don't know what's going to come of this. So it's interesting to see that the EU which is usually pretty aggressive about protecting user's rights is not okay with this.
>> At least like having some sort of like opt-in or at least of being aware and having the opt-out. That's not so bad.
>> Natali: The problem is how many users are really going to do that or know how to do that.
>> Right.
>> Aware that they actually have to do that.
>> Natali: Exactly. Well here's another thing that you have to do if you're using an iPhone is sign up with AT&T because it looks like AT&T is now extending the contract to be the exclusive retailers of the iPhone from 2010 to 2011. This was reported by the Wall Street Journal last night.
>> They keep doing this. They are pushing me down because I just want them to open it up so I don't have to switch to the AT&T service from Verizon. I don't have any grand illusion that the iPhone will ever come to the Verizon network although I would love if that happened because that work is awesome.
>> Natali: I dream about it in my dream.
>> But still it seems like every year they extend it then they can go back and they can make more of a case to continue doing it; it's kind of like at this point if you're going to continue extending it for up to five years, why not say this is permanently an AT&T phone although they'd never do that.
>> I mean I've definitely become addicted to my iPhone; there's no way that I could go without it so I wish they would open it to the networks. I think that that at least comparing the service would be amazing but if that happens I'm going to be a user until 2011 of AT&T.
>> Natali: I know; we're such suckers. I still have big hopes for the Palm Pre. I'm hoping that that's going to push me off from AT&T because I hate it so much. In the middle of Manhattan you can't get a call or 3G service or anything. So it's terrible but when I travel outside of New York it's fine or relatively fine.
>> So now when it comes to carriers in the U.S. that could support what the iPhone needs, is that just T-Mobile and is their service a lot better than AT&T.
>> Natali: Well, Verizon has a 3G network that is.
>> Verizon could actually do the iPhone? But that's CDMA right?
>> Natali: It is, yeah you're right about that and T-Mobile's 3G network is really not built out yet. It's in what like 20 cities or something like that? Yeah.
>> That's a big hang-up.
>> You can definitely try the Android [assumed spelling] and then get a sense of what you're going to be with the iPhone on T-Mobile.
>> Right.
>> Natali: Right. So but this has been such a big cash count for them. It says that Apple has sold more than 17 million phones and they get something like 3 hundred dollars per phone times 17 million. It really is just something that they do not want to let go.
>> They're not hurting. That's for sure.
>> Natali: They're not hurting; I mean it just stinks that in other countries, like in Italy for example, they have a choice of two carriers. There are several companies that have a choice of which carrier to get the iPhone on; but we don't. We're locked into AT&T so it sucks to be American.
>> Right. Well we'll see what happens. This isn't officially made, they're just looking to extend it so maybe there's a possibility that that doesn't happen, I don't know.
>> Natali: Probably not.
>> Probably not.
>> If the proper users get out there.
>> Natali: Yeah. Here's another thing that Time Warner does not want to happen is the net neutrality debate. For some reason Time Warner is telling the FCC that now is not the time to engage in a debate about the need for net neutrality obligation. So when would be a good time for that? They don't know really.
>> It will be never.
>> Probably in about 10 years.
>> Natali: Yeah exactly. Once our band wave caps have already been sort of in place and are something that people don't question and just sort of a standard, then we can talk about net neutrality.
>> That kills me; seriously.
>> Is Time Warner Cable the big daddy here in New York?
>> Yeah they are definitely like the big carrier here in New York.
>> Natali: Unless you go to FiOS [assumed spelling], and you know what I think about FiOS.
>> Right.
>> You're a fan huh?
>> Natali: No I'm not a fan of FiOS at all. Yes, Time Warner Cable is our major go to.
>> And then they have the caps installed here as well or is this more like rolling them out?
>> Natali: They're still rolling them out as far as I can tell. They started in Texas and they haven't quite gotten here but we've been talking about on the show how they're so expensive; and they're much more expensive than any other cable provider. Which means that it's not really surprising that they don't want to discuss net neutrality at all. But what they said to the SEC on Monday, they say the discussion should stay strictly focused on broadband deployment; so get the broadband out there and don't worry about how much we're charging you or how little we're allowing you to take. Let's just not talk about it.
>> You're used to it already let's just keep going with it right?
>> Natali: Yes, yeah. So that's that. We will see what the SEC says about that. I mean hopefully they're realizing that they're motivated to look the other way on this discussion. We'll see.
>> Sounds like Google has some details out for a new version of the Android platform.
>> Natali: That's right.
>> I'm really excited just to see it.
>> Yeah there's some cool stuff. Version 1.5 says it's going to include support for soft keyboards. So what is that like an external keyboard that you can plug into the phone? That sort of thing or...
>> Natali: I think so, yeah. I think it's kind of like the Folioish [assumed spelling] kind of thing.
>> Okay which can be handy if you're doing a lot of stuff on the phone that might require that full size keyboard, but some people won't that. A live folder--I'm not really quite sure what that is but speech recognition of course--that would be very cool. And then widgets--widgets on the home screen. Is that just basically like buttons like on the iPhone the application buttons, is that what they're talking or they're talking like full on like weather widget popping up on the front page or whatever?
>> Natali: I don't know. I'm still kind of unclear on that. I had this debate with someone at a conference in the Silicon Valley recently and I'm like what is a mobile widget? It's just an application that's the same thing.
>> I'm trying to figure out like how would it work. The iPhone--wonderful, love it to death, but you know you still have some lag time between switching between things. How would the widget--it seems like it would just drain any of the kind of power like being able to switch between things already being tricky enough.
>> Natali: Maybe it's like dashboard where you can just pull up multiple applications at one time in the same time.
>> Once again I'd have to see it.
>> And then that's the argument for the iPhone not having the background applications as if they're running all the time as a widget. Then it's a drain on the battery life and everything like that' so maybe Android is trying to take the opposite end of that for people that really have to have that--that ability.
>> I do love the keyboard idea though I must say I'm waiting for it all.
>> You know I was wrong on the keyboard. The soft keyboard is actually--I think it's the onscreen touch software version of the keyboard to go along with it; but I guess I don't know much about the actual G1. I didn't realize that that didn't exist already, but.
>> Natali: No, you can't use the touch screen as a keyboard at all in the G1. It's their keyboard or no keyboard.
>> So that position of even more directly as an iPhone competitor you know.
>> Natali: Yeah. So it also will have a better camera and better GPS performance and support for video recording and stereo version of Bluetooth which is nice. You can stream your music although it doesn't have a lot of on-board storage. You have to get an expandable card slot for that if you really want to use it as a music phone; which I don't think anyone uses it as a music phone quite as much do they?
>> They have the great little set up with Amazon. I was actually--for the first version of G1 which I got to test a little while before it came out I was at least looking for them to do some major competition against the iPhone. They had some good bass to them and Google does a good job.
>> Yeah the problem always ends up with these phones that want to be music players. Do they actually have that headphone jack; and I think the G1 actually requires like an adapter and they didn't actually give you that small headphone adapter built in to it. So if that's the way they want to go they'll just have to build that in.
>> Natali: Yeah but the Gphone, the Gphone--the Google phone. I like it when people call it the Google phone. I'm like you don't know the lingo that's not what we call it. The G1 is not the only thing that we're expecting Android on there. There are rumors that Motorola's new cable box for Japan's KDDI may have Android instead of Linux.
>> Really?
>> Natali: Yeah that's kind of interesting to think of Android on a...
>> On a not mobile device. Well I wonder what the benefit of that is? I would think that building a Linux into this type of set top box might give you a little bit more flexibility in what you can build it for, but Android is an open platform. So maybe they have the idea that it will be easier for developers to tackle this inside this box. I have no idea.
>> Considering I am right now on a net book, there has been all that talk about the Android expansion onto the net book series. That will be interesting to see. All of a sudden have your phone and your computer system being on the same kind of like platform.
>> That's true.
>> Natali: Yeah when I was reading this earlier, I thought okay what if Android is the next Windows or the next most recognizable operating system; and does Google even really want that; do they want to go in the same way you go to an ATM and it uses Windows and you go into your car and you can use Windows on your in-dash navigation and on your computer, and so Android can in theory go everywhere, and it has the same reputation of Linux in being super open and light. So maybe the benefit of Motorola building an Android-based cable box is that Google is really nice to them and Google is very persuasive?
>> They seem to with chrome [assumed spelling] for instance which a certain person recently made sure to introduce me to on my work computer, but just the idea of like base--and then you go ahead and adopt it. You make it what you want. I do like that; that is a great idea to continue with.
>> Natali: But this doesn't look like something we'll see unless we live in Japan. This is the KDDI multi-faceted how are we saying this--Alba [assumed spelling]? A-u-ba? That top box? It's for IP TV; it also has a...It's called Ow.
>> Ow.
>> Outbox, all right.
>> That's how they generate excitement for the box.
>> Natali: here's another thing to get excited about. The next version of Exchange is coming up soon.
>> That's all you had to say is excited about the next version of Exchange. People were cheering right there.
>> Natali: Exchange 2010 is the next version of your company's e-mail and calendar server, and it's in public beta now and it will launch the second half of this year; hopefully not too far out because it's going to have something called a mute button which I am loving this because how many times do you get on a reply to all for an e-mail that has nothing to do with you and it just keeps coming and cluttering up your inbox. You just say I never want to see anything about this again.
>> Uh oh until everybody else assumes that you're still part of that thread and some really important nugget hits there and you don't see it.
>> Natali: They're like--I don't know about this. What do you think Natali? And I'm just gone.
>> I've got to say there's plenty of times where I get things that are relevant to me I want to hit the beep button on actually.
>> That's true too.
>> Natali: You should somehow be able to see who's muted off of that conversation.
>> Right because if you don't know and they miss something really important, that could be a big snafu as well. But Ina Fried in the news.com article posted a screen shot of the Outlook web access, and I've got to say it looks pretty good. It's about time because what they have right now is pretty dated. I would like an update. I don't use it that often but when I do it's slow, it's clunky, whatever so this is better.
>> Natali: It also looks like they're taking a page out of g-mail labs. They put something call mail tips which will give you a warning if you're about to commit an e-mail fopa [assumed spelling] such as, and I don't really get on the Exchange when I'm in the drunken stupor, but that's other net services.
>> Yeah that's where I need to be.
>> Natali: Exchange is one place I can understand people getting on Facebook when they're in the drunken stupor but.
>> Getting on Exchange, bopping on Exchange for a wild drunken conversation with somebody you work with.
>> Natali: Unless you're working on the 404, I don't know why you...
>> Oops, sorry.
>> Natali: What are you in to over there?
>> That was an auto popup. I pulled up a thing and it started playing something. I will turn down the computer volume.
>> Natali: So what mail tips is, is sort of like a little angel on the right side, devil on the left side; it's the angel that's saying, "You might not want to reply to all with that or do you realize you were applying to all or do you realize you're..."
>> Does it just realize when it's got like twenty different cc's or something like that?
>> Natali: I suppose so or when you're sending an attachment outside the company firewall. It's just going to say let's double check this action before we take it.
>> I wonder how many times I get the angel and devil if it's like normal circumstances, like "oh no. Sending off an e-mail they shouldn't be sending off right now."
>> Natali: Right so you'd be lucky to have this. I mean I'd be happier to have it than to not have it.
>> Now they just need exchange goggles.
>> Natali: Right which is essentially the same thing. It's just not...But I'm surprised they haven't taken more features out of g-mail apps such as the attachment one. There's one that says if it sees the word attachment in the e-mail that you send, but there's nothing attached. It will say, "Hey, don't forget the attachment."
>> That's really cool actually.
>> Natali: So that would be a nice little edition to the new version of Exchange.
>> Cool. How about the addition of a phone to the zoom again of this rumor; keeps re-surfacing it seems like.
>> Natali: If you're not going to make a Zune phone, you might as well make a phone running Zune OS.
>> At this point you've heard so much about it, it's hard to assume that it won't come out at some point in some inclination, but now I guess there's a report in Ad Week that is saying that Microsoft is busy auditioning three major outage indices for the launch of a new mobile service called Pink; which just happens to be the internal code name for Zune software on mobile phones.
>> Natali: I don't understand that. Why doesn't Zune just use Windows Mobile?
>> It's mind-blowing. The whole Zune...
>> Natali: And then they get a phone out.
>> I know.
>> Maybe that means it's not happening; I don't know because you would think that they would. They would want to that's the perfect way to put it in front of people.
>> Natali: Exactly. Why do they want multiple mobile operating systems?
>> Yeah. When it came to mobile, I wouldn't think that they would so I'm kind of shaky on whether this means anything.
>> Like competing with themselves.
>> Yeah exactly, like why would they do that? They're Microsoft, they're smarter than that.
>> They're usually splitting it up; it's not like you're taking new shares.
>> Natali: I mean I like the Zune but it doesn't have a recognizable operating system, and if you put Windows Mobile on the Zune that might be nice. It would make it more of a PDA type thing and then still let it do what it's good at doing--playing podcast and music and all of that stuff, radio; but why take this unrecognizable software and put it on mobile phones. No one's going to know what to do with it.
>> Right.
>> Natali: Just slap some Windows Mobile on it so that it becomes more of a iPhoneish type thing and then make it a phone already--they can just do it.
>> Exactly. Why haven't they just made that transition? Everyone else seems to be going in that direction with their technology; Apple did. Why not emulate it?
>> They're Microsoft; they don't want to emulate Apple. At least they don't want you to know that their emulating Apple so.
>> Natali: It's just all these kind of little dipping the toe into the idea of Zune being phonish. Either do it or don't but this half-way stuff it's so confusing; it's very perplexing.
>> Well and it is Microsoft too so we have been hearing about this for a long time but that makes since because Microsoft they take their time when it comes to rolling out new things like this so.
>> That is true.
>> It will probably be another three years.
>> Or the time that Time Warner starts talking about open neutrality or something like that?
>> Natali: Exactly. Well one thing we do know what they're doing is coming out with a new spring line of Zune.
>> Oh how refreshing.
>> Natali: Yeah so they didn't take their time on this one. This one is rather timely unless you live in New York because it doesn't feel like spring. But they have come out with a new collection of Zune originals and each of them are themes from artists who I am not familiar with. Do you know?
>> Apac Carolina Molese [assumed spelling] Lynn Olaf's daughter okay? So these designs are kind of art-like sketches that are more ornamental on the back side of the Zune but doesn't really change the real look. It almost looks like a sticker. You could place a sticker on there and it would look just as good.
>> Natali: You got it out of the gumball machine. Yeah it's got a tree and a tapestry and a bee because that's what you were needing.
>> I guess if you were a big fan of the artist that would probably be pretty sweet, but I don't know. I don't know if this is going to really move that many Zunes.
>> Hey they're trying something new instead of just doing colors. They're trying other designs.
>> Natali: Because obviously brown didn't go over so well.
>> Yeah exactly. Hopefully we'll never see that again.
>> Natali: And Dell is known for this a lot. Dell puts a lot of original artists work on their line of Inspirons and I'm not sure how much street credit that gives you on your gadget.
>> I like that. It's just that personal touch of what you can do to your laptop. It's pretty cool.
>> Natali: Yeah I'm not a very good connoisseur of art so I guess if I knew these artists...
>> Just light colors are good enough for you.
>> Natali: Yeah I only dress in neutrals.
>> Well at the Moma [assumed spelling] last week I must say.
>> Natali: Right. So I'm sure we have much more cultured listeners that I am and who really will want these Zune originals.
>> You know who's going to want these Zune originals.
>> Natali: Who.
>> New York City taxi drivers; but they won't be able to listen to them while they're driving or use their phone while they're driving because it looks like New York City taxis might not be able to use their phone at all. And what kind of chaos would ensue if that would happen?
>> Natali: Oh my gosh--anarchy.
>> Oh my God. Yeah. Who hasn't seen a New York taxi driver like on the phone almost all the time?
>> Natali: Who are they talking too all the time?
>> I don't know.
>> Natali: Each other?
>> I don't know. That's a good question.
>> Friends and family I'm sure.
>> Like you never understand what they're saying, who they're talking too.
>> Natali: In the middle of the night they're talking and I always answer them. I get in the car and I'm like 20th and Park please? That's not where I live by the way; that's where the CNET offices are, and they're like okay. And then they say something else and I'm like what was that? And they're on the phone talking to someone else.
>> It's that Blue Tooth. I have done the exact same thing. You think they would ask you some questions about how to get there and it's like no, no, no, no.
>> Right yeah exactly. Or they're trying to chat you up and you don't want to be insensitive and like totally ignore them; so you talk back and you realize you're the jerk. You're talking to them and you're interrupting their conversation right?
>> Natali: Exactly. So this particular law would ban anyone in the front seat from using a cell phone not just the driver; but how often do you ride in the front seat?
>> Well unless you've got four people that get into a taxi. One of them has got to get up front.
>> Natali: Right so the fourth one cannot use his cell--so I don't suspect this will go anywhere, because otherwise why would you drive a cab if you can't just talk in Swahili to each other.
>> Well it's already illegal in New York to use a handset. So the hands free device is all that you have legally. What I'm trying to figure out would this ban be only for taxi drivers? Alternatively, would it be for anyone driving around. If it's only for taxi drivers, why? Like why isn't it for everybody?
>> I think they've had in place actually--I believe they had a rule in place for a long while that like taxi drivers as a whole couldn't use their phones anyways. It seems there's just a way to implement that rule.
>> I see yes and you're right there because the TLC which actually stands for Taxi and Limousine Commission of New York City are the ones that are considering these changes for their staff.
>> It's kind of like everyone lets it slide usually but at the same time it's been in place forever.
>> Oh they're going to be so bored.
>> I know I feel bad for [inaudible].
>> Natali: Well we could track them if they have AT&T and if they allowed us to track them over AT&T's new family map.
>> And they're my family cab driver.
>> Natali: Right which may be the case. AT&T...
>> He's got [inaudible] status as a cab driver right or was at some point?
>> Natali: I thought he owned a garage.
>> Oh well he was sometimes. I was wrong.
>> Natali: Anyway, he may be able to ring in on this. This is the new AT&T Family map and it basically is like looped or world or Google's latitude. It lets you track other people who allow you to track them, like family members or friends or children or whatever. And you track them over a combination of GPS and cell tower triangulation on Microsoft Live now. What I find interesting about this, is not just that it's for an entire carrier, but also that it is not free. It's free for the first 30 days but then they charge you $9.95 a month for two phones, or up to $14.99 a month for up to five phones after that; so why would you do that when there are so many free options.
>> Well if you like to pay money for services that you can get free then obviously that's the clientele that they're catering to, I'm sure.
>> Yeah I mean and I think a lot of parents that just have these cell phone plans and know that new technology is rolling out. Hey that sounds really interesting. They might not know that a free alternative work is out there or it might just be a little bit less implemented as well as maybe this is if it's coming from the provider; so maybe that's it. They're just banking on the people that want to make it easy and they're like yeah I don't mind adding another $10 to my bill every month.
>> Now if they throw in something like bells and whistles like you know some way you could actually alert security and some people in terms of when you're seeing things happen, you get worried, that would be interesting. But yeah just as is I don't see a difference between it and what are our free services.
>> Natali: Yeah it's kind of perplexing but I think you're right. Parents who get crazy about where their kids are but you can turn it off.
>> Well and it's not very deceptive because it looks like a text message is actually sent out from the service to the person that is being "tracked" by the parent, so you are alerted and you do know at what point the parent is like looking to see where you're at and everything so. It's not the type of thing like the fear that people are going to use this to stalk their girlfriend or whatever. Make sure she's not a place where she shouldn't be. Well whatever--whatever the case may be. Both parties know up front.
>> That gives her a quick heads up and you are now staking...
>> She knows that you're creepy.
>> Natali: Right. Therefore, when she goes to see her other boyfriend, she will turn it off.
>> Or leave it in the car.
>> No incentive for the sucker clientele.
>> Natali: Exactly; exactly. Well if you are Steven Colbert.
>> I am?
>> Natali: Are you really?
>> Yeah.
>> Natali: That's awesome.
>> Oh my God I had no idea did you? You didn't see a picture of me before we started this interview but yeah I sound a little different in podcast form.
>> Natali: No wonder you're so witty and funny but I'm still happy to have you here.
>> Well thank you.
>> Natali: Well the space station will no longer be named after you Jason/Steven Colbert [assumed spelling]; now you get a treadmill. And it's sort of the compromise because Steven Colbert won the space station naming contest as a write-on, but NASA said not so much. They said you get a treadmill instead.
>> So instead of calling the space station the Colbert, they called it the tranquility. Quite the opposite from Steven Colbert I would have to say.
>> Yeah by far.
>> They might be passively, aggressively telling him something there.
>> Natali: What kind of democracy is this?
>> Well at least they didn't name a toilet after Steven Colbert. It's a treadmill I guess--it's healthy.
>> Natali: Well I guess that there are worse household appliances.
>> I'm trying to find a representation between treadmill and Colbert. He runs pretty hard I guess on the show but I can't find it.
>> Well actually they named it Colbert, the treadmill. It's actually officially named the Combined Operational Load bearing External Resistance Treadmill.
>> That's pretty cool actually.
>> So it makes since.
>> Natali: Wow, someone had to really work hard at the acronyms.
>> Yeah exactly. They had someone to spend at least a week on that.
>> Natali: That is pretty good.
>> They're doing important stuff at NASA.
>> The right acronyms fit the right person.
>> That's right.
>> Natali: The way to use my tax dollars. Well let's move on to the voice mails. We have George in New York City who wants to talk about walking in New York City with headphones.
>> Hey there Buzz crew. This is George in New York City who has nothing better to do at 5:30 in the morning than to call you guys regarding episode 952 outlawing walking with headphones on. I wish Natali had been there because she could tell you that in New York City almost everybody is listening to something while moving about the streets. Outlawing that we call it anarchy here. There are people that would have nothing else to do except to talk to one another and they would be deprived of their Buzz Out Loud if they're going to commute and just saying love the show.
>> Natali: That's right. You never see anyone walking without headphones do you Will?
>> I'm sorry I didn't hear what you said there I had my headphones on.
>> Hey. What you walking in the streets?
>> Yeah of course.
>> Natali: I fell for that. I was like pay attention.
>> I thought I heard something.
>> I always have my headphones on and quite frankly especially on some of the more crowded subways, I love it. You just want to tune out.
>> Yeah. Television.
>> Pretend you're not [inaudible] in a subway.
>> Yeah exactly. Space out for a little bit. Hey can you imagine like this isn't like a plan that might happen to be rolled out in New York. At least that isn't the plan yet, but could you imagine if headphones were outlawed and then cabbies couldn't talk on their cell phones? There would be so much communication going on.
>> Oh my God.
>> Natali: Nasty communication though.
>> People would no so much about you.
>> Yeah I was thinking about certain four letters words of communication that just happen all the time in that place. Yeah I'd rather have this down to silence.
>> Natali: Yeah, exactly. Well when I first moved to New York my first couple of weeks here, I noticed that road rage on foot is innate. As soon as you step into Manhattan, you're like get away from me. When other people get in your sort of pathway or when other people are loitering or you see tourists that are kind of just like moving down the street, I'm like, "Will you move." It's so innate that you just become nasty for no reason.
>> You've got to be strategic in Times Square. Oh my God you're like plotting your path and as you see people coming it's like frogger. Back and forth. I was skating by the alligator. That always happens.
>> Natali: If I don't have the headphones on and I'm just dealing with just that and I'm completely focused on my pedestrian road rage, then I'm probably going to be a lot nastier of a person.
>> Keep the innue [assumed spelling] going guys without the headphones.
>> Natali: We need that.
>> Nice and tranquil.
>> Natali: All right. J.V. from Alabama--I think that's what he said.
>> Yeah. J.V. or J.B. or G.B. or something like that.
>> Natali: Or G.B. or something close to that has an idea for a terrorist plot.
>> I'm J.V. from Alabama. I had a few ideas as far as the cable cutting goes. First of all, what if you pressurize the pipes with tear gas or with some other malicious gas that might deter people from cutting the pipes that have the cable in them. The other thing is what about the union? There might be some upset union people at cutting the cable. Just a thought. Love the show. Thirty second delay.
>> Natali: And we appreciate that.
>> That's pretty malicious there--I don't think that's happening. Pressurizing the cables with obnoxious gas--I don't know about that.
>> Natali: Yeah but thank you for putting that idea in our mind.
>> Hopefully no one heard that. Everybody tuned out to the podcast. We did choose to play that though.
>> Natali: Hopefully, we're not responsible for that. Moving on to the e-mails we have Michael, the law student, who also wants to talk about cutting cables. He says hey Buzz crew. Much more detail about the fiber optic cable cut in Chapel Hill was published by the Rally, News and Observer after your show had already aired. The mystery is solved. Construction workers cut the cable on Chapel Hill Road in Raleigh, North Carolina. The road goes to Chapel Hill but is not actually in Chapel Hill, it's about 25 miles away. Nothing sinister here--it's just a little accident. Underground cables get cut all the time; fortunately most times they get cut they're not major trunk lines or anything like that. While I don't have a landline anymore, my landline with Bell South, now AT&T would go out a few times a year due to an underground cable cut. I suppose that we were lucky here in the triangle, that it was only the courts that went down when a major line was cut. Also while AT&T was struck with this one the NC Administrative Office of the Courts has already planned to switch their service to another provider so they hopefully will not go down again. Love the show.
>> That's one way to protect it.
>> I hope our last caller was listening to that. It makes a little more sense right?
>> Yeah. A little bit less of that conspiracy theory although they are fun to come up with.
>> I mean I love to come up with them. Crazy hypothetic. Why don't I have internet service? I think it's a diabolical plot which I suddenly don't have internet service by the way.
>> Natali: Well you're in the boughs of CBS news and the Wi-Fi is not so great there.
>> Right. We used to a multifactory actually once upon a time here.
>> Natali: Well can you still see the next e-mail or...
>> I'm on a net book and it's like gone. Everything's shutting down right now.
>> Okay. I'll read the next e-mail. Brian, the AT&T employee, writes in and says Tom in response to the e-mail you got about the telephone cut in San Jose and the cables being under pressure, yes it is true that our copper cables are under pressure and really the pressure is between six to twelve pounds. Our fiber cables are not under air pressure. We typically know when a fiber cable is cut within 15 minutes. Our response varies depending on how fast we can get a hold of the technician to go out and fix it. If it is during the night, it can take up to hours to go down the callout list to get someone out there. And we're Union so there are rules for callouts. Brian the AT&T employee. Yes tell Natali she's awesome.
>> Natali: Aw--thank you.
>> I agree actually. Everyday I work with her I'm like, oh my God. She's the coolest.
>> Natali: Aw you guys stop it. So it's not cable termites what you guys were talking about yesterday.
>> No that's too--but you know what? Cable termites, not too far away. I think eventually nature will suddenly devise a cable eating insect.
>> The next evolution of bed bugs basically?
>> Yeah, yeah, exactly. As we get more technological, the species in the world will grow to adapt that as well.
>> I wouldn't be too surprised actually.
>> And finally Jeremy Dennis writes in and says those--half of you guys talked about Med V yesterday--about the Windows virtualization for older operating systems--programs for older OS's to work with new ones. I happened to spend most of the day at work getting it up and running and it is pretty cool. At the school district I work at we still have a lot of Windows 2000 out there. We expect to have it all converted to Vista within the next few years, but the elementary school's still use ten plus year old programs from the Windows 3.1 days. We try to get them to find newer software but it's a losing battle for us. It looks like Med V was made for our situation. So far I've only tested it with IE from Windows Tokay [assumed spelling], but it works surprisingly well.
>> Natali: Med V--Med FEO. You know what that means?
>> No.
>> You were made for each other.
>> Aw--heart. And I also put a screenshot in the show notes which I'll post in the show notes as well, kind of showing it as it's working on the desktop environment, so pretty cool stuff.
>> That is really cool.
>> This could solve some problems.
>> And we like to solve problems here.
>> We try.
>> Natali: Well we solved problems by having you on the show today so thank you so much for coming in.
>> No, no, no, anytime. Anytime I wish I had had a little bit more of the tech element in place which this laptop here--I was looking at doing a net book, I'm now not looking at a net book. Oh my.
>> Well we really appreciate your help and especially in last minute situations.
>> No I had a lot of fun and I'm exciting about some of the technology I'm about to test out at 3:00 actually.
>> Natali: Oh yeah--tell us about that.
>> Oh man, okay Honda. We're going to have some exclusive access to two technologies; one's called the Stride Management Assist; and the other is the Body Weight Support Assist. Frankly, I've been fascinated with what I've been reading about this and a few other technologies that basically enhance your mobility, your strength and just your ability to get by. What's so cool about this is so Body Weight Support Assist, it's kind of almost like a harness device. It's aimed at elderly people or people that have some issues or problems. My grandmother comes to mind. Whenever I go down to Texas, I have to escort her. I love her to death but I hold her arm and I walk with her in steps to her problem. Then suddenly my grandmother's like dancing--she's moving, she's grooving. Like it's so cool. Literally, it takes on some of the body weight. And so that you're not lifting the full of your weight.
>> Natali: It's kind of like robotic legs but not really. You put them on your real person legs and then it helps you to walk around.
>> Yeah I've seen some stuff about that. It kind of detects the motion that your leg is moving and applies a little bit of extra power and takes that off of you entirely.
>> Natali: Right. We have it on cnetnews.com and the article is called "Honda Walking Assist Gear Steps onto US Soil, so we didn't know that we were going to see it in New York, but Will has been talking to the manufacturers for a long time because he's been so excited about it so we're going to show it on the Early Show tomorrow.
>> And I use all the best stalking programs to make sure I can follow them. I paid $9.95 for that one.
>> Natali: Now you can use the family map for whatever.
>> That's right. Well awesome. We'll look for that I guess tomorrow morning on the Early Show is that right?
>> Oh by far, yeah. Tune in guys.
>> Awesome. Check it out on CBS and for all the links to our show, Buzz Out Loud, the phone number, the e-mail, all that fantastic information is located at our website bol.cnet.com. We'll see you then.
>> Natali: Thanks for tuning in. We'll talk to you tomorrow.
>> See you guys.
>> Natali: Bye.
