Loaded: March Madness

^B00:00:00 >> Microsoft unleashes Internet Explorer 8. The iPhone gets tethering capabilities, sort of. And how to watch March Madness anywhere and everywhere you go this month. It's Thursday, March 19th. I'm Natali Del Conte, and it's time to get Loaded. ^M00:00:14 [ Music ] ^M00:00:21 Microsoft is unleashing Internet Explorer 8 today. This is the most open source version of IE that Microsoft has ever dated to release. ^M00:00:29 [ Music ] ^M00:00:33 It also has added security improvements, a private browsing option, and the ability to save predefined slices of a web page for at-a-glance viewing. This has been a big week for browser news with the Chrome beta, the push of Firefox 3.1, and now IE 8, which still holds about 70 percent market share. If you want to take the new version for a spin, it will be available for download at 9:00 AM Pacific today at Microsoft.com. [ Sound effect ] It's here, data tethering for the iPhone, almost. You have to wait for the iPhone 3.0 to be released this summer, but early beta testers and developers are reporting that the new OS does support data tethering for now, sort of. A developer, Steve Troughton-Smith, managed to change a few settings in the new OS to enable data tethering. Most of the issues seem to be with the carriers allowing network access rather than Apple. Spotty 3G coverage is still an issue. [ Sound effect ] Google added a preview setting to Gmail that lets you view photo albums, YouTube videos, and Yelp reviews in an email. So if someone emails you with a link to either an album or a video, Google will show you the photo or videos right in the email. This works with Picasa, Flicker, Yelp, and YouTube, so why bother with extra browser tabs, right? This is a labs feature, and to enable it, go to your settings. [ Sound effect ] The Sony Reader is about to get a whole lot of books. That's because Sony and Google have reached a deal to bring all the books that are scanned through the Google Book Project to the reader. That is a lot of books, libraries and libraries full of books. Google has been scanning books for years and has accumulated over 600,000 titles from pubic, private, and university libraries around the world. This is a big win for the Sony reader. All they have to do is get some kind of wireless download service, get rid of that glare, and they might just win the next prizefight over the Kindle. If you don't know what I'm talking about, be sure to watch this week's Prizefight with Brian Tong to see the two readers go head-to-head. [ Sound effect ] BlackBerry users can now enjoy the music of Pandora, just like so many iPhone users do. If you have a Bold, Curve, or Pearl, you can now get free Internet radio based on your own stations that you create from artist, song, or composer name. You don't have to be on a Wi-Fi network to get it working, but you do have to not be a T-Mobile customer because unfortunately T-Mobile does not support the application, probably because their 3G network is so far behind the other carriers. To learn more about this, go to pandora.com/blackberry. [ Sound effect ] Psystar just keeps moving forward with its Mac cloning. It seems they don't give a hoot about the legal battle they have to fight. They went ahead and released the Open 3 computer, which is $599.00 computer that runs Apple's Leopard operating system. The price does not include a keyboard, mouse, or monitor. It does include an Intel Core 2 duo, two gigs of RAM, a 500 gig hard drive, and a DVD burner. Expect a lawsuit from Apple pronto. [ Sound effect ] Here's another thing Apple is getting litigious over, the podium iPhone stand. The company is apparently not happy that the name contains the word "pod." The letter says, "The term "pod" has also been adopted and used extensively in the marketplace by consumers as an abbreviation to refer to Apple's iPod player. The iPod and pod marks indicated to consumers that a broad range of products, including portable, electronic devices, computer software, and related goods and services bearing those marks and marks similar thereto, originate from or are sponsored or endorsed by Apple." So any word with P-O-D in the root are off limits? Pedantic, podiatrist? That's just silly and almost unbelievable. I think they should go back to focusing on Psystar. [ Sound effect ] You can now add Windows Live chat ability to any website. Microsoft released this tool on Wednesday. According to Tech Crunch, this will give 320 million active users the ability to chat on any website that enables it. Of course, you'll have to have an existing Windows Live account to sign in, but it's still a cool feature. As if you don't have enough ways to tether yourself to your IM clients. [ Sound effect ] March Madness kicks off this week, and there are plenty of ways to watch. Of course, this is a big deal for CBS, which is our parent company, so there's my full disclosure notice. Brian Cooley has a few ways to watch all your hoop dreams. Take a look. [ Sound effect ] ^M00:04:34 [ Music ] ^M00:04:36 >> I'm Brian Cooley from CNET.com, and I've got some great techniques for catching every minute of March Madness wherever and whenever you want. You can catch all 63 games live and get On Demand highlights, stats, and box scores. And of course, it's not just an iPhone world. Many cell phones will become March madness mini-TVs this season. ^M00:04:58 [ Music ] ^M00:05:01 Media flow technology is real digital video beamed right to your phone for rock solid reception and amazing clarity. Check with your carrier. See if it's available in your area on your phone. If you have a compatible handset and Media flow coverage in your area, you'll get all the games if you're on AT&T wireless and East and West games on Verizon wireless. At NCAA.com/mmod you'll find all 63 games and in high quality silverlight streaming, which includes integrated team coverage and boards. And check this out. There's a boss button that pulls up a bogus spreadsheet, just in case. Oh, hi. To make it easy, we've built you a tool kit right here on CNET.com with all the tips and tricks I've just shown you. [ Sound effect ] >> Those are all your headlines for today, and that wraps your week of getting Loaded. Before I go, I want to wish a happy birthday to Chris, Clint, and a happy 30th birthday to a viewer who calls himself Tom the bomb. I'll see you next Monday here on Loaded, or today and tomorrow on Buzz Out Loud. Thank you for watching. I'm Natali Del Conte with CNET TV, and you've just been Loaded. ^M00:06:03 [ Music ]