Hi, I�m Molly Wood and welcome to the Buzz Report � the show about the tech news
that everyone is talking about.
This week, the smallest phone you�ll never use, the
PlayStation Network�s rocky re-launch, and everybody hates AT&T.
Again.
No, this is not
a re-run.
First up, it�s the Gadget of the Week.
The gadget of the week is the new HP Veer.
I�ll tell you one thing about this phone � it
is SMALL.
And at a time when all other phones are getting bigger, and bigger, and
bigger � maybe that�s a good thing!
Unless you can�t really use it.
[BONNIE B-ROLL]
But I mean, come on.
There�s got to be a market for a phone that�s as small as four
quarters laid out in a square.
In fact, I know there is � women with long fingernails who
can�t use touchscreen phones and want to stash their phones in their pockets, not a
purse, when they ride their bikes.
Basically, our producer, Sarah.
I guess you can kind of
see why HP lowered its earnings guidance earlier this week.
Keep trying, guys!
And now for the news.
Sony re-launched the PlayStation Network this week, to the delight of gamers who,
despite having their identities ripped off, simply cannot wait to get back online and play
Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Sony offered customers a month of free PSN service in apology
for the almost month-long outage.
Interestingly, Japan won�t allow PSN to come back online there, because it says Sony
hasn�t met its stringent security requirements.
But, uh, it�s good enough for America?
Really?
Thanks, Sony.
And sure enough, by the middle of the week, there were reports of yet ANOTHER
security vulnerability that knocked the PSN password reset system offline.
Sony says
there was no hack, just an exploit that was immediately patched, but � let�s just say
benefit of the doubt supplies are low around here right now.
AT&T customer satisfaction is on the decline, according to the American Customer
Satisfaction Index.
Because some jokes just write themselves.
The annual
survey found that AT&T�s customer satisfaction went down 4 percent over the
last year, to 66 out of a hundred.
Interestingly, T-Mobile�s score ALSO went down
4 percent, to 70 out of a hundred.
Analysts say it�s normal for consumer
satisfaction scores to go down AFTER a big merger, but not so much before.
So,
kind of fun to imagine what might happen to consumer satisfaction if that merger
goes through, eh?
Considering people want that merger to happen just about as
much as they�d like a rabid badger for a pet.
By the way, AT&T�s response to this was to say, in essence, people may hate us,
but they�re not leaving!
Our �churn� is still super low!
Oh, so, wait.
Once you�ve
locked them in to contracts it will cost them hundreds of dollars to break, you can
fool yourself into thinking they�re actually not that mad at you?
Good luck with
that, guys.
In other news, I�d like to thank Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss for providing me with a
steady stream of News I Can�t Fucking Believe.
The Whinervoss boys, as you recall,
were denied their grudge match against Facebook for the THIRD TIME last month, with
a judge saying they�d have to live with their 65 million dollar settlement from Facebook
and that the litigation just needs to stop.
They claim, of course, that CEO Mark
Zuckerberg stole their idea in creating Facebook.
But despite three federal appeals
courts telling them they have no case, the mockery of millions, and the fact that their
settlement is now worth about 100 million dollars, the Whinervosses plan to take this
case all the way to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Yeah.
I mean, why not.
The Supreme Court
has nothing better to do than indulge a couple of rich white boys who had that one good
idea that one time and apparently haven�t ever had a good one since.
Ok, how about some news that doesn�t make me mad.
It�s time to see what�s Clogging
the Tubes.
From the Make blog, this � is the most fun you will have watching balls
swing back and forth.
Don�t you feel calmer?
That is totally zen.
And amazing.
See you at Maker Faire!
And that�s the Buzz Report for this week, everyone.
I�m Molly Wood, and thank you for
watching.
