Has Twitter jumped the shark already? It was featured on the cover of Time magazine last week, and now Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz has dedicated a large chunk of his column to the service. Still no mention of how Twitter might make a profit.
Notable Quote
“The world needs another OS like it needs a […]

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Apple has rejected a number of apps from its iPhone App Store since it was introduced last year, but some for more spurious reasons than others. The latest example is Eucalyptus, an e-book reader that gives access to content from Project Gutenberg, an online repository of copyright free works from authors like Mark Twain and […]

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If the New York Times were still behind a paywall, would readers get a refund for Maureen Dowd’s plagiarized paragraph? The Financial Times takes a swing at the problem de jour for the world’s faltering newspapers: how to get paid.
Notable Readings
Tech companies in the crosshairs for Obama’s antitrust team (Wall Street Journal)
Scribd to sell documents […]

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I have a Blu-ray player on my Christmas list that I hope to get. Santa Claus hasn’t failed me yet. I also have a subscription to Netflix and planned on upgrading it to the Blu-ray package for an additional $1/month should I stay off Santa’s “naughty list” this year.

This would give me access to Netflix’s massive Blu-ray library. Apparently, I shouldn’t get too excited though. According to this CNET article, Blu-ray movies discs aren’t being delivered as quickly as regular DVDs.

Continue reading Christmas Blu-ray player + Netflix = A Very Blue Christmas…

Tags: blu-ray, blu-ray player, christmas, CNET, movies, netflix, santa claus

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I love CNET, it’s one of my favorite technology, electronics, and gadgets sites. But I’m just not feeling the love. You see, I wrote a quick review of the just launched GizmoCall Flash-based VoIP service this morning. A few hours later, see in my RSS alerts another article on GizmoCall. Naturally, I want to see other people’s opinions on it, so I click through and see that it’s a CNET article. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10124311-94.html)

The CNET article had very similar sentiments to my own and performed the same test I did by dialing a free 800 number. I thought to myself what a waste of a click, it’s basically the same thoughts I had and did the same test I did. How boring. I was about to close the window when I noticed my username (tkeatingtmc) on the CNET screenshot within the CNET article! WT-??

That’s just fantastic, CNET! There goes my privacy. You just gave away my GizmoCall username. And what, no link love? You ‘borrow’ my image with my username in it and you don’t link to the source? Bad form, CNET. Bad form!

Also, you would have had to have read the article in order to see the image. So why not say “Tom Keating also checked out GizmoCall. Here are his thoughts.”

Here’s a snapshot in case it is deleted:

Tags: CNET, flash, GizmoCall, image theft, voip

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God, it is starting to get really really depressing! After the big cuts at Yahoo yesterday, today the Silicon Valley was rocked by job cuts at CBS Interactive and its C/Net division. CBS had acquired CNet in May 2008 for close to $1.8 billion.
My sources estimate that the total job cuts were around 20 percent […]

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Roku representatives have responded to rumors on its online forum board regarding when it will launch streaming HD services and announced, earlier than they’d like, that it will team up with Netflix to bring HD content to its subscribers.

Compared to the recently announced Xbox and Netflix tie-up that will also see streaming HD content to the Xbox, Roku will use different Advanced Profile encoding to deliver the HD content at significantly lower bit-rates. 

In related news, CNet reports that Netflix has decided to stop selling used DVDs to its customer base, instead deciding to focus its attention on its rental by mail and Watch Instantly services.

“As you know, our core business is delivering great movie rentals to you on DVD by mail and instantly to the computer and TV, so we’ve decided it makes sense for us to focus exclusively on that,” the company stated in a Netflix blog post.

More on the streaming from Electronista (and thanks for the photo).

Tags: CNet, netflix, roku, streaming HD, xbox

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The 2008 election and online video have had a lot of special moments together: The CNN-YouTube primary debates. Obama Girl. Will.i.am’s “Yes We Can.” Saturday Night Live’s “Fey-lin” skits. And even though those examples might lean to the left, online video isn’t just a liberal thing. Both the Obama and McCain campaigns have active YouTube […]

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Getting your great candid pictures off your camera phone is no easy matter — it should be so simple!

CNET gives us a couple of ways to do it. One of them has got to work!

The least labor-intensive way to rescue your pictures from being trapped on your phone is to send them to an e-mail address in a multimedia message. But as you know, this costs money, so you’ll be pleased to hear there are alternatives.

If your phone accepts a memory card, you can save your pictures to the card, then use the card to transfer the images. Most cell phones use smaller memory cards in a Micro SD or Mini SD card format, so if you don’t have an adapter, the cards won’t fit in most readers.

If you don’t have a memory card slot, you can use Bluetooth or an infrared port to send shots to another capable device. But be wary, because some carriers block some Bluetooth transfers on its phones.

Still another method is to use a USB cable that connects your cell phone with your computer. Not all phones have USB capability, so check to see if yours does. Also, USB transfers on some phones require software from the carrier or the manufacturer.

If your phone doesn’t come with any of the features, don’t despair, as you’re not out of luck. A final method is to invest in cell phone-syncing software. Although these products require an initial investment, it’s not an ongoing one, and you’ll be able to not only transfer photos but also sync your calendar, your contacts list, and your messages.

Tags: bluetooth, camera phone, cnet, memory card, micro sd, mini sd

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With Yahoo Music shutting down its store and DRM licensing servers on September 30, anybody who ever bought music from the Yahoo! Music Store would no longer have a license to play their music.

Now, however, Yahoo has announced that it will issue refunds to its customers for the full value of their purchases. 

According to a report on CNet, Yahoo is also looking at making copies of the music its customers bought available to them as MP3s without any DRM.

Or just burn them to CD!

ReadWriteWeb. 

Tags: cnet, drm, mp3, yahoo music

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With Sony announcing today that its Reader Digital Book will be able to read electronic books published using the .epub format — the same that many of the largest book publishers are using — ring in a new age for e-books?

Until now, Sony’s e-book reader could only read books available from the Sony e-book store, PDF documents and digital rights management (DRM)-free text.

Starting next month, the new PRS-505 Sony Reader will be able to access secure DRM- and non-DRM-protected content in the .epub format, formerly called the Open eBook format.

The Sony Reader Digital Book is the first e-book reading device to support the .epub format, which is the XML-based standard format proposed by the International Digital Publishing Forum. It allows publishers to convert books to different formats, protect the copy using DRM and adds the ability to resize PDF e-books and other text to better fit the reader’s screen size.

Such publishers as Harper Collins, Random House, Simon & Schuster and Penguin are offering texts in the .epub format.

CNet has more on this development here.

Tags: cnet, ebook, ebook reader, open ebook format, Reader, sony

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Palm keeps turning out really solid products, but never seems to be able to recapture the magic of the introduction of the first Palm Pilot.

Now, here’s a smart fruit phone (Apple, BlackBerry — get it?) alternative for you — the Palm 800w for Sprint.

Here’s what CNet had to say about it:

The good: The Palm Treo 800w brings the addition of Wi-Fi and GPS. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone also offers EV-DO Rev. A support; a higher resolution touch screen; a slimmer design; and a 2-megapixel camera.

The bad: The Treo 800w can be sluggish at times and call quality could be better. The QWERTY keyboard may also give users some problems.

Check it out at Palm.com.

Tags: cnet, palm, palm 800w, palm pilot, sprint, windows mobile 6.1

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Just read a CNET blog about Bluetooth converts in Cali, due of course to their “no cell phones when driving” law (at least meaning that it can’t be in your hand).

That blog discusses an ingenious way to use Bluetooth and your cell phone in the car.

Was wondering if anyone has become a Bluetooth convert in CT now that we have the cell phone law here, too.  Or how about in other states, too, like New York?

I’m pretty attached to the wired headset feeling, but have had serious thoughts about using Bluetooth — although now there is even more discussion about cell phone radiation and the like for close to head or in-ear use.

What’s a boy to do? Although “look ma, no hands” is pretty cool …

Tags: bluetooth, CNET

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 Love this concept!!

Get pulled over for using a mobile phone in the car, get a ticket (you have to be in the right state to be in the wrong — you know who you are!), send that ticket to Headsets.com and get a free headset.

Yessir! That’s what I’m talking about.

If you don’t believe me, then just click here for the full story from CNet.

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Love to use the FM transmitter to listen to iPod tunes in the car, but if you use one to pipe music from your MP3 player to your car stereo, nothing beats getting static-free music — which is not all that easy in the rolling hills of Connecticut.
Finding an open FM frequency can be a nasty experience, but we have CNET tip that recently led us to Radio-Locator.com – an amazing web site that lets you type in your zip code to find vacant frequencies in your area that are best suited for use with your audio device.

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Tags: iPod, MP3 player, Radio-Locator.com, CNET, FM transmitter
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