May, 2009 — Tech News and Analysis

Archive for May 2009

Travel Tip: Take an Ethernet Cable

I’m currently staying at an upmarket European hotel. Internet is free, but only if you have an Ethernet cable and can plug in. If you want Wi-Fi, the cost is a hefty 17 euros ($24) per 24 hours. Fortunately, I read James Kendrick’s “What’s In … Read More »

This news certainly doesn’t apply to everyone, but it has me excited. onOne Software is putting the finishing touches on a new iPhone application that acts as a remote cable release for Canon DSLR cameras. I just happen to have one of those…two, actually, since … Read More »

 
 

Intel's Netbook OS Plans Hint Smartphone Aspirations

In this anemic economy, selling tens of millions of any new product is a rare bright spot. But that’s exactly what’s happened in the case of netbooks, those small, light and relatively inexpensive notebook computers. Intel benefits greatly from this market, as its Atom line … Read More »

Home Energy Programs Getting Smarter With Software

For utilities that are looking to control their customers’ home energy use during peak hours with smart meters and appliances, there can be a steep learning curve. The utility wants to use communication networks and software to power down certain energy-hogging actions during peak times … Read More »

Google TV Ads Does Upfronts; in its first such push, the company gets agencies and advertisers to commit “upwards of seven figures” spending for the next year. (The Hollywood Reporter) RealDVD Case in Judge’s Hands; closing arguments in DVD copying case heard Thursday. (Reuters) Solve … Read More »

What to read on the GigaOM network

Although I’m planning to get a Palm Pre handset next weekend in two weeks, I’m sort of disappointed in one particular feature. The phone only has 8GB of storage capacity and some of that is taken up by the operating system. I’m bummed by that for … Read More »

The “TV Everywhere” bug is contagious, so much so that DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon Communications and AT&T plan to either participate in someone else’s online TV program or build their own, reports Multichannel News. Comcast and Time Warner are actively publicly discussing and rushing to … Read More »

How Do You Organize Your Email, Aliza Sherman?

Organize email? I must confess I use the term “organize” loosely. As I examine my own system for sorting and filing emails in Gmail, I cringe. For many years, I used Eudora as my email client. I loved it. I could back my emails up … Read More »

Apple’s fantastically effective “Get a Mac” commercials have entertained us for years now, and they just get better and better. Microsoft has been slow to respond, and when it did start to hit back, it first did so with the amusing-but-confusing Seinfeld commercials. Then the “I’m … Read More »

Notable News From the Tech World

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 … Read More »

Energy Bill Clears Key House Committee, More Hurdles Lie Ahead

It’s no easy feat to win approval from the House Energy and Commerce Committee ahead of schedule. But that’s what the climate and energy bill, which if passed will create a cap-and-trade system for limiting greenhouse gas emissions and mandate increased reliance on renewable sources of … Read More »

More Must Reads

We’ve covered Wrike before, but only in the context of Google Android handhelds. On Monday, Windows Mobile users will gain a little love, provided they also subscribe to Wrike’s Project Management subscription service. That’s probably overkill if you’re just looking for task synchronization … Read More »

The energy industry has had it up to here with delays in the Department of Energy loan guarantee program. Like Energy Secretary Steven Chu, they want to get money moving pronto. So this week groups representing solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydro and nuclear power companies … Read More »

The browser wars are heating up once more. Google yesterday released a new version of Chrome and announced that the browser was out of beta (quite a rapid development, given that Gmail still sports the “beta” tag some five years after it was first … Read More »

The frenzy is building for the Palm Pre launch and already future Pre customers are making plans for launch day. I have heard from those who plan on hitting Wal-Mart or Best Buy first, followed by a trip to their local Sprint store should the … Read More »

The Google Chrome team has announced a new version of the open-source browser, touting up to 30 percent performance increases on JavaScript-heavy tasks. I’ve taken it for a spin, comparing it to Firefox 3.5 Beta 4, which also has very fast JavaScript performance thanks to … Read More »

The real core of the video game industry has long been Japan, where it enjoys a pop culture status that Western studios can only hope to one day achieve. It stands to reason, then, that a good barometer for the iPhone’s success as a gaming platform … Read More »

It blows me away that this is already the fortieth weekly column in which I share my week with you. My home office, Mobile Tech Manor (MTM), has been a bustling place this week and I have bounced from one thing to another. I … Read More »

Intellectual property rights have a long history as a cornerstone of Silicon Valley lobbying efforts. Welcome to the latest chapter: defending IP rights against the potentially eroding force of international climate deals. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spearheading a new effort to ensure that U.S. … Read More »

Copyright law wasn’t written with today’s content consumption in mind. The way online video copyright functions is based on a reading of the 10-year-old Digital Millennium Copyright Act that equates video hosting sites with Internet service providers. That law provides a “safe harbor” for hosts who … Read More »

I work all over the place. I enjoy getting out and working while things are happening all around. I work in big coffee shops, family-run coffee shops, and big chains. They all have different things in their favor. One of my favorite places to work is Panera … Read More »

OpenTable’s stunning performance in its first day of trading is a sign of unexpected warmth in the market for technology IPOs. But while the market success of the restaurant reservations software developer may not be a true bellwether that leads to a flurry of additional … Read More »

A few weeks back, Kevin over on sister site jkOnTheRun wrote about Pogoplug, a nifty little device made by Cloud Engines, a San Francisco-based startup that recently raised an undisclosed amount of money from Ryan MacIyntre of Foundry Group. Pogoplug is a small … Read More »

This morning, Apple had a little more to worry about than the usual leaks, rumors and lawsuits. Protesters in Taipei, Taiwan, gathered outside of the company’s corporate office in the region to express their displeasure in Apple’s choice of suppliers. Wintek, which makes flat-panel … Read More »

Oh Lutz: Reducing fuel consumption by mandating more fuel-efficient cars “is like attacking obesity by ordering everybody to wear size small clothing,” and other gems from former Chevy Volt frontman Bob Lutz on David Letterman last night. — Jalopnik Smart Grid for China: China’s power distribution … Read More »

Our friends at Engadget have snagged the BlackBerry prize with a brief hands-on session with the upcoming Storm 2. The Storm 2 is the successor to the popular, if controversial, BlackBerry Storm that has sold big numbers but tended to attract a fair number of … Read More »

Kevin Nalty, a guy who makes YouTube videos for fun and was an early star and partner on the site (currently No. 92 most-subscribed of all time), never hid his real identity. On the contrary, he treated his wife and young kids like a sketch … Read More »

Passpack, similar to many other password managers, offers a convenient and secure place to keep all of your passwords in one location, and can automatically log you into web sites, which can be very handy when you use lots of different apps and services. One thing … Read More »

How many milestone test announcements does it take for secretive ultracapacitor developer EEStor to reach commercialization? We’re thinking it’s like the old ’70s song: You ain’t seen nothing yet. But here’s the latest — on Thursday, Zenn Motors, EEStor’s electric vehicle partner and investor, said … Read More »

One of the federal agencies responsible for administering $4.7 billion in broadband stimulus grants has quietly delayed its plans to approve and distribute money under its program. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration late last week issued a statement noting that it will … Read More »

Kevin is still enamored with his MSI Wind U100 netbook, and rightly so. It is as capable as netbooks get, and yet portable enough to carry anywhere. The folks at MSI just let us know that their newest model, the U123, has taken up … Read More »

Recently, two articles appeared on TechRadar documenting various command line tweaks for various apps and functions of Mac OS X. While I didn’t find anything new there, it’s nice to have two articles that summarize a bunch instead of tracking them down one by … Read More »

For many American women, television is becoming like Muzak. It’s on a lot, but it’s mostly background noise. That’s the conclusion of a just-released report from research firm Solutions Research Group documenting the media habits of women in the United States. While women’s time spent with … Read More »

Microsoft will stop issuing security updates and patches for Microsoft Office 2000 as of June. It’s Microsoft’s policy to support its business software products for up to 10 years after their release, according to ComputerWorld, and then users have to pony up for the latest … Read More »

One of the annoying things about a lot of the web apps we cover is that as the size of your team or number of clients changes, you have to keep upgrading or downgrading your plan. So it’s refreshing to see that Cashboard, an invoicing and … Read More »

The latest BlackBerry Curve for AT&T wasn’t slated to appear until tomorrow, but you can order it online today, says BGR. The 8900 is a personal fave of Om’s, as he dropped his iPhone — and AT&T for that matter — in favor … Read More »

As CDNs try to evade commodification, they’re looking outward to bring more value-added services to their clients. To that end, Limelight Networks today announced its first-ever acquisition: dynamic video and audio ad insertion startup Kiptronic, which to date had raised $9 million in … Read More »

What happens when you bring together four engineers and one über-artist, all sharing a rich background in both game design and development experience on a “very popular 3D earth-rendering application,” lock them all in a studio in Boulder, Colo., and let them loose on the iPhone … Read More »

The June 6 launch of the Palm Pre is getting closer, and the buzz is beginning to crescendo. Information about said launch is appearing all the time, so here’s an attempt to lump everything we know together. The launch is June 6, which is a Saturday … Read More »

Wouldn’t it be great if Microsoft Office had the collaborative and cloud storage functionality of Google Docs? Well, now it does, using a free add-in called OffiSync that launched into public beta today. Offisync adds a toolbar to Office that allows you to use … Read More »

Oh, the woes of being an urban twentysomething! You have to work at a thankless job! And juggle a complicated love life! And deal with your family’s disappointment in your chosen lifestyle! But worst of all — you have to live with a … Read More »

The contracts keep coming for Solyndra, the Fremont, Calif.-based manufacturer of thin-film solar tubes. The startup announced today that it has signed a $115 million deal to sell panels to EBITSCHenergietechnik, a solar integrator in Zapfendorf, Germany, through 2013. (No, that’s not a typo. … Read More »

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4752576&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1 I remember hearing the scoffs when Palm announced their webOS for the Pre. There was plenty of negative commentary around the fact that all software for the Pre would be based on existing web technologies like HTML, CSS and JavaScript. There’s some merit to that, … Read More »

As is to be expected when nearing a major Apple event, the normally active rumor mill has gone into overdrive, with each day bringing fresh reports, speculation, and confirmation of existing theories surrounding new hardware and software. Yesterday, AppleInsider posted an article in which … Read More »

loading external resource
Click to log in with: Not you?
Comment as guest:
By continuing you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Submitting comment...
results