November, 2009 — Tech News and Analysis

Archive for November 2009

I had not heard of this phenomenon before, but it is being reported that Firefox is causing systems to run harder than other web browsers. This is allegedly due to web pages that have a lot of Flash-based content which makes the CPU run harder … Read More »

We usually love our Apple products. They work well, are easy to understand and when we have a problem, Apple works quickly to resolve it. Most of the time. What happens when Apple simply won’t play ball? Read on and find out how to work Apple’s … Read More »

 
 

First Solar Keeps on Selling Off Solar Projects

Thin-film solar PV maker First Solar has been aggressively buying solar projects, hoping to drive down project costs while spurring demand for its solar modules during the economic downturn. But First Solar isn’t in the business of holding onto these projects over the long term. … Read More »

Google today launched its popular Google Maps Navigation (beta) for older devices that use Android OS version 1.6 or higher. It debuted as a free feature on Android 2.0 (Droid) handsets a few weeks ago and was received with much enthusiasm. Now devices such … Read More »

AT&T Matches Verizon's Prepaid Data Plans

AT&T today introduced a prepaid mobile broadband product that exactly matches the pricing of similar plans launched earlier this month by Verizon Wireless. I was skeptical of Verizon’s offering because it’s pretty pricey, and I’m not sold on AT&T’s either, but my colleague Read More »

I came to instant messaging (IM) late by many web worker’s standards. Spending time on some locked-down client sites meant that IM was never part my communications toolbox. However, when I started working with ISP and telecom clients, everybody wanted my IM details. At the … Read More »

Chrome OS: Cheaper Netbooks on the Horizon?

Google last week took the wraps off its brand-new lightweight operating system, Chrome OS. Optimized to work with web apps, it makes the browser the center of the computing experience. Over on GigaOM Pro (subscription required), Ed Gubbins is pondering whether the new OS could … Read More »

Can HealthRally (and your friends) help you stop smoking?

I quit smoking four years ago, but before that, I was a dedicated smoker for a solid decade. Luckily, I never had any Mac trouble that would necessitate a warranty replacement during those 10 years, or I might’ve been out of luck. Apple has denied Applecare … Read More »

Heroku, the San Francisco-based startup that offers a Ruby-focused cloud platform as a service, last week saw the number of apps deployed on its platform top 40,000, according to CEO Byron Sebastian. He joined the company after stints at BEA, EMC and … Read More »

Vid-Biz: Viacom, Kyte, 3-D

Viacom Lawyer Compares Suing File Sharers to Terrorism; general counsel Michael Fricklas admits that suing end users for online copyright infringement is “expensive, and it’s painful, and it feels like bullying.” (Ars Technica) Kyte Opens New Offices in UK, Germany; white-label video management … Read More »

The Chances That Kleiner Will Fund Your Greentech Firm: 1%

So you think you’ve come up with the next game-changing greentech idea and now you just need to score some funding to get your new firm off the ground? Well, if you were eying the greentech bigwigs at Kleiner Perkins to back your fledgling startup, maybe … Read More »

Black Friday: Eye-Popping Deals on Tech Gear Are Here

Black Friday is rapidly approaching, and with it some big bargains on tech gear. A number of items have already gone on sale, such as these Dell laptops; Amazon, meanwhile, is featuring deals on everything from GPS devices to hard drives. We’ve got several … Read More »

More Must Reads

Android is the hot phone platform, with market share growing at a rapid pace, and handsets with the OS being touted across the web. I have been impressed with how far Android has come in a relatively short time, and how well it has penetrated the … Read More »

Good golly gosh but aren’t Macs expensive? Apple unashamedly caters to the sub-$1,000 computer market and doesn’t compromise on price. So, when our credit card statements arrive, we reassure our guilt-ridden selves that it’s the price we must pay for superior quality. We are, frankly,  discerning, … Read More »

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly has a piece on that comedy stalwart, Saturday Night Live, that almost reads like a surrender treaty. The article basically says that while there are some chuckles, the show just is a bit toothless, but that “Saturday Night Live … Read More »

Sometime over the last year you’ve marveled at the intersection of a real-time event and your social graph, whether it’s an earthquake, a big occasion like the Obama inauguration, or a football game for your alma mater. Suddenly, everything aligns in your Facebook and/or Twitter … Read More »

Once just the purview of cheesy late-night infomercials (“buy now and get this beautiful set of six steak knives at no extra charge”), free has taken on a life of its own in the new economy. Even the prestigious and pricey New York Times … Read More »

A month after Om trashed LinkedIn for failing to launch a promised application platform, and more than a year after the initiative was first announced, the professional network is finally giving out developer keys. Today LinkedIn launches a business-focused apps platform. The full launch … Read More »

Google’s Chrome Browser was released to the public as a beta version for Microsoft Windows in September 2008, and currently enjoys 3.6 percent marketshare worldwide (NetApplications data November 1) putting it in fourth place behind MSIE, Firefox, and Safari. There was initially no Mac version, but last … Read More »

With Apple once again blocking the ability to synchronize iTunes music with Palm’s Pre and Pixi, it’s time for some of you to consider other options. I’m still happy with DoubleTwist or simple drag-and-drop methods to move music, but I noted a mention … Read More »

The cost of solar equipment has been steadily dropping over the last decade, but as the economy hit the skids over the past year, the cost to finance solar projects actually increased. In other words it became more expensive for a utility or company to … Read More »

Apple unveiled its Mighty Mouse replacement, the Magic Mouse, last month alongside new versions of the iMac, Mac mini and entry-level Macbook. The mouse was well-received, perhaps due in part to the disappointment most felt about its predecessor. Better tracking and touch gestures combined to … Read More »

At the Apple iPod event this past September, the iPod nano got a video upgrade, but despite rumors to the contrary, the iPod touch didn’t get a similar treatment. The Internet was ablaze with expectation thanks to the appearance of a number of iPod touch cases … Read More »

In what BusinessWeek is describing as “his first extensive interview on the subject,” Phil Schiller, everyone’s favorite Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing for Apple, has defended Apple’s application approval process. I’ve read through it a few times, and I’d hardly call it “extensive.” I … Read More »

Our readers in Europe will be happy to hear this news — Spotify’s music streaming service is now supported on Symbian handsets from Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung, TechRadar reports. The mobile client joins Apple’s iPhone/iPod Touch  as well as Google Android devices … Read More »

It’s fairly difficult to find a sale on Apple notebooks on desktops. Apple rarely discounts its computing line, and online resellers usually require a rebate, if and when they offer a worthwhile discount. But last year, I took advantage of a pre-emptive Black Friday sale … Read More »

Ciena today beat out Nokia Siemens Network to buy bankrupt Nortel’s metro Ethernet business for $769 million, winning the bidding war for the assets that it began in October. A court will still have to approve the deal that will see Ciena, which makes fiber … Read More »

Over the weekend, Adobe launched a revamped version of Acrobat.com, its web office and collaboration suite. This is the first major upgrade to the service since it left beta last summer (as covered by Thursday) and provides some … Read More »

I have stated on more than one occasion that the Novatel MiFi is a candidate for gadget of the year. A pocket Wi-Fi router that uses a 3G connection to get up to 5 devices online no matter the location (given 3G coverage) is incredibly useful. … Read More »

Matt Cutts, a software engineer and an eloquent corporate spokesman for Google, spoke at PubCon earlier this month and later gave a video interview to Web Pro News, in which he said that the speed at which web pages are available might become … Read More »

AdMob, a mobile advertising network, which has been releasing mobile metrics for a while now and touting the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch metrics as headlines, is instead focusing on RIM, Symbian, Android and even Windows Mobile devices in its October 2009 mobile metrics report. I … Read More »

Sure, buying stuff isn’t exactly good for the environment — all products take energy to make and ship and, thus, contribute to carbon emissions — but Black Friday is upon us, and we’ve decided to put together an Earth2Tech slant on the annual holiday gift guide. … Read More »

AOL will launch a new look and logo along with its official spinout from Time Warner on Dec. 10, as it tries to become a content-centric company. Wolff Olins, a global brand and innovation consultancy, worked on this new look and logo which seeks to … Read More »

The rise of video streaming is dramatically affecting the Internet, according to a two-year study of Internet traffic trends that Arbor Networks recently presented to the North American Network Operators Group. Two years ago, Internet traffic was distributed evenly among a dozen Tier-1 network … Read More »

Roku vice president of marketing Chuck Seiber only gave us a teeny-tiny sneak-peek at the new Roku Channel Store at NewTeeVee Live couple weeks back, but the company officially launched the feature along with ten new free channels today. Roku owners will now be able to … Read More »

TripIt, a travel aggregation service that is offered as an application on the iPhone and BlackBerry, is now available as a beta app for Google’s Android platform and can be downloaded from the Android Market. Just like us, our colleagues at jkOnTheRun, Read More »

Our platform focus continues this fine Sunday with the e-Book Echo, our take on the week in the digital publishing world. The Barnes & Noble Nook is not due to be shipping for a few days yet, but it seems they have already run out … Read More »

The rise of video streaming is dramatically affecting the Internet, according to a two-year study of Internet traffic trends that Arbor Networks recently presented to the North American Network Operators Group. Two years ago, Internet traffic was distributed evenly among a dozen Tier-1 network … Read More »

This post is meant for a very particular group: the boyfriends of Twilight fans. You guys are a special class of men. You’ve put up with months of preparatory squealing and sighing over Taylor Lautner’s abs and Robert Pattinson’s…OK, maybe you’re not sure what … Read More »

Skype, with its spinout from eBay complete and its legal troubles with founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis settled, is looking to the future, where it wants to become a ubiquitous real-time communications platform. And that means thinking about the next-generation Skype architecture and … Read More »

The week marches on and today being Saturday means it is time to recap the recent happenings in the world of Windows Mobile. The Windows Marketplace for Mobile only launched for phones running WM 6.5 a week ago, but this week it hit all phones running … Read More »

Cali to TV-Makers: Cut Energy Consumption in Half by 2013: The California Energy Commission this week approved a first-in-the-nation efficiency standard for televisions, requiring new TVs sold in the state need to to reduce energy consumption by an average of 33 percent by 2011 and … 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