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$3.2 Billion WiMax Deal Goes Through. Take Cover.
2008-05-07 08:06:00
The deal to combine Sprint Nextel’s and Clearwire’s fledgling WiMax businesses that was rumored last March is finally expected to go through. Comcast and Intel are supposed to put in $1 billion each; Time Warner, $550 million; Google, $500 million; and regional cable provider Bright House Networks, $100 million. The new company, which ...
More About: Gizmos , Wimax , Cover , Deal , Billion

Yinlips ultraportable mashes the Eee with a TI-99
2008-05-07 07:21:00
Filed under: Laptops It looks like ultraportable laptops are the new generic PMPs, and we couldn't be happier about it -- especially if we keep seeing units like the Yinlips Micro PC YDP-G77 here. While the spec list is pretty average -- 7-inch screen, 400MHz CPU (we don't know what kind), WiFi, Linux, 500MB or 1GB flash drive -- what's really getting us is the old-school TI-99 looks. All we need now is a speech synthesizer module and we'll be all set.[Via MP4 Nation]Read | Permalink
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Comcast Considering 250GB Monthly Data Caps, Disconnecting Repeat Pirates [
2008-05-07 07:18:00
Other than Time Warner's single-city foray into monthly data caps, consumption-based billing has mostly been little ISPs with little monopolies, and given the market, we thought it'd stay that way. Broadband Reports is, uh, reporting that now Comcast is mulling monthly caps (which Comcast's PR guy confirms, though not the details)—something like 250GB, and then $1.50 for every GB over that. According to their source, the idea has "a lot of momentum" and it'll start rolling out in the next two months. The other part is that they're going to start ramping up DMCA notices to pirate assholes, with a total disconnect if you've gotten four letters in a 12-month period. If this is entering the mix with Comcast's new "protocol agnostic" network management technique (in something closer to English, very temporarily slowing down your whole connection if you're hitting the pipe really hard at the same time as a lot of other people in your area), you're looking at an uncomfortabl...
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The New Yorker on Simultaneous Invention and the Intellectual Ventures Labo
2008-05-07 07:15:00
Malcolm Gladwell (smart guy, puffy hair) has a feature in this week's The New Yorker about the history of simultaneous invention, the best example being Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray both patenting the telephone on the same day. There are many other examples, leading to the conclusion that "scientific discoveries must, in some sense, be inevitable. They must be in the air, products of the intellectual climate of a specific time and place." The story is put into modern perspective by including scenes drawn from meetings of members of the company called Intellectual Ventures . The founding member, Nathan Myhrvold, also founded Microsoft's R&D labs. His idea for IV was to see if "the kind of insight that leads to invention could be engineered." The whole point being the creation of powerful ideas. Bill Gates, who works with them on H.I.V prevention, is quoted: Bill Gates, whose company, Microsoft, is one of the major investors in Intellectual Ventures, says, "I can give ...
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Spot Runner Raises $51 Million To Expand To New Markets
2008-05-07 05:59:00
The first rule of Startup Club is take the money when you can. Spot Runner CEO Nick Grouf understands that, which is why he just raised $51 million in a C round from a group of strategic investors that include the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), Grupo Televisa, Legg Mason Capital Management, and ...
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Samsung SpinPoint M6 500GB laptop drive finally on sale? in France
2008-05-07 05:54:00
Filed under: Storage We've been wondering where Samsung 's 9.5mm 500GB SpinPoint M6 laptop drive has been hiding, and it turns out that it's just been vacationing in France . No word on when these might make it Stateside, but if you're desperate (or French), your lappy can unbuckle that belt another notch or two for just €197 ($306).[Thanks, onceuponamac]Read | Permal ink | Email this | Comments
More About: Laptop , Drive , Sale

iPhone SDK Beta 5 Now Up: Bug Fixes, Updated OS Support [Iphone Sdk]
2008-05-07 05:29:00
Besides supporting the latest iPhone OS version, beta 5 doesn't do a whole lot else besides throwing in small tweaks to the UI, tweaks to the developers tools and some bug fixes. No big feature addition like last time, but you gotta update if you're making iPhone apps. You just gotta! There probably won't be very many more of these before the next iPhone's out. This ?fth beta release of the iPhone SDK includes a complete set of tools, compilers, frameworks, and documentation for creating iPhone OS applications. These tools include the Xcode IDE, and the Instruments analysis tool, among many others. With this software you can develop applications that run on iPhone and iPod touch using the included iPhone Simulator. [Apple]
More About: Iphone , Beta , Support

Switched On: The Linux ultraportable opportunity
2008-05-07 04:18:00
Filed under: LaptopsEach week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On , a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment. The US smartphone market may continue to be dominated by mobile platforms from Apple, Microsoft, and RIM, but Linux has been creeping into ever more mobile devices in the last few years. Some Motorola RAZR 2 models have donned a Tux, Palm is looking to Linux to drive its next-generation consumer smartphones, and Android's backers hope to spread it to an even wider array of handsets. Linux is also driving many avant garde connected consumer electronics devices such as the Chumby, Nokia N810, Amazon Kindle, Dash Express, and whatever the fertile minds tinkering with Bug Labs' modules are envisioning,. Even the remote control that houses the user interface of Logitech's Squeezebox Duet is a Linux computer. However, none of these products are intended for as flexible a range of uses as a notebook PC, where Linux is being tested as a tool to achieve lo...
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Rumor: Samba de Amigo for Wii getting downloadables
2008-05-07 04:00:00
Filed under: Nintendo Wii, RhythmSince revealing intentions to charge money for some measure of online content in February, Nintendo has kept its future plans for our wallets quietly under wraps. However, new box art found on GameStop's online store seems to indicate that Sega's upcoming maraca-deficient revival of office favorite Samba De Amigo may have us praying to the microtransaction gods when the game ships for the Wii this August.While nothing has been announced by either Sega or Nintendo, the new box art, uncovered by the sleuths at NeoGAF, carries the red "Pay to Play" program logo first shown at GDC by Nintendo to identify games that carry some sort of online fee. As our our friends at Wii Fanboy theorize, it seems likely that the game could finally introduce downloadable songs to Wii, which if true will just make the Wii versions of Guitar Hero III and Rock Band feel that much more feature bankrupt.[Via Wii Fanboy]Read | Permalink
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Tagging Goes Semantic With Zigtag
2008-05-06 08:16:00
Bookmarking and tagging websites can be a messy business. Zigtag, a new sidebar-based plugin currently in private beta, is looking to offer clean and streamlined bookmarking and tagging. The plugin differentiates itself from the multitude of other tagging services by introducing a semantic dictionary of over two million tags. The basic ...
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Zune 2.5 update brings TV downloads, Zune Card sharing
2008-05-06 07:01:00
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video Microsoft has quite a bit in store for the Zune faithful with its new Zune version 2.5 software update. The high points are the new Zune Card integration and the addition of TV show downloads on Zune Marketplace, but much-requested features like gapless playback, improved syncing controls, meta data editing, auto playlists and other tweaks have also been included. On the marketing front, Microsoft is really pushing the Zune Pass going forward, and will be launching a new TV commercial to help plug it. Subscribers will particularly benefit from the new Zune Card sharing, which lets you automatically score copies of your pal's favorite songs, artists and recent plays -- non-subscribers can view that Zune Card info, but will have to buy the tracks if they want to have a listen. Unfortunately, news on the video store front isn't so compelling: Microsoft is only adding TV shows at this point, no movies, and there's no way to pull video you'...
More About: Downloads , Gizmos , Update

We Lost A Blogging Giant Today: Duncan Riley Leaves TechCrunch
2008-05-06 06:57:00
Today was Duncan Riley’s last day at TechCrunch, and he will be greatly missed. Duncan joined us exactly one year ago and was our most prolific writer, covering tech and startup news seven days a week. He is the author of our highest trafficked post ever, and, based on TechMeme headline counts, he is the ...
More About: Lost , Blogging , Today , Gizmos , Giant

Zuckerberg Hires Another VP From Google: Elliot Schrage
2008-05-06 06:13:00
Mark Zuckerberg loves to hire folks from Google . His poaching started in earnest last year, and includes Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, CFO Gideon Yu, and others. The latest is Elliot Schrage, Google’s vice president of global communications and public affairs. He will join Facebook on May 14 under the same ...
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Creative?s Vado cheapcorder revealed by JR.com
2008-05-06 06:11:00
Filed under: Digital Cameras It looks like Creative 's getting set to muscle in on Pure Digital's Flip Video -- online retailer JR.com has specs up for something called the Vado VF0570-P, and they're basically identical to the Flip Video Ultra, apart from a slightly larger 2-inch screen. Other than that, you're getting the same 2 hours of VGA-res video on 2GB of built-in memory and YouTube support for the same $100 price. No pics or ship dates yet, but we're guessing we'll see something official pretty soon.Read | Permalink  ;| Email this | Comments
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Signing Off, And What Does A TechCrunch Writer Actually Use?
2008-05-06 06:10:00
This is my last post at TechCrunch as a full time writer (I may yet do the occasional guest post). It’s exactly 12 months to the day since I started writing here and the date seemed like a good time to go. I won’t bore you with a self indulgent retrospective; if you are interested ...
More About: Gizmos , Writer , Techcrunch , Signing

Yahoo To Flag Malware Sites In Search Results
2008-05-06 06:03:00
Tomorrow Yahoo will launch a partnership with McAfee and will integrate their Site Advisor malware scanning product into Yahoo search. The most dangerous websites are simply being removed from search results. Yahoo is also flagging less dangerous offending sites to warn users of specific problems that have been reported from those sites. Example warning messages ...
More About: Malware , Results , Search , Sites

HP MediaSmart TVs and Connect Receiver Will Tune In YouTube [Hp]
2008-05-06 06:01:00
At some date in the not too far future, HP's MediaSmart TVs and its soon-to-be- released MediaSmart Connect receiver will get the ability to play YouTube videos stretched to full-screen HD. We've shown you the MediaSmart Connect in the past under its more formal name x280n. The Connect and the sl4278n and sl4778n MediaSmart LCD TVs will have searchable, browsable client software for accessing all YouTube videos already converted into the Apple-friendly H.264 codec. Warning: Not all YouTube videos should be viewed full-screen on HDTVs, but you're a grown-up (or something), so you'll just have to sort it out for yourself. Press release down below. HP to Premiere YouTube Service on Its Connected Entertainment Products PALO ALTO, Calif., May 6, 2008 - HP today announced it is making the video content of YouTube available for people to enjoy through its HP MediaSmart connected entertainment products, including the soon-to-be-released MediaSmart Connect digital media receiver and th...
More About: Youtube , Receiver , Tune

Zune 2.5 Update Brings TV Shows, More Social Networking, Improved Software
2008-05-06 05:28:00
The Zune 2.5 Spring update launches tomorrow, and with it comes purchasable TV shows and even more social networking functions. The big part is more tightly-integrated social stuff—like being able to see your friends' Zune cards inside of the Zune software instead of heading to your browser—the upside of which is automatically getting the full tracks that your friends have recently listened to if you're a Zune Pass subscriber. This takes up about 100 megs per friend card. There's also improvement in the player itself, like the return of auto playlists and the introduction of gapless playback. Wee! Other cool social stuff: • Xbox Live-ish icons on your Zune Card that are like achievements, awarding people who listen to an artist the most or passing a total number of song plays. • Dynamic friends' list that shows what everyone's listening to. Find out about the band Tokyo Police Club from your buddies. • Windows Live Messenger "now playing" integrat...
More About: Software , Social , Social Networking , Networking

Netgear offers up 6-bay ReadyNAS Pro
2008-04-29 07:19:00
Filed under: Storage, Networking Four months is just too long to go without an all new ReadyNAS, so we suppose that's why Netgear is kicking out an all new 6-bay unit (6TB RNDP6610; 3TB RNDP6310; 1.5TB RNDP6350) for those obsessed with storage. The box can handle up to 6TB of HDD space and features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM (up to 4GB supported), 128MB of embedded flash for the OS, a pair of gigabit Ethernet ports, three USB 2.0 sockets and support for RAID 0/1/5/6 and Auto-Expandable X-RAID2. As expected, Windows / Mac / Linux clients can all tap in, and the unit streams all sorts of media on the side. Of course, acquiring the industry's first 6-bay small-form-factor NAS drive won't come cheap, with the ReadyNAS Pro starting at around two large.Read | Permalink 0;| Email this | Comments
More About: Gizmos , Offers

Interview With Citi Analyst Mark Mahaney On Yahoo/Microsoft/Google
2008-04-29 07:15:00
Citi’s Internet Analyst Mark Mahaney has been at the center of the Microsoft /Yahoo takeover battle since the beginning. On February 2, a day after the Microsoft bid, Mahaney gave his reasons why he believed the deal had just a 60% chance of happening. Mahaney also estimated (on February 2) that a search advertising outsourcing arrangement ...
More About: Google , Interview , Gizmos

InvenSense Takes $19 Million Series C
2008-04-29 07:06:00
InvenSense has taken $19 million Series C in a round led by Sierra Ventures with previous investors Artiman Ventures, Partech International and Qualcomm Ventures also participating. Strategic investors in the round included Foxconn, Inventec Appliances Corp, Skylake Ventures, DoCoMo Capital and VentureTech Alliance. Sunnyvale based InvenSense makes motion sensing solutions for mobile applications, addressing applications ...
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$3.25 Million More For Embeddable Flash Documents
2008-04-29 06:38:00
Docstoc, the professional document repository and community, has raised $3.25 Million in Series B funding. The round was led by Rustic Canyon Partners, and brings their total funding to over $4 Million. Docstoc serves as a repository for professional documents, featuring forms, templates, and a variety of other material. Its flash-based viewer can be ...
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Adventurers Unite on National Geographic?s TOPO Explorer
2008-04-29 06:15:00
Remember when wireless technology was supposed to help us get out of our offices once in a while? What happened to that? Sure, we might not be constrained to our cubicles all day - instead, we carry them around with us. And let’s be honest… We all know a certain blogger who ...
More About: National , National Geographic , Gizmos , Explorer , Topo

BeamMe.Info Offers Information Sharing Via SMS
2008-04-29 06:10:00
BeamMe.info offers a web page to SMS service for sites looking to offer users an alternative to writing information down. BeamMe.info works by site owners placing a BeamMe button on their website next to relevant information users might want a copy of, for example next to address information. Users click the button and are then prompted ...
More About: Information , Info , Gizmos , Offers , Sharing

Yelp Lets Businesses Fight Back
2008-04-29 06:00:00
Local businesses have a love/hate relationship with review site Yelp : The site sends new customer leads to the businesses reviewed. But businesses can also be reviewed (and trashed) without even knowing Yelp exists. Businesses like Oakland coffee shop Cafe Rooz felt slighted by the ratings site when a few vocal customers posted poor reviews. They went ...
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Nokia N810 Tablet Priced With WiMAX [PDAs]
2008-04-29 05:47:00
Spotted at Buy.com with an MSRP of $479. Still not sure how this thing is going to work on WiMAX when no one has WiMAX and also, not many people use these tablets. [Buy.com CellularNews]
More About: Nokia , Wimax , Tablet , Nokia N810

Artemis Eternal Brings ?Crowd-Funding? To Movie Making
2008-04-29 05:33:00
Jessica Mae Stover wants independent funding for her movie project “Artemis Eternal ,” so she’s turning to social media for a (her term) “Crowd -Funding ” drive. The idea is simple enough: visitors get to follow the entire process. Contributions for the film range from $1+ with the contributor getting an online credit for the contribution, $25+ gets the ...
More About: Movie , Gizmos

NVIDIA?s GeForce 9600 GSO series GPUs get official
2008-04-28 07:51:00
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Peripherals As of tonight NVIDIA's got one more notch to add to that bed post: the GeForce 9600 GSO, which is a little more on the cheap date end of the spectrum. The first of the card-makers to launch their 9600 GSO is EVGA, with a 650MHz, 384MB / 1900MHz DDR3, PCI Express 2.0 ditty (e-GeForce 9600GSO Superclocked 384MB), as well as an even lower end 550MHz, 384MB / 1600MHz version (e-GeForce 9600GSO 384MB). And yeah, it does DirectX 10 -- not that you should even need to ask.[Thanks, Carlos]Read | Permalink
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Brando 3-Port Hub + Mini-USB Cable is Useful [Peripherals]
2008-04-28 07:30:00
Brando has given the quirky R&D team the week off. In the meantime, they've actually got the innovative group into replace them, and the new clan has come up with something that's actually useful—a three socket USB hub, with a USB charging cable. The two nice features here are 1). The price point of $12 and 2). The fact that there is no need for an external power supply. Instead, the hub will connect to both USB ports on your laptop and draw enough power to charge up a device via USB mini cable, whilst simultaneously offering up 3 non-powered ports. So, you lose two ports, but gain three and one power positive cable—Kreb's cycle, eat your heart out. [Brando via Gadgetell]
More About: Port , Mini , Peripherals , Brando , Cable

Microsoft Says Yes With Mesh
2008-04-28 07:13:00
Back in the good old days, big software companies did big things. Little companies tiptoed around in the shadow of the platform makers, gaining enough speed to liftoff and attract enough attention to survive long enough to be acquired. Like the old movie studios of the 30’s and 40’s, the technology studios of the 80’s ...
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