It Had to Happen

The CellFlix Film Festival is a film contest for movies made with cellular phone cameras.

All the World's A Podcast

Michael Calore of Webmonkey has posted a thoroughgoing tutorial on making podcasts. He explains what they are and then describes each step of the making and publishing of the hot new medium. Calore also reminds us of the power the medium gives us:

The beauty of the new technologies being born on the web — podcasts, blogs, video blogs, social networking sites — is that they put us in charge. The gap between the creator and the consumer is shrinking as we generate our own content and trade ideas between ourselves more freely. Not only to we have more control over what we're listening to and reading, but it's up to us to create it as well.

Who's afraid of Google?

It seems no one is safe: Google is doing Wi-Fi; Google is searching inside books; Google has a plan for ecommerce.

Googling for Gold

With a market cap in orbit and more cash than a small nation, Google's heft is altering the tech industry's behavior. But when does its long-awaited shopping spree begin?

Futurists Pick Top Tech Trends

Taking a long-term view isn't easy nowadays.

Even the recent past seems blurry at times. Google's just seven years old, but it's hard to imagine life before instant search. Broadband has been widely available for only a few years, but already dialup internet seems to high-speed users like a throwback to the Neanderthal era.

Taking Back the Web



How wikis are changing our view of the world.

Numb Thumbs?

Tapping away at tiny keyboards takes its toll on some users.

Web Titans Rake it In

Record sales at Google and Yahoo! are likely to keep improving as the Net draws a bigger share of add dollars.

New browser in town

A small team of developers in California on Friday launched a cutting-edge Firefox-based Web browser dubbed Flock, which integrates next-generation Web technologies such as RSS content feeds, blogs and bookmark and photo sharing.

Additonal info here:

• Flog Photos
• Flock Radio
• Flock Buzz
• Flock Home Page
  

The Clicker: Apple’s real plan for iPod video?

You’ve got to love Apple. Crazy like a fox they are. Oh sure – some of their decisions regarding the new iPod might seem a little odd to the gadget-lovers among us. “No DivX???” is the phrase most often muttered when Engageteers start reading of the new iPod’s video functions. Read more here.

A living roon on four wheels


The Chrysler Akino concept has two doors on the passenger side (with only one on the driver's side) to allow for a booth-like rear seat.

Robot Cars to Do Battle in Desert Race

When 15 competitors lined up in Nevada last year for the U.S. Defense Department's first million-dollar robot race, hopes were high. The challenge: to drive a vehicle without a human driver or remote control some 150 miles (241 kilometers) through the Mojave Desert.

Hackers Shift Focus to Financial Gain

Internet criminals want your computer, your money and your identity. And their tactics are becoming increasingly refined and organized, according to security experts.

Sun and Google: Publicity Ploy or Power Grab?

A small strategic partnership may set off a seismic shift in the software industry's competitive landscape.

The Mind of an Inventor

He built his first computer as a child. In his 20s, he had moved on to supercomputers. Now Danny Hillis is thinking of bigger things.

Electronic Arts unveils games for Xbox 360 launch
Reuters - Mon Oct 3,12:58 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc. on Monday announced five video game titles that will be available for Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 console when it launches next month.

William Bright displays his iPod with a subway map display outside the Prince Street subway...

Palm and Verizon to unveil Treo 700w

Palm, Verizon, and Microsoft will be holding a joint press conference on Monday, Sept. 26th; to launch the newest Treo line.

Sun president: PCs are so yesterday | CNET News.com

So asserted Jonathan Schwartz, president of server and software maker Sun Microsystems. Instead, what has become important are Web services on the Internet and the mobile phones most will use to access them.

Why Podcasting Took Off

Posted by James Archer, he talks about the technology that is taking the market by storm.

With Nano and Rokr, Apple makes itself heard


The iPod keeps getting smaller, even as it stays the big kid on the music player block. Also: iTunes in a phone.

Sayonara, spark plug?

Never mind hydrogen. In a few years, the power under your hood may come from a new spin on diesel.

Popular Browser Secrets

Web browser add-ons, tips, and a preview of IE 7.

Apple Computer is preparing a major announcement next week

Dropping hints of something as critical to the company's future as the release of the original iPod in 2001.

Search Engines Future: Personalized Collaborative Shareable Search

Prompted by the business prospect of a coming search market valued at $ 18 billion in the next five years (source: Safa Rashtcy - Piper Jaffray) and following the recent technology announcements in personalized collaborative search made by Yahoo (My Web 2.0) and Google (My Search History) a whole new type of search engine makes its debut today. Like its more famous siblings this new technology focuses on the development...

Article courtesy of Robin Good.

Here Comes Google Voice



Lots of talk about Google introducing an instant messaging client, using the Jabber technology. I think this will be a voice enabled IM product, which will be released in order to match the “talk” features of Yahoo and MSN. Google Rumors reports that the talk.google.com domain has become active, and sends you to google.com/talk which shows a 404 message. There is already news that Google is running a Jabber server. Jabber already has a deal with AOL, and from the looks of it, is fast becoming a platform of choice for voice-over-IM.

Article courtesy of Om Malik's Broadband Blog

UPDATE: Download Google TALK Beta here.

Window worms knocing our computers [CNET]

Network worms that shut down computers running Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system on Tuesday, Aug. 15th, may be linked to competition between rival hackers, security experts said.

Yahoo Buys Into Chinese Online Company

Yahoo Inc. is paying $1 billion in cash for a 40 percent stake in China's biggest online commerce firm, Alibaba.com, strengthening the ties that international companies are forging in the world's second-largest Internet market. Read story here.

RFID's Second Wave: BusinessWeek Article

As prices fall and systems improve rapidly, manufacturers are finally starting to embrace the electronic tagging technology

Preview of Windows Vista

Known for years by the code name "Longhorn," the successor to Microsoft's Windows XP has been dubbed "Longwait" for its numerous delays. As features have been announced, it's also been accused of copying Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac OS X.

Apple Introduces Mighty Mouse

Apple Computer Inc.'s neglect of the humble mouse is over. It now offers a model that's nimble.

More here at Apple about the Might Mouse.

• 
  Yahoo website to provide news videos from CNN, ABC AFP - 42 minutes ago

  SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - US Internet giant Yahoo is to offer Internauts free daily news clips from the American CNN and ABC television networks starting in September, the company announced.

A portal for the blogosphere

News.com debuts Blogma, a special portal designed to highlight the hottest topics in the blogging universe.

AirClick
Remote Control for Mac, PC, iPod and iPod mini.

The Motorola Q Smartphone

Posted Jul 25, 2005, 8:05 PM ET by Ryan Block
Related entries: Cellphones, Digital Cameras

We’re not sure about how this thing be lookin’ versus that early render we had before, but news just finally freaking broke on the Motorola Q, what we once knew as the RAZRberry and Franklin. What’s it got? 4.6 x 2.5 x 0.45-inches in your pocket for one, a QVGA (320 x 240) wide-format display, QWERTY keyboard (duh), Windows Mobile 5.0, thumbwheel, d-pad, 1.3 megapixel camera, MiniSD, and Bluetooth. Expect it in Q1 2006 for probably more money at launch than we’re ready to hear about yet.

Courtesy of engadget

Podcasting Nonstar System

How many podcasting microstars has Apple minted? Find out here.

Here comes the iTunes of news

Publishers are hooking up with the Web's search giants to give surfers access to individual articles for a small fee. BusinessWeek

Do More With Your iPod

Here are three tips to get more out of your iPod.

Wine Scanner Has Perfect Palette

Collectors need never drink vinegar again, thanks to a new device that can detect bad vino without popping the cork. By David Cohn.

Will That Be Cash, Credit, or Cell?

For years, techies and wireless phone companies have coveted a dream: turning the ubiquitous cell phone into a virtual wallet.

Cool Stuff, Made in Taiwan

Twenty years ago, the exhibition hall of the Computex computer trade show here overlooked fields of cabbages, onions and yams. Since then, a new crop has sprouted: ultra-modern shopping malls and the world's tallest building.

Lookout PayPal

Online search-engine leader Google Inc. is preparing to introduce an electronic payment system later this year.

What is the Googlebar?


The Googlebar project was initially created to address the widespread desire in the mozilla community for the Google toolbar to support the Netscape 7, Mozilla, and Firefox web browsers.

PodCast 101

What is a Podcast? A podcast is audio you can download and listen to wherever and whenever you want. You can hear news as well as traditional radio. Here are some links to help you get started with podcasting:

Listening to Podcasts

1. Getting Started
2. How-to: Podcasting
3. How to listen to Podcasts on your Pocket PC
   

Making Podcasts

1. Podcasting 101: Illustrated Tips for Newbie Podcasters
   
2. Podcast using just Blogger.com
   
   
   

Boards Get Brains, Chalk Vanishes

The familiar sight of seeing the instructor with chalk all over their shirt is disappearing for a new technology.

IM on your free phone

Talk with colleagues around the world, share files, and save a fortune on phone bills. Read more

Google, Yahoo seen boosted by Ad Surge.

Seattle ops List for Wireless Web Access

Seattle and San Francisco are the most "unwired cities" in America — top spots for computer junkies who send e-mail and surf the Web at restaurants, libraries or public plazas.

Apple Launches IPod Recyling Program

Apple Computer Inc. launched a recycling program for its popular iPod, encouraging owners to bring their digital music players to Apple retail stores for free, environmentally friendly disposal.

• 
  Apple may use Intel chips for Macs

  Apple Computer Inc. has been in talks that could lead to it using Intel Corp. chips in its Macintosh computers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, reigniting decade-old speculation and sparking a 5 percent rise in Apple's stock price.

ID, Please A national card is coming.

Nokia Unveils Handheld Internet Table

NEW YORK - Nokia Corp. is straying from its core cellular business with its first non-phone mobile device, a handheld Internet tablet for accessing the Web around the home over a wireless broadband connection.

A Buyer's Guide to the New Gameboxes
The Wall Street Journal Online
The big videogame hardware makers – Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo – have weighed in with plans for their next-generation of consoles. Now the question for consumers is which one to buy. More.

German -language spam

E-mail users perplexed by the barrage of German-language spam waiting in their inboxes Monday morning can point the finger of blame at the latest version of the Sober mass mailing worm which began rapidly spreading over the weekend.

EPIC

By the year 2014, what I call newsmasters will be the most sought-after and highly rewarded professional media creators the world has ever seen. View it here.

Summary of this new world.

Major Solaris features slip to 2006

Sun Microsystems has delayed the release of two major features the company has trumpeted as reasons to try its new Solaris operating system.

Future of Pro Digital Photography

Film is portable, durable, versatile. But its arcane chemistry is going out of style.

Yahoo hires legendary Larry Tesler

Tesler, 60, was part of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center from 1973 to 1980 where he helped develop techniques such as "cut and paste" that are now standard in computer graphical user interfaces.

PalmOne Call LifeDrive 'Mobile Manager'

PalmOne has finally acknowledged the LifeDrive, calling it the first in a series of ‘Mobile Manager’ devices that will sit alongside the Zire, Tungsten, and Treo units. The Register quotes a PalmOne spokesperson describing the Mobile Manager series as something “designed for customers who are eager to take full advantage of the trend toward ‘digital everything’ - from documents and email to music, images and video, as standalone files or in organised folders.” That sounds perfectly pedestrian.

Hard drives in PDAs are a good thing, and we applaud PalmOne for being the first major vendor to do so (Sharp’s Japan-only Zaurus SL-C3000 beat them to the punch by a few months), but like other hardware vendors out there looking for a problem for which to sell a solution—we’re looking at you, Nokia—the ‘manage your lifestyle’ crap just sounds like the same thing we’ve been hearing for the last few years. That said, we’ll give them a chance—maybe they’ve got some fancy, streamlined interface that’s going to change the way we manage our multimedia.

Cnet story on LifeDrive Mobile Manager

In the New Game of Tag, All of Us Are It

Will free-style information tagging lead to anarchy? Early results are showing quite the opposite.

The Man Who Brewed Up Java
James Gosling sees new uses for the programming language he created 10 years ago, such as making his home-entertainment system work right.

U.S. Cities Set Up Wireless Networks

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -- A number of U.S. cities are becoming giant wireless "hot spots," where Internet users will be able to log on from the beach or a bus stop, a trend that's triggering a fierce backlash from telecom and cable giants.

'Tagging' helps unclutter data

Here's how we tend to organize our digital photos: We stick them into a folder on our computer and label it "Hawaii trip," or whatever. Here's a new way: Forget folders or albums. Just "tag" the photos based on what's actually in each frame.

No training wheels needed

Three Purdue University industrial designers tapped into memories of their own childhood cycling misadventures to build a bike that ditches the training wheels but keeps rookie riders stable.

For one Silicon Valley company, hiring Indian programmers wasn't about greed, it was about survival. Read the report by Katherine Mieszkowski.

The Mozilla Foundation's Firefox Web browser passed a significant milestone in adoption on Friday, with more than 50 million copies of the program downloaded, according to its distributors.

Related stories 1 and 2

Why spelling counts

Be careful typing "Google.com" in your browser, or you could end up stampeded by Trojans horses.

Renaissance robots

photos These days, robots are doing just about everything, from dancing to riding camels to taking people up stairs.

Tiger Takes Center Stage

Tiger has arrived, and we’ve got an in-depth look at the major OS update. First, read details about Mac OS X Tiger and Tiger Server. Then dive deep into Tiger with our Tiger Field Guide, featuring all-new looks at the top 10 features of Tiger, including Spotlight, Dashboard, and Automator. And be sure not to install Tiger before reading Ted Landau's Guide to installing OS X 10.4. For all of Macworld's extensive Tiger coverage, visit and bookmark the Macworld Tiger topic page.

Google may base listings on news credibility

Google has plans to dramatically improve the results of Internet news searches, by ranking them according to quality rather than their date and relevance to search terms. New Scientist

Looking for jobs 'Indeed'

Indeed is a search engine for jobs - with a radically different approach to job search. In one simple search, Indeed gives job seekers free access to millions of employment opportunities from hundreds of websites. Indeed.com includes all the job listings from over 500 websites - major job boards, the top 200 newspapers, hundreds of associations and company career pages - and they continue to add new sites every day. Check it out.

Longhorn Blogs

This is NOT a Microsoft site. It is a community-based initiative to spread the word about the next version of Windows, sponsored by Interscape Technologies. Check it out here.

Yahoo! Toolbar Gets to Know RSS

Yahoo! Toolbar for IE (v5.6) now detects RSS/Atom feeds just like its toolbar sibling for Mozilla Firefox.

The toolbar uses RSS Autodiscovery to detect feeds. To make sure feeds on your web site are detected, just add the following to the of your web pages:

And when we say FEED TITLE we mean the name of your site PLUS the specific area of your site (e.g. Engadget: Gaming). When a user clicks the button it will say something like "Subscribe to Engadet: Gaming."

Get To Know Your Toolbar
Here are some other power user features that are useful for many folks:

Drag and drop any text on the page into the toolbar search box to search the web.

Press Alt-S to instantly put the cursor focus into the toolbar search box.

Right-click any toolbar button or menu item to open its destination in a new window.

Use Search This Site button to get results only for the current web site. See Toolbar Options

Enjoy!

Duke Fan
Yahoo! Toolbar Product Manager

Can Google mop up with Ajax?


Search giant shows that rich Web applications can be built from older tech. At risk: Flash, Java and even Microsoft. Read more here.

Can You Outsource Innovation?

BusinessWeek is asking interesting questions about outsourcing innovation in this week's issue.

"R&D used to be treated as one big black box," says Vivek Paul, CEO of Indian info-tech services giant Wipro Technologies (WIT ), whose contract R&D service employs 8,000 engineers. "Now, companies are deconstructing the whole R&D chain, sorting out what's strategic and what's not."

To help provide answers, Parametric Technology (PTC), a Needham, (Mass.) producer of collaborative design software for 31,000 clients worldwide, commissioned a study of a typical R&D workforce of a typical electronics company. It concluded that about 30% of the jobs were "portable," meaning companies could shift them offshore. (From: R&D Jobs: Who Stays, Who Goes?)

Is there a point of no-return with offshoring and outsourcing?

Flexible-screen phone in 2007...

Or so they say. Philips Polymer Vision is reportedly making great strides in producing a flexible screen for phones. When you want to view a larger screen than the tiny external display on your phone, you can unfurl your phone's flexible screen like a scroll. Not only will this scroll screen be a boon to wizards, it can also provide a 320 x 240-pixel image, making it better (but not entirely good) for viewing documents and web pages on your phone. Rumor has it that this new screen could be ready in as little as two years. We think it'll show up around the time that your refrigerator begins talking to your dishwasher via Bluetooth and all of your monetary needs are taken care of by the Intergalactic Federation.

Future Now: Wrist Video

So, it took us 40+ years to come from Dick Tracy's imaginary wrist radio to Israeli Army's very real wrist video, developed by Tadiran Spectralink. The screens display video shot by unmanned airplanes. "We are fulfilling the science fiction movies that we see," said Itzhak Beni, chief executive of the Elisra Group's Tadiran Electronic Systems and Tadiran Spectralink companies.
-- Associated Press via Engadget

Adverting Robots

A Japanese firm Flower Robotics has developed a mannequin robot that can strike a pose for customers - and spy on who they are and what they're buying.

"Mannequins have been static but this will pose for the nearest person by sensing his or her position," robot designer Tatsuya Matsui told a news conference. The robot would be able to judge the age and sex of shoppers and even identify the bags they are carrying and pass along the information to stores for marketing purposes.
--tvnz.co.nz

iPod People

Andrew Sullivan's written an interesting piece about how isolated and lonely we seem to be these days. He wonders if we've turned into the iPod People, as he describes a recent stroll through New York:

There were little white wires hanging down from their ears, or tucked into pockets, purses or jackets. The eyes were a little vacant. Each was in his or her own musical world, walking to their soundtrack, stars in their own music video, almost oblivious to the world around them. These are the iPod people.

I noticed this when I went skiing this past week, especially obvious were the iPod teens on the ski lifts, staring into space like zombies, seated next to me.

Can a product change a society so fundamentally, or is this product showing us something about our society that was always there?

Mobile networks seek turbo boost

Third-generation mobile (3G) networks need to get faster if they are to deliver fast internet surfing on the move and exciting new services.

The "digital divide" between rich and poor nations is narrowing fast, according to a World Bank report.

The World Bank questioned a United Nation's campaign to increase usage and access to technology in poorer nations.

Lead; Follow - Get Out of the Way!

Could Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs be thinking about more than just inducing a few PC enthusiasts to switch to the Mac? He claims not to be interested in the Media Center concept, noting that the cable industry is a monopoly. However, he is also famous for misleading analysts.

Firefox Keeps Gaining

"If ever there were a sign that Firefox is gaining markeshare, here you have it. Yahoo has released a PC Firefox version of its toolbar, and plans to add Mac support soon."

Further evidence: the B2 Website's tally of browser now has Explorer's share at 73% and Firefox at 10%.

Fiorina out!

Carly Fiorina, one of corporate America's highest ranking female executives, has stepped down as chairman and chief executive of Hewlett-Packard.

UPDATE: Who said incompetence doesn't pay off.

The Business Of Nanotech

There's still plenty of hype, but nanotechnology is finally moving from the lab to the marketplace. Get ready for cars, chips, and golf balls made with new materials engineered down to the level of individual atoms.

Yahoo launches 'contextual' search

Yahoo is offering a new search service designed to help people find more-relevant content online.

RFID: Plenty of Mixed Signals

Despite Wal-Mart's push for radio-frequency identification, skeptical suppliers are still foolishly slow to embrace the new technology.

New Yahoo tool sends business info to mobile phones

Yahoo began offering on Thursday a new tool that allows users of its local search service to send restaurant or business information in the form of a text message from a computer to a mobile phone.

Amazon search pictures your destination

Amazon.com is mapping the streets of the United States in an ambitious digital photography project to drive people into local businesses.

Sun poised to take open-source Solaris

Sun Microsystems is about to take the next step in its plan to refurbish the reputation of its Solaris operating system in the eyes of a small but crucial group: programmers.

CES 2005

Which gadgets will come out of CES 2005 to capture the hearts and dollars of consumers?

Bezos offers glimpse into space project

Blue Origin, the secretive space exploration company founded by Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, on Thursday, Jan. 13th, quietly announced plans to build a testing facility on a remote ranch in western Texas.

Yahoo, Microsoft gaining ground on Google

Google remains the favorite of search consumers, but Yahoo and Microsoft are closing the gap, according to a new survey.

Google unveils budget search appliance

With the new product, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company hopes to broaden its search-appliance business to cater to smaller businesses with fewer documents and tighter budgets.

Interent Phones

Your next telephone may not actually be a telephone. It may look and work like a phone, but it will connect to the Internet, not a telephone line, and it will cost less than today's phones.

Apple unveils $499 PC!

SAN FRANCISCO--After decades of being criticized for producing luxury items, Apple Computer is aiming squarely at the mass market with a new budget PC unveiled Tuesday.

VoIP's voice gets stronger

Internet telephones broke through the mass market in 2004, after nearly a decade in gestation, and became the telecom story of the year.

Bundle up, it's cold outside

With evidence mounting that bundles do wonders for service providers, the next mad dash is to figure out ways to bundle mobile phone service with other offerings.

Sirius to lanuch video service in 2006

With help from Microsoft, Sirius Satellite Radio is refining plans to add a visual component to its stream of entertainment, mostly targeting people in cars. As it now stands, the service is audio-based.

What's Next for Google?

Running the Web’s best search engine isn’t enough: Google wants to organize all digital information. That means war with Microsoft.

TV to Go: TiVo Unveils Portable Service

TiVo Inc. pioneered digital video recording as a new way of watching television -- when you want it. Now it could be TV where you want it, too.

You, Too, Can Be a Podcaster

Although he’s famous for having been an MTV VJ, Adam Curry is better known these days as one of the fathers of podcasting, a rapidly growing technology that allows anyone to subscribe to and automatically download audio content feeds to an MP3 player.

The BlackBerry Brain Trust

First Mike Lazaridis reinvented the way we get email. Now he's rounded up a bunch of radical thinkers to reinvent physics itself.

VOIP Howto

Voice Over IP is a new communication means that let you telephone with Internet at almost null cost. How this is possible, what systems are used, what is the standard, all that is covered by this Howto.

Build Your Own Hot Spot

Free, ubiquitous Internet access may be just around the corner--literally. One of the most exciting aspects of wireless LAN technology lies in its potential for broadband sharing.

Looking for 'opinions' on computer hardware? Check out Epinions web site on this category.

Find it fast: six apps that search your hard drive

Need to find a specific e-mail message or file on your hard drive? You're not alone. Fortunately, six new localized search apps let you search your hard drive. Read on to find out more.

RSS: News you choose

Finding it hard to stay abreast of the latest news and conversations on the Web? You're not alone.

Dear IE, I'm leaving you for good

Robert Vamosi, Senior editor, CNET Reviews; gives his viewpoint on IE.