http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream News en-us Fri, 18 May 2012 16:59:55 MDT Fri, 18 May 2012 16:59:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/rss.php PLuGHiTz Corporation admin@plughitz.com (PLuGHiTz Corporation) webmaster@plughitz.com (PLuGHiTz Corporation) http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1724-valve-no-new-hardware-or-software-announcement-at-e3.html <p>Being so close to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/22-electronic-entertainment-expo-e3-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">E3 2012</a>, it wouldn't be right if there wasn't any gaming talk. Unfortunately, Valve says there won't be product announcement talk at E3. I guess we have to wait some more to hear more news about the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1652-rumor-mill-churns-with-talks-of-valve-creating-a-console-called-steam-box.html" class="UpStreamLink">Steam Box</a>, as expected. We had hopes though and now I have to return the disco ball I rented for the celebration of new products being announced as Valve confirmed the news this week. </p><p> </p><p>Valve rep Doug Lombardi said this week that, "We have no product announcements planned for this year's show." </p><p> </p><p>While we shouldn't be too surprised by this, it still is unfortunate that they aren't a huge player at E3. Last year, they were seemingly nowhere to be found and the year prior was used only to show us another glimpse of <i>Portal 2</i>. We have to trek back to 2009 and the <i>Left 4 Dead</i> sequel in order to see Valve in the limelight. </p><p> </p><p>For now, any hope of <i>Half-Life</i> news also goes down the drain. Valve will maintain the silent treatment about anything regarding the title which is apparently still going through "twists and turns." </p><p> </p><p>There is a glimmer of good news, though. Valve did confirm they will be presenting some of their known projects like <i>DOTA 2</i>, <i>Counterstrike: Global Offensive</i> and Steam's living room project, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/thebigpicture.php" class="UpStreamLink">Big Picture Mode</a>. I'm personally excited about <i>Counterstrike</i> and I really hope Valve makes their presence felt this year. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some <i>Left 4 Dead</i> game-playing to do. </p> Sun, 06 May 2012 01:23:56 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1724-valve-no-new-hardware-or-software-announcement-at-e3.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1723-verizon-to-provide-textto911-nationwide-solution.html <p>While Sprint may have <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1717-sprint-lands-2-billion-multiyear-multistate-contract.html" class="UpStreamLink">secured a deal with 15 states for four years</a>, things are also looking up for Verizon. We've known the United States has been working on being able to text in your 911 emergencies for quite some time now and Verizon has stepped up to help build the nationwide text system for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://transition.fcc.gov/pshs/services/911-services/nextgen.html" class="UpStreamLink">Next Generation 911</a> upgrade project. The company has selected TeleCommunication Systems Inc to assist them with the build out, which will include upgrades that will also increase the accuracy of the location data the 911 dispatchers receive for the calls. </p><p> </p><p>How are they positioning this project? Learn the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1723-verizon-to-provide-textto911-nationwide-solution.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 May 2012 01:09:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1723-verizon-to-provide-textto911-nationwide-solution.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1722-nickelodeon-down-netflix-up-viacom-doesnt-see-connection.html <p>Since Netflix and Hulu started streaming content, both new and old, to your computer, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii and more, for a very low cost, the future of appointment television has been bleak. In fact, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/staff/15-avram-piltch.html" class="UpStreamLink">Piltch Point host and Online Editorial Director of LAPTOP Magazine, Avram Piltch</a> listed it as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://blog.laptopmag.com/15-current-technologies-my-newborn-son-wont-use?slide=13" class="UpStreamLink">one of the 15 modern technologies his son will never use</a>. While those of us with computers know what is obviously coming, there are others who do not understand it. </p><p> </p><p>Viacom, the company who <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/592-viacoms-new-youtube-documents-shed-no-light.html" class="UpStreamLink">took on YouTube</a>, and has famously not understood the Internet, feels that it has had no impact on their flagship kids network, Nickelodeon. Nick has experienced a MASSIVE drop-off in viewership over the past few years, especially over the past 12 months, but this 30% loss has nothing to do with Netflix, according to CEO Philippe Dauman. </p><p> </p><p>What does he attribute the lack of success to? We have his explanation after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1722-nickelodeon-down-netflix-up-viacom-doesnt-see-connection.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 May 2012 00:11:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1722-nickelodeon-down-netflix-up-viacom-doesnt-see-connection.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1721-could-a-100-xbox-360-revitalize-hardware-sales.html <p>It is no secret that gaming hardware sales are down. Nintendo <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1714-nintendo-posts-annual-loss-for-the-first-time-ever.html" class="UpStreamLink">posted its first ever loss</a> this quarter but, in large part, to lackluster hardware sales. They sold just under 10 million Wii consoles compared to 15 million this time last year; that is a 33% drop in hardware sales. The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1282-nintendo-slashes-price-on-3ds-after-an-82-cut-in-sales-forecast.html" class="UpStreamLink">sales numbers on the 3DS</a> are, at this point, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1449-nintendo-3ds-sees-shallow-sales-in-us-and-europe.html" class="UpStreamLink">legendary</a>, and it is difficult to recover from. </p><p> </p><p>In addition to Nintendo's sales problems, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1383-sonys-postvalentines-day-present-vita-due-out-february-22nd-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sony's PS Vita</a> has not had <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1622-sony-exec-expects-the-ps-vita-to-dominate-in-the-us.html" class="UpStreamLink">the sales that executives expected</a>. A large part of the problem for handheld gaming is the proliferation of smartphones and the amount and quality of gaming available on those platforms. For example, the <i> Asphalt 6</i> that came with with the BlackBerry PlayBook OS2 upgrade is on par with any racing game available on the 3DS or Vita. </p><p> </p><p>While sales for dedicated gaming hardware seem to be slipping, and Nintendo and Sony seem caught off guard by this slip, Microsoft seems to have had a plan in place to deal with it. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/375-facebook-brings-2-million-users-to-xbox-live.html" class="UpStreamLink">Their plan</a> <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/695-e3-2010-espn-and-xbox-now-playing-for-the-same-team.html" class="UpStreamLink">has been</a> <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/946-microsoft-to-expand-xbox-tv-service.html" class="UpStreamLink">to emphasize</a> <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1144-hulu-plus-makes-its-way-to-the-360.html" class="UpStreamLink">the media</a> <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1186-microsoft-says-xbox-entertainment.html" class="UpStreamLink">aspects of</a> <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1346-dashboard-updates-and-live-tv-for-xbox-360.html" class="UpStreamLink">the console</a>. In fact, they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/974-media-is-the-new-gaming.html" class="UpStreamLink">affected statistics for consoles</a> with this strategy. </p><p> </p><p>While it has been a winning strategy until now, it won't last forever. Will a cheaper console be their next move? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1721-could-a-100-xbox-360-revitalize-hardware-sales.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 May 2012 00:09:31 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1721-could-a-100-xbox-360-revitalize-hardware-sales.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1720-att-helps-you-protect-your-phone-from-theft-lockdowns-coming-soon.html <p>AT&T decided this week that it's a good idea to help eliminate cell phone theft. The company has launched a new section of their website that not only helped customers be better informed on protecting their devices, but will also, in time, be able to shut down the stolen device. The site, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.att.com/stolenphone" class="UpStreamLink">att.com/stolenphone</a> first tells all users to put a password on your mobile device and change it often. It also has information on the security apps available and features a tutorial on how to back up contacts on a SIM card. </p><p> </p><p>The AT&T Stolen Phone program launched shortly after the FCC came together with the wireless providers to work on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2402830,00.asp" class="UpStreamLink">building a list of all stolen devices</a>. For more on the program and what this list will do, check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1720-att-helps-you-protect-your-phone-from-theft-lockdowns-coming-soon.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 May 2012 00:09:00 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1720-att-helps-you-protect-your-phone-from-theft-lockdowns-coming-soon.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1719-arianna-huffington-steps-aside-as-czar-of-aol-media.html <p>A little over a year ago, AOL agreed to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1044-aol-buys-another-company-huffington-post-for-315-million.html" class="UpStreamLink">purchase The Huffington Post</a>, which made Arianna Huffington the Editor-in-Chief of AOL media. This decision was controversial all over the Internet, but most famously through the TechCrunch space, who lost their founder, Mike Arrington, followed by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/16/last-post/" class="UpStreamLink">an exodus of employees</a> following behind him. Obviously the decision to make Huffington Czar of AOL has turned out well for the company, so long as their goal was to make all of their brands as irrelevant as AOL itself. </p><p> </p><p>AOL's management seems to be a little less ostrich-like this week, pulling their head out of the sand long enough to scale Arianna's role in the company back. In fact, management has brought in former Time Inc. executive Ned Desmond to oversee everything that Arianna has ruined, including Engadget, Joystiq, TechCrunch and The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW). While Arianna has tried to make it sound like it was her decision, it is clear to anyone with a brain that it was not; this might be why she thinks it is her decision. She has been banished back to the obscurity of HuffPo, where she can continue to oversee insanity and feel right at home. </p><p> </p><p>AOL's management seems excited about this transition. Hit the break to hear what they have to say about it and what it could mean for some of the biggest tech blogs on the web. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1719-arianna-huffington-steps-aside-as-czar-of-aol-media.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 05 May 2012 23:39:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1719-arianna-huffington-steps-aside-as-czar-of-aol-media.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1718-googles-next-ftc-fine-may-be-huge.html <p>Google and the government have a very sketchy relationship. They recently received a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1691-googles-street-view-disaster-costs-only-25000.html" class="UpStreamLink">$25,000 fine for the StreetView debacle</a>, plus the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1712-ftc-ramping-up-for-google-antitrust-case.html" class="UpStreamLink">impending anti-trust case</a>, but that isn't their only current problem. They have also been under investigation over a violation of Internet privacy, overriding security settings on Apple's Safari web browser, and this fine won't be a slap on the wrist. </p><p> </p><p>The issue revolves around Google planting cookies on the users computer, which allowed Google to bypass Safari's privacy settings. The cookies allowed Google to target ads to users on all platforms using Safari, including desktops, laptops, iPads and iPhones. As with the StreetView issue, they claimed it was an accident and that they removed the files. According to an anonymous source familiar with the issue, Google and the FTC are currently in discussions over the size of the fine for this breach of public trust. The numbers are currently topping out in the $10 million range. </p><p> </p><p>Why is this breach of privacy going to cost so much more than the last? Hit the break for the details. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1718-googles-next-ftc-fine-may-be-huge.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 05 May 2012 23:00:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1718-googles-next-ftc-fine-may-be-huge.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1717-sprint-lands-2-billion-multiyear-multistate-contract.html <p>Sprint's 2012 has not quite been what they had hoped it would be, with the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1658-sprint-terminates-relationship-with-lightsquared.html" class="UpStreamLink">termination of the LightSquared deal</a> and having to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1644-sprint-to-help-clearwire-again-with-another-2-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">dump piles of cash into Clearwire</a> to keep their current 4G network alive. They have also had trouble in recent years with their government contracts - there was once a time when every government agent had a Nextel phone, but with the antique nature of the network, that has not lasted. This week, Sprint announced a partnership that will help with both of these situations. </p><p> </p><p>The Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA), a combination of 15 states who have pooled their purchasing power to get better rates for services, has signed a 4 year, $2 billion deal with Sprint to provide wireless services to healthcare, education, safety, utilities and non-profits across those 15 states. This deal marks one of Sprint's largest deals of the year, something they certainly need with all of the partner problems they have had. </p><p> </p><p>Why did they choose Sprint and what does this mean for the company? Find out after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1717-sprint-lands-2-billion-multiyear-multistate-contract.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 05 May 2012 16:56:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1717-sprint-lands-2-billion-multiyear-multistate-contract.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1716-facebooks-ipo-to-happen-may-16th-talks-may-start-next-week.html <p>Normally, before a company will start an initial public offering (IPO) they will go into a dark room and lock themselves in for a very long time. This is prevent statements intended to influence potential investors and valuation changes, as it is difficult for investors to hit a moving target. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1430-facebook-ipo-might-not-be-the-smartest-thing-after-groupons-failure.html" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook's rumored IPO</a> felt like it was going to happen any time now but then the company went ahead and purchased <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1685-why-wait-for-an-ipo-facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">Instagram for $1 billion</a> and then right after that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1706-facebook-buys-microsofts-acquired-patents-from-aol.html" class="UpStreamLink">spent $550 million on patents</a> from Microsoft. You'd think they would have to take some time after these major purchases and restructure their offering. </p><p> </p><p>Not Facebook. Reports have been flying all over the Internet this week that the company might be starting its rounds to investors as early as next week and will be scheduling their IPO around May 16th. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1716-facebooks-ipo-to-happen-may-16th-talks-may-start-next-week.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 04 May 2012 17:14:13 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1716-facebooks-ipo-to-happen-may-16th-talks-may-start-next-week.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1715-lightsquareds-falcone-may-step-down-to-save-company.html <p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="UpStreamLink">FCC's suspension of the waiver granted to LightSquared</a> to deploy their own, privately funded 4G LTE Advanced network has led to an interesting turn of events in the tech world. LightSquared has since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1672-lightsquared-takes-it-right-to-the-fcc-claiming-violated-rights.html" class="UpStreamLink">responded to the FCC</a>, claiming the FCC has violates LightSquared's rights. Because of the suspension, Sprint had <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1658-sprint-terminates-relationship-with-lightsquared.html" class="UpStreamLink">to look elsewhere for their 4G LTE network</a> and has dumped truckloads of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1711-clearwire-posts-q1-loss-beats-expectations-aims-for-the-future.html" class="UpStreamLink">cash into Clearwire, who might have been their next option</a>, only for the company to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1711-clearwire-posts-q1-loss-beats-expectations-aims-for-the-future.html" class="UpStreamLink">lose money in Q1</a> and Sprint had decided to build their own network anyway. Like I said, an interesting time it has been. </p><p> </p><p>Now, Philip Falcone, CEO of LightSquared's top investor, Harbinger Capital, may end up resigning as the public head of the company. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1715-lightsquareds-falcone-may-step-down-to-save-company.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 03 May 2012 15:49:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1715-lightsquareds-falcone-may-step-down-to-save-company.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1714-nintendo-posts-annual-loss-for-the-first-time-ever.html <p>With the launch of the upcoming <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1686-nintendos-wii-u-might-sell-for-300.html" class="UpStreamLink">Wii U</a>, Nintendo is hoping that this will help them recover from a couple of bad months of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1449-nintendo-3ds-sees-shallow-sales-in-us-and-europe.html" class="UpStreamLink">lackluster sales</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1329-nintendos-3ds-ambassador-program-goes-live.html" class="UpStreamLink">3DS price drops</a>. However, bad news is still looming for Nintendo as they move into the E3 that will either make or break the company. </p><p> </p><p>This week, for the first time in the history of Nintendo, they posted a net loss of $533 million. Wii sales haven't been very high as of late and has also caused them to post an operating loss of $460 million. This is very disheartening to learn about, as this is the same company that brought us the coveted <i>Mario</i> and <i>Zelda</i> franchises that we all know and love. </p><p> </p><p>Has Nintendo seen its hey-day finally fade into the 8-bit darkness from which it emerged? </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1714-nintendo-posts-annual-loss-for-the-first-time-ever.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Apr 2012 14:03:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1714-nintendo-posts-annual-loss-for-the-first-time-ever.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1713-microsoft-to-launch-new-streaming-service-under-xbox-branding.html <p>Would you like a way to stream your music across any device you may have, whether it be Windows 8, Android or iOS? Would it be even better if I told you Microsoft may have something in the works? If you thought this might be something we'd see in the next few years, you will be pleasantly surprised with the news coming out of the Microsoft camp this week. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft is reported to be showcasing a new music platform at E3 next month in LA. Taking on the codename of "Woodstock," we are told that the service will take on the Xbox branding, much like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1630-microsoft-waves-goodbye-to-windows-live-and-zune-in-windows-8.html" class="UpStreamLink">the Zune rebranding we saw a few months ago</a>. The great thing is that the publication <i>The Verge</i> has been told that the service will be able to stream across devices that are running on Windows 8, iOS or even Android and we will see the new music service heavily involved with Facebook and won't need any plug-ins to work. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1713-microsoft-to-launch-new-streaming-service-under-xbox-branding.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:33:18 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1713-microsoft-to-launch-new-streaming-service-under-xbox-branding.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1712-ftc-ramping-up-for-google-antitrust-case.html <p>The Federal Trade Commission has been building an <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1222-google-in-hot-water-with-the-government.html" class="UpStreamLink">antitrust case against Google</a> for almost a year now. While Google has remained confident that they have done nothing wrong, decisions like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/401-google-wants-some-yelp.html" class="UpStreamLink"> stealing data from competitors</a>, especially those who are unwilling to sell, have given the FTC enough confidence to continue. This week, that confidence encouraged them to hire outside counsel to help them with the upcoming case. </p><p> </p><p>The FTC has only hired outside help twice in the last decade, so that suggests that this case is on its way and will be quite the project. This will not be easy for Google, as they have other major legal battles underway, including the big <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1692-oracles-suit-against-android-finally-going-to-trial.html" class="UpStreamLink">Oracle case</a>, whose details will surely be used as evidence in the upcoming antitrust case. </p><p> </p><p>For some background on the case and what insiders are saying, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1712-ftc-ramping-up-for-google-antitrust-case.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:54:49 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1712-ftc-ramping-up-for-google-antitrust-case.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1711-clearwire-posts-q1-loss-beats-expectations-aims-for-the-future.html <p>This week, Clearwire sent in their Q1 report and the numbers aren't good. For those that haven't been following the Clearwire saga, you can recap it all from the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1626-clearwire-needs-more-than-the-1-billion-in-cash-to-operate.html" class="UpStreamLink">first moment of glory here</a>. Once you've discovered the basics, you can check out <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1644-sprint-to-help-clearwire-again-with-another-2-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">how Sprint is pretty much holding the company above water</a>, why <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1656-google-drops-clearwire-stock-takes-huge-loss-in-the-process.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google dropped its stake in the company</a> and why <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1658-sprint-terminates-relationship-with-lightsquared.html" class="UpStreamLink">the failed LightSquared deal</a> could have been the best thing to happen to Clearwire. </p><p> </p><p>While the potential of a Clearwire replacement for LightSquared didn't pan out, the news came after the first quarter ended. This potential expansion still didn't help Clearwire's numbers with numbers down across the board. The company reported its first loss in quarter-over-quarter total revenue this week. The good news is that the actual dollar amount of revenue beat what most analysts predicted, so I suppose that is a small uptick. The company was able to gain some dollars from Sprint selling the service directly to customers and Clearwire saw a rise in stock price over the past 12 weeks. </p><p> </p><p>Sprint is still using Clearwire's 4G WiMAX network while other carriers skipped over that technology and moved right to 4G LTE. However, with the aforementioned potential LightSquared failure, Sprint has decided to basically fund the network provider to help them deploy a true 4G network in the next two years. This 4G is rumored to be true 4G LTE Advanced and will blow away the current data speeds we are seeing on other carriers today. </p><p> </p><p>For Clearwire, Sprint paid them around $6 for every 4G subscriber on their service last year but has now reworked the agreement to a flat rate of $900 million for both years 2012 and 2013, no matter how many customers are actually on the network. They will also be utilizing Clearwire's towers to sell their Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile services, which are both pre-paid options. </p><p> </p><p>While revenue may be down, hopefully good things are to come with the new 4G roll-out we should see soon. Clearwire's stock price rose 5.4 percent, to $1.55 per share, after release of the results, which shows that shareholders see the value in the company long term, despite the losses for the quarter. Let's hope their 11 million subscribers agree and stick with Clear through the tough times and enjoy 100 Mb/s speeds in the near future.</p> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:03:45 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1711-clearwire-posts-q1-loss-beats-expectations-aims-for-the-future.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1710-nintendo-to-make-new-games-available-via-download.html <p>Nintendo has long made it clear that it believed that downloadable games were something they did not think played into their strengths. In fact, they have continued to prove this belief by focusing on cartridges for the DS and discs for the Wii. They have certainly been left behind by the other two companies, with Microsoft offering many of its titles via download shortly after release, plus their download-only games available in the Xbox Live Marketplace, and Sony offering the PS Vita, the first platform to offer day one digital downloads. </p><p> </p><p>Nintendo has made the decision to change their policy, as described during their financial results briefing. Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, announced that, starting with <i>New Super Mario Bros. 2</i> on the 3DS and later with titles on the WiiU, new titles will be available via both physical and digital distribution. There are positives and negatives to both options for everyone involved, of course. Developers, publishers and console manufacturers certainly like the idea of digital distribution. No packaging and no resale value means lower costs and higher sales, except for GameStop. Some gamers, however, prefer the physical media so they can share the game with their friends, or resell it to GameStop, Amazon, RadioShack and the like. </p><p> </p><p>Will this help get Nintendo back to profitability or is this too little too late? Hit the break for our take. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1710-nintendo-to-make-new-games-available-via-download.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:48:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1710-nintendo-to-make-new-games-available-via-download.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1709-the-wonderful-windows-of-woz.html <p>Everyone loves Steve Wozniak, one of three co-founders of Apple Inc. Even if you hate Apple and their products, you can't hate this man. Every time he speaks, the technology world listens, because he is not afraid to say exactly what is on his mind, even when it goes against his former company, which it often does. Recently, in an interview with his autobiography's co-author Gina Smith, and Dan Patterson, Woz talked about his experiences with his newly acquired Nokia Lumia handset running Windows Phone. </p><p> </p><p>He described the experience as being more like working "with a friend not a tool." Considering Apple's marketing is about the ease of use of their handset, this is a pretty big comment about the phone his former company is eating lunch off of. In fact, he said that it was "no contest" between Windows Phone and iOS. He added that iOS is "more awkward" that Windows Phone and that even Android beats it out in usability. He believes that the element that is holding back the platform is a smaller App Catalog. My favorite quote from him is, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">I'm kind of shocked. Every screen is much more beautiful than the same apps on Android or iPhone.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Woz never mentioned the version of Lumia he is using, but he is not the type of man to have a lesser handset, so we can make the assumption it is the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1693-nokias-next-big-thing.html" class="UpStreamLink">flagship Lumia 900</a>. He also made a comment on Twitter about wanting to get his hands on one. So, what does this mean for Windows Phone? I think the support of Woz will help the Lumia and ultimately the platform pick up steam for sure. Hopefully it will also help get some of the app developers to fill in the only hole he sees. </p><p> </p><p>So, with Woz's endorsement, are you more inclined to pick up a Lumia yourself? Let us know in the comments.</p> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:31:19 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1709-the-wonderful-windows-of-woz.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1708-facebook-bill-headed-to-congress-after-all.html <p>We <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/radio/1-249-episode-249.html" class="UpStreamLink">recently spoke</a> with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/staff/15-avram-piltch.html" class="UpStreamLink">Avram Piltch</a>, Online Editorial Director for LAPTOP Magazine and host of The Piltch Point, about a rising trend in employment. It turns out, more and more businesses and government agencies are asking for Facebook passwords before hiring new employees. Currently, employment law prevents employers from asking certain questions of their prospects, such as military service history, past employment history, medical background, etc. Their solution is to, instead of asking the questions, get the prospect's Facebook password so they can get the answers without the question. </p><p> </p><p>Obviously, prospects are not happy about this trend. It is tantamount to a home invasion. Employers can find even more information about you, like music choice, sexual orientation, etc, all of which can be used to make decisions based on information they are not allowed to ask about. The US House heard tell of this invasion of privacy and decided to try and pass a law adding social networking passwords to the questions employers cannot ask. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the month, it <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1683-house-votes-down-blocking-employers-from-asking-for-facebook-passwords-sort-of.html" class="UpStreamLink">appeared the law would be defeated</a>. </p><p> </p><p>This week, the law managed to make its way closer to the floor. Hit the break to find out what the sponsors have to say about the bill and what they think it accomplishes. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1708-facebook-bill-headed-to-congress-after-all.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 13:43:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1708-facebook-bill-headed-to-congress-after-all.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1707-att-tmobile-spectrum-transfer-approved.html <p>Over the past year, the FCC has made a lot of questionable decisions. Whether it be <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1447-attmobile-one-step-closer-to-failing.html" class="UpStreamLink">denying the merger</a> between <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T and T-Mobile</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="UpStreamLink">blocking LightSquared's LTE network</a>, which they had previously approved, or their decision to only <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1691-googles-street-view-disaster-costs-only-25000.html" class="UpStreamLink">fine Google $25,000 for the Street View disaster</a>, they have been ruffling a lot of feathers, including <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1681-house-works-to-limit-the-fcc.html" class="UpStreamLink">Congress</a>. </p><p> </p><p>This week, they gained a little bit of favor back, at least with the German company Deutsche Telekom, parent of T-Mobile USA. Part of the original exit strategy for the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile was a transfer of a lot of money and a lot of spectrum. While there is no requirement that the FCC approve cash transfer, there is for spectrum transfer. </p><p> </p><p>In an uncharacteristic move, the FCC made their decision quickly. What was the decision and how did T-Mobile respond? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1707-att-tmobile-spectrum-transfer-approved.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:54:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1707-att-tmobile-spectrum-transfer-approved.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1706-facebook-buys-microsofts-acquired-patents-from-aol.html <p>Last month, we talked about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1674-aol-considering-selling-patent-portfolio.html" class="UpStreamLink">AOL wanting to sell off their patent portfolio</a> for a serious cash injection into the business and just two weeks ago, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1687-microsoft-buys-aol-patent-portfolio-for-over-1-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">Microsoft scooped up the patents for over $1 billion</a>. It seems that Facebook wanted a piece of the pie. </p><p> </p><p>In an effort to take down the evasive Google, the social networking company struck a deal with Microsoft this week to gain access to their newly-acquired patents. Analysts agree that this is a move to shift the power Google has over the Internet and try to balance the playing field. What better way than for two of the biggest forces on the web to join together? </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1706-facebook-buys-microsofts-acquired-patents-from-aol.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Apr 2012 05:24:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1706-facebook-buys-microsofts-acquired-patents-from-aol.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1705-spotify-and-cocacola-working-together-in-musicstreaming-harmony.html <p>It's been a while since we've talked about Spotify. Since the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1259-spotify-here-at-last.html" class="UpStreamLink">arrival onshore in July</a>, there's been a lot of activity for the company, both good and bad. For the good, we've seen them work with numerous companies <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1336-spotify-drops-in-on-ford-syncs-up-some-mad-beats.html" class="UpStreamLink">like Ford and their SYNC capabilities</a>, their move <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1408-spotify-spotted-on-windows-phone-7.html" class="UpStreamLink">to the Windows Phone platform</a> and the company has even <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1440-spotify-welcomes-developers-with-apps-and-an-open-platform.html" class="UpStreamLink">welcomed developers to make the successful apps</a> we have on Spotify today. For the bad, a lack of subscription traction, outages that can last up to five hours and artists pulling out over royalty disputes has the company reeling a bit. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Spotify has some news that is going to bring them back into the positive light. The music streaming service will be teaming up with Coca-Cola and its Internet marketing team to bring more users and awareness to the platform. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1705-spotify-and-cocacola-working-together-in-musicstreaming-harmony.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:51:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1705-spotify-and-cocacola-working-together-in-musicstreaming-harmony.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1704-qi-wireless-charging-enhanced.html <p>Since our interview at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/10-consumer-electronics-show-ces-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2012</a>, The Wireless Power Consortium has announced a major update to the Qi standard for wireless charging. The standard, which originally allowed for charging over a 5mm distance, has now been rewritten to allow for a charging distance of 40mm. </p><p> </p><p>This will help create the Utopian charging world that Fulton Innovation and others have hoped for - the ability to charge any device on any surface. This is accomplished by having these charging plates built-in to things like nightstands, desks and tables. Pushing the power more than 5mm is a major component in making that happen. </p><p> </p><p>Qi is currently backed by over 100 major label tech companies and growing at a remarkable rate. Not only do they see this as a replacement for charging cables, or device specific charging, such as with the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1029-hp-introduces-2-webos-phones-1-tablet-and-no-palm.html" class="UpStreamLink">HP/Palm handsets</a>, but as a replacement for all power. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see our interview with Fulton Innovation at CES 2012 and some of the other creative uses they see for this exciting technology. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1704-qi-wireless-charging-enhanced.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:55:21 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1704-qi-wireless-charging-enhanced.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1703-google-responsible-for-uploaded-content-in-germany.html <p>Google has had a lot of trouble with YouTube since it was first purchased in 2006. It started with a lawsuit from Viacom and has progressed to RIAA and other content owners, all upset about their protected media being uploaded to the service without their permission. Google has made agreements with nearly everyone, allowing them to follow standard US Internet law, saying that they are not responsible for the content uploaded to their site, but are required to pull anything that is infringement. </p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately for the company, that law does not exist everywhere. In Germany, for instance, a recent court loss states that Google is responsible for the content uploaded to their service, not the users. The royalty collection group, Gema, similar to our RIAA, is obviously very happy about this win. They believe that Google has never done enough to protect copyrighted material. </p><p> </p><p>How did Google respond? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1703-google-responsible-for-uploaded-content-in-germany.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:12:11 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1703-google-responsible-for-uploaded-content-in-germany.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1702-class-action-against-facebook-credits.html <p>Facebook Credits have been a topic of discussion many times in our past, whether it be for their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/627-farmville-a-thing-of-the-past.html" class="UpStreamLink">30% profit margin for Facebook</a>, Facebook's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1019-facebook-forces-crafty-creators-to-use-credits-as-their-currency.html" class="UpStreamLink"> insistence that everyone use only their credits</a> or their plan to get into <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1279-facebook-wants-mobile-money.html" class="UpStreamLink">mobile payments</a>. Never before have we really covered the legal ramifications of this payment system, however; probably because there never was any, until now. </p><p> </p><p>An Arizona mother, Glynnis Bohannon, has filed a class action lawsuit against Facebook because her 13-year-old child purchased Facebook Credits with her credit card without her permission. She is encouraging every parent who has had a similar situation to join her in her crusade. She, and anyone who joins her, will have two major stumbling blocks in winning this case. First, Facebook's policy, which you must agree to before registering for their service, states, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">If you are under the age of 18, you may make payments only with the involvement of a parent or guardian. You should review these Payments Terms with a parent or guardian to make sure that you both understand them.</div> </p><p> </p><p>That alone seems like a statement that will lose her the case, but that is not all. Hit the break to find out why else she will undoubtedly lose. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1702-class-action-against-facebook-credits.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:52:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1702-class-action-against-facebook-credits.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1701-verizon-fios-to-ramp-up-installs-again.html <p>Two years ago we heard from Verizon that they were going to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/562-fios-goes-mia.html" class="UpStreamLink">slow installs of FiOS nationwide</a>, followed by the announcement last year that any installs not currently active would not be continued. This week, Verizon has decided that their marketing might actually be doing the trick, and has decided to reactive a dark market - Tampa, Florida. </p><p> </p><p>They will be adding an additional 17,700 new households to the availability footprint for the fiber optic Internet and television service. This will bring the market total accessibility to more than 1.1 million households. Considering this is one of the original Road Runner cable Internet test markets, it is a little more than surprising that the service isn't already available in the entire market. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know who will be affected? Hit the break for the full breakdown. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1701-verizon-fios-to-ramp-up-installs-again.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:22:13 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1701-verizon-fios-to-ramp-up-installs-again.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1700-a-7yearolds-wish-come-true-with-batman.html <p>This has been a tough week in the cosplay space with a lot of negative attention brought in from a particularly negative individual. Because I do not want to give him any more press, however, I have a positive story from the cosplay world this week, and it involves the police and Batman. </p><p> </p><p>7-year-old Kye, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, is living with leukemia, and his one wish is to have an adventure with Batman. Well, thanks to the help of the organization "A Wish with Wings," the Arlington Police Department and the Arlington Fire Department, he had just that. Arlington police setup a series of fake crimes, perpetrated by Batman villains, including The Joker and The Riddler, all to be foiled by Batman and his little assistant, dressed as a mini-Batman. </p><p> </p><p>First, the pair got to stop a bank robbery in which The Joker trips and falls and, in proper character, tells some pretty terrible jokes. Eventually the pair wins and takes him to jail. Then The Riddler plants a car bomb, again to be foiled by the pair of Bats. It is really cool that the police and fire departments got together and were willing to put this on. It is a great way to make a kid's dream come true. </p><p> </p><p>I know you just have to see the video, so I have good news. It is available after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1700-a-7yearolds-wish-come-true-with-batman.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:06:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1700-a-7yearolds-wish-come-true-with-batman.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1699-ea-lays-off-hundreds-of-employees.html <p>Electronic Arts might not be doing well, even with the added revenue from their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1289-eas-season-ticket-finds-more-ways-to-take-your-money.html" class="UpStreamLink">Season Ticket</a> from their EA Sports titles. After completing a handful of major games last year, like <i>Star Wars</i> and <i>Battlefield 3</i>, the studio is going to be laying off 500 to 1,000 employees, which is roughly between 5 to 10 percent of the entire workforce. </p><p> </p><p>How will this affect the company and is it a bad thing? The full story is after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1699-ea-lays-off-hundreds-of-employees.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Apr 2012 10:56:21 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1699-ea-lays-off-hundreds-of-employees.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1698-cea-recycled-more-than-75-percent-of-material-used-in-producing-the-international-ces.html <p>It's very rare that we simply come across a "feel good" story in the tech space. Somebody's always up to something mischievous or a company is under scrutiny for unethical practices. Seldom do we have an organization that is doing something good for the environment. This week, I am proud to say that we have some good news. </p><p> </p><p>The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) annually produces the International Consumer Electronics Show, which is the largest show in its space by a lot. As you would imagine, a lot goes into producing the show, especially a lot of materials. Tons of paper, loads of vinyl for the badges, light fixtures and other material are all used to make the show the best it can be. Every year the CEA works on trying to neutralize its carbon footprint and recycle as much of the material as possible. </p><p> </p><p>This year we were told all of our badge material was recycled from last year's banners and we knew that there were more materials that were recycled but we didn't expect it to be on this sort of scale. </p><p> </p><p>How far did the CEA go this year? We'll tell you after the break, complete with the press release. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1698-cea-recycled-more-than-75-percent-of-material-used-in-producing-the-international-ces.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:15:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1698-cea-recycled-more-than-75-percent-of-material-used-in-producing-the-international-ces.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1697-blockbuster-guarantees-your-hit-movies-will-be-available.html <p>Since the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1078-blockbuster-officially-up-for-sale-and-not-liquidation.html" class="UpStreamLink">Blockbuster auction last year</a>, there was a lot of speculation on what the buyer, Dish Network, would do with all of the stores, employees and product. Back in July, Dish <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1277-dish-network-keeps-open-over-1500-blockbuster-locations.html" class="UpStreamLink">closed and liquidated almost half of the Blockbuster locations</a> in order to consolidate their efforts. From there, we saw the company bring in the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1327-dish-network-introduces-blockbuster-movie-streaming-service.html" class="UpStreamLink">Blockbuster streaming service</a>, which was specific to Dish Network customers only. </p><p> </p><p>Now, after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1632-lackluster-performance-means-500-less-blockbuster-stores-by-end-of-q2.html" class="UpStreamLink">500 more store closures two months ago</a> we are seeing the next phase in what Dish is trying to do here. Blockbuster stores will now have "guaranteed rentals" in their stores. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1697-blockbuster-guarantees-your-hit-movies-will-be-available.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:38:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1697-blockbuster-guarantees-your-hit-movies-will-be-available.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1696-netflix-announced-original-programming-at-nab-in-vegas.html <p>At the beginning of the month, Netflix came out of the shadows and decided to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1684-netflix-buys-dvdcom-cares-about-dvds.html" class="UpStreamLink">buy DVD.com</a>. This comes after a long quiet period that followed what I have been dubbing <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1389-800000-customers-leave-netflix-for-possibly-greener-pastures.html" class="UpStreamLink">The Great Netflix Debacle of Late 2011</a>, where even though 800,000 customers left the company who at the last minute lost its backbone because of Facebook, it wasn't too concerned that it couldn't move forward and prosper. </p><p> </p><p>What's in store for Big Red? A whole lot of good show! We have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1696-netflix-announced-original-programming-at-nab-in-vegas.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:01:41 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1696-netflix-announced-original-programming-at-nab-in-vegas.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1695-wordament-on-xbox-live-with-new-updates-on-april-25th.html <p>If you haven't had an opportunity yet to check out the wonderful new Microsoft toys like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/828-windows-phone-7-hits-rtm-launching-october-11th.html" class="UpStreamLink">Windows Phone</a> or the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1638-windows-8-consumer-preview-hits-1-million-downloads.html" class="UpStreamLink">developer preview of Windows 8</a>, you have surely missed out on some innovative happenings! More importantly, you've missed out on our favorite game, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://wordament.com/" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Wordament</i></a>. The multiplayer, social version of the board game <i>Boggle</i> has taken off at a rapid pace and has seen millions of users since its launch in September 2011 on Windows Phone. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Wordament has announced because the game hasn't seen much change since its inception, it is growing rapidly and is making some additions and alterations. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1695-wordament-on-xbox-live-with-new-updates-on-april-25th.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:14:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1695-wordament-on-xbox-live-with-new-updates-on-april-25th.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1694-on-this-weeks-good-morning-america-porn.html <p>Comcast customers in Colorado Spring had a perky morning wake-up this week. If they turned on everybody's favorite morning show, <i>Good Morning America</i>, the good-natured residents were greeted with pornography showing on KRDO Channel 13. </p><p> </p><p>Comcast has "sincerely apologized" for the issue and insertion of inappropriateness and says the problem occurred when the cable company was working on a technical issue. Several different channels appeared on the ABC station in error. </p><p> </p><p>On other channels, such as ION channel 26, you could have viewed religious programming for two hours. Either fortunately or unfortunately depending on who you are, the porn only showed up for a couple of seconds on channel 13's flagship morning show. "The issue was a result of human error which has been resolved," Comcast spokesperson Cindy Parsons said. </p><p> </p><p>As you would imagine, customers stormed to Facebook to KRDO's fan page to flame the station for putting up those images, as if 1) KRDO would do that or 2) they had control over the matter. The station was quick to respond and said they didn't have anything to do with the technical error. </p><p> </p><p>Comcast has stated that they have put practices in place to make sure this does not happen again.</p> Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:20:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1694-on-this-weeks-good-morning-america-porn.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1693-nokias-next-big-thing.html <p>Since its initial announcement at this year's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/10-consumer-electronics-show-ces-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">Consumer Electronics Show</a>, it has been clear that Nokia and Microsoft had put all of their Easter eggs in one basket, the Lumia 900. It has been a week since the official launch, so now is the time to look at how it has gone. </p><p> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://blog.laptopmag.com/qa-nokia-president-talks-lumia-900-launch-windows-phones-app-gap" class="UpStreamLink">Laptop Magazine got to talk with Chris Weber</a>, president of Nokia North America, about how important this launch was for Nokia and AT&T. AT&T, the exclusive handset partner, has said this is their most exciting handset launch ever, even bigger than the iPhone. That puts a lot of pressure on Nokia, but they believe that the unique design styling and the exclusive apps only available on Lumia devices is enough to differentiate it. </p><p> </p><p>So, how has the Lumia done so far and how will they decide if it was a successful launch? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1693-nokias-next-big-thing.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:42:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1693-nokias-next-big-thing.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1692-oracles-suit-against-android-finally-going-to-trial.html <p>Two of the largest companies in the technology world are preparing for an all-out war that could affect the future of Google, Android and mobile technology as a whole. In August of 2010, Oracle <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/801-google-not-participating-in-javaone.html" class="UpStreamLink">filed suit against Google</a> for intellectual property theft in regards to Android. Well, that case, which has changed in size over the past 2 years, goes to trial on Monday and there is a lot on the line. </p><p> </p><p>Oracle believes that Google, in using certain libraries developed in the Java programming language, owned by Oracle through its $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc. in early 2010, violated its intellectual property. Google, who is a known supporter of the "everyone should be able to use it" mentality believes that it has done nothing wrong and says that the technology used isn't covered by copyright. </p><p> </p><p>U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who will be presiding over the case, described this as "the World Series of IP cases." Why did he say that and how will the case affect the technology world? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1692-oracles-suit-against-android-finally-going-to-trial.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:01:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1692-oracles-suit-against-android-finally-going-to-trial.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1691-googles-street-view-disaster-costs-only-25000.html <p>It has been a long time since the disaster that was the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/660-google-knows-where-you-keep-your-porn.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google Street View data collection</a> issue. In case you forget, Google's Street View cars, the vehicles that drive around taking photos of everyone's houses and businesses, were found to be using WiFi scanners to connect to hotspots and log their names and locations. Well, it turns out that they were also collecting data off of these networks, both personal and corporate. There was so much outrage over this that even the German government told Google they had crossed a line, which is saying something. </p><p> </p><p>All of this took place 2 years ago now and, because of the lightning speed of the government when they aren't trying to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="UpStreamLink">squash a business for doing what they were asked to do</a> or <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1447-attmobile-one-step-closer-to-failing.html" class="UpStreamLink">preventing a major merger</a>, the FCC is finally responding to the issue. This week, the FCC ruled on, not the case itself, but on Google's actions during the investigation. According to the FCC, and sheer logic if you know the company, Google deliberately worked to delay or mislead the investigators. Because of this, the FCC has issued a $25,00 fine against the company. </p><p> </p><p>What did the FCC have to say about this and how will it affect Google? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1691-googles-street-view-disaster-costs-only-25000.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:21:41 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1691-googles-street-view-disaster-costs-only-25000.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1690-canons-5d-mark-iii-seeing-too-much-light-of-day.html <p>Since the digital camera age, Canon's Mark series has been the aspiration for many photo enthusiasts, from amateurs to professionals. Their newly released 5D Mark III has been on wishlists since they first announced it, and with a pricetag at about $3,500 for the core, it is an investment made with certain expectations. One of those expectations is that you can take pictures with it. </p><p> </p><p>For some 5D owners, however, that is not the case; at least, not under certain circumstances. According to posts all over the Internet, including on Canon's own support site, many users are experiencing a situation where, under low light, some 5D cameras are ruining photos. Some clever users have tracked the issue down to a small gap in the case, allowing light from illuminated upper LCD screens to leak into the body, throwing off the auto-exposure sensors and ruining photos. </p><p> </p><p>How has Canon responded and what is next for users? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1690-canons-5d-mark-iii-seeing-too-much-light-of-day.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:40:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1690-canons-5d-mark-iii-seeing-too-much-light-of-day.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1689-sony-cuts-10000-jobs-in-effort-to-cut-costs-save-company.html <p>Sony announced this week that the company would be cutting 6% of its total workforce, which is around 10,000 jobs, in an effort to bring the numbers in its TV business back into the black over the next two years. </p><p> </p><p>Sony President and newly appointed CEO Kaz Hirai said at a press conference Thursday that he will bring life back into the electronics and entertainment company. Earlier in the week, Sony doubled its projection for its annual net loss for the fiscal year 2012 from $3.2 billion USD to $6.4 billion. If that were to hold true, it would mark the fourth consecutive year of losses for Sony and would be its worst loss in the history of the company. </p><p> </p><p>Hirai remained confident in his effort to reform the company at the press conference. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">As CEO, I take this very seriously. But at the same time, it strengthened my resolve to transform Sony. Employees too want to restore Sony to its former glory and go beyond... Sony will change. I've fully dedicated myself to changing Sony.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Internal problems like their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="UpStreamLink">several network and security breaches</a> compiled with the environmental disasters in Thailand haven't put Sony in a good position to prosper in 2012. Hirai looks to strengthen the company's digital camera, game and smartphone businesses for the next two years and is trying to boost total company sales to 70% by March 2015 from the current 60%. Sony will also be taking a charge of just over $925 million USD this year to help offset the job cuts and over reform plans. </p><p> </p><p>Can the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1206-e3-2011-living-la-vita-playstation.html" class="UpStreamLink">PlayStation Vita</a> become Sony's saving grace and help push them into the black on top of these restructuing efforts? Will their efforts fall short of the goal to keep them profitable into the next coming year? I said at E3 that the Vita, while potentially stealing the show, might not be enough to do what Sony needs. Perhaps these job cuts will. Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.</p> Sat, 14 Apr 2012 21:30:51 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1689-sony-cuts-10000-jobs-in-effort-to-cut-costs-save-company.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1688-california-gamestops-now-required-to-include-dlc-warning-for-used-games.html <p>California is simply a weird state. As you may have read and heard about that fact several times through our show and on The UpStream, the great state of California has always tried to do things just a little bit different than the rest of us. They've tried to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1231-supreme-court-tells-california-the-1st-amendment-is-still-constitutional.html" class="UpStreamLink">ban violent video games</a>, impose <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1668-violent-videogames-and-the-law-federal-edition.html" class="UpStreamLink">extra restrictions to any game that is not rated Early Childhood</a> and are the reason that products anywhere else in the country say that the state of California recognizes that lead in products might be a bad thing. Combine the crazy state with a company like GameStop and you're bound to eventually get something interesting out of the pair. </p><p> </p><p>That's exactly what happened this week. GameStop stores in California will now be required to post downloadable content (DLC) warnings on used games that make the free item or map pack void upon first use. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1688-california-gamestops-now-required-to-include-dlc-warning-for-used-games.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 14 Apr 2012 20:58:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1688-california-gamestops-now-required-to-include-dlc-warning-for-used-games.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1687-microsoft-buys-aol-patent-portfolio-for-over-1-billion.html <p>AOL announced a couple weeks ago that it would be selling <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1674-aol-considering-selling-patent-portfolio.html" class="UpStreamLink">its 800 patent portfolio to the highest bidder</a>. Rumors were flying around that Google might be interested after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1251-google-bids-with-constantly-crazy-math-skills.html" class="UpStreamLink">losing to the Rockstar Consortium with crazy math constants in the Nortel bids</a>. As it turns out, Microsoft swooped in and picked up the portfolio this week at a hefty $1.3 billion price tag. </p><p> </p><p>What's in this portfolio that warrants such a high price and why is this important? The full story is after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1687-microsoft-buys-aol-patent-portfolio-for-over-1-billion.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 14 Apr 2012 10:23:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1687-microsoft-buys-aol-patent-portfolio-for-over-1-billion.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1686-nintendos-wii-u-might-sell-for-300.html <p>In the past few weeks, both <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1659-microsoft-says-they-wont-be-releasing-a-new-console-until-at-least-next-year.html" class="UpStreamLink">Microsoft</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1675-playstation-4-being-called-orbis-internally-no-talk-about-it-at-this-years-e3.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sony</a> said that they would not be talking about new hardware at this year's E3 and that they still have at least another year before a new console would be hitting the market. Therefore, it would only be right for Nintendo to start talking about their upcoming <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1207-e3-2011-nintendo-asks-will-you-wii-u.html" class="UpStreamLink">Wii U</a> before E3 in just a couple months. </p><p> </p><p>We've mentioned <a target="NewWindow" href="http://f5live.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">on the show</a> that in order for the Wii U to even be competitive, they'd have to launch at a sweetspot pricepoint of somewhere between $249 and $349. Well, it looks like Nintendo may just do that. </p><p> </p><p>We have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1686-nintendos-wii-u-might-sell-for-300.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:01:03 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1686-nintendos-wii-u-might-sell-for-300.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1685-why-wait-for-an-ipo-facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion.html <p>It's been a long time since an Internet conglomerate purchasing a fast-growing start-up for way above its valuation has caught the world's attention. In fact, the last time it happened was <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/google_youtube.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google purchasing YouTube in 2006</a>. That is why today's announcement that Facebook has purchased photo sharing service <a target="NewWindow" href="http://instagr.am/" class="UpStreamLink">Instagram</a> for a cool $1 billion is such a shocker. </p><p> </p><p>Like YouTube, Instagram has only been around about 2 years and gained popularity rapidly and surprisingly. While YouTube got to where it is because of a single upload of the comedic music video for <i>Lazy Sunday</i> from <i>Saturday Night Live</i>, Instagram has grown in popularity because of the viral nature of the product itself. Every time someone shares a photo through the service, it is incredibly branded, advertising itself to everyone who sees it. This has helped build the business incredibly fast. </p><p> </p><p>Now, when I say business, I use the term loosely. Like Twitter, who they currently integrate with for photo sharing, there seems to be no business model. The app is free, the service is free but the servers that power it are not. The only business model available to them was an acquisition by an existing company. Now enters Facebook. </p><p> </p><p>Why would Facebook want Instagram as part of their family and why make the purchase now, just ahead of their IPO? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1685-why-wait-for-an-ipo-facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:10:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1685-why-wait-for-an-ipo-facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1684-netflix-buys-dvdcom-cares-about-dvds.html <p>After <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1389-800000-customers-leave-netflix-for-possibly-greener-pastures.html" class="UpStreamLink">The Great Netflix Debacle of Late 2011</a>, the company has managed to minimize its losses and keep itself under the media radar. At this point, that's probably the best thing for the company, as they look to recover from the damage inflicted. </p><p> </p><p>This week, however, news comes out of the Netflix base for the first time in a while. It was announced that Netflix has purchased the three-letter domain DVD.com. This move is pretty interesting and a spokesperson for Netflix says that "Netflix cares about keeping DVD healthy, and this is just one small investment in keeping DVD healthy." </p><p> </p><p>Several Internet snoopers saw the nameservers change from worldnic.com to ultradns.net, which is the same service Netflix uses, on March 25th, and Netflix confirmed the purchase right before the weekend hit. The URL now redirects to <a target="NewWindow" href="https://dvd.netflix.com/" class="UpStreamLink">dvd.netflix.com</a>. With three-letter domains being so expensive, however, I have got to wonder how much cash they forked over to pick it up. </p><p> </p><p>I think it is noteworthy that this is after the whole Qwikster thing didn't work out so well. At least with the DVD.com purchase, you're not leaving the Netflix site and are instead being redirected to it. By the way, does anybody have any of the branding or POP from the Qwikster project? We want some!</p> Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:21:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1684-netflix-buys-dvdcom-cares-about-dvds.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1683-house-votes-down-blocking-employers-from-asking-for-facebook-passwords-sort-of.html <p>It is very rare that we mix politics with technology in the writing of this publication and on our show, however there are times where it becomes a necessity in order to explain what is happening in the ever-evolving world of the Internet. Last week, Avram Piltch, Online Editorial Director for LAPTOP Magazine, discussed on our show in his weekly Piltch Point segment about an article he wrote where <a target="NewWindow" href="http://blog.laptopmag.com/employers-may-face-legal-troubles-over-facebook-snooping" class="UpStreamLink">employers are asking employees and candidates for their Facebook and other social network passwords</a>. While Facebook has come out and said <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/1652-facebook-job-applicants-privacy.html" class="UpStreamLink">they don't agree with the practice</a>, because of a lack of law that prevents this practice, employers are trying to make it a common question during the interview process. </p><p> </p><p>This obviously brings up several problems and one would imagine asking for a password like that would be the same as asking someone's age or asking if it's okay to put a camera in their house for a week during the interview process. As you could guess, now the government wants to get involved and decide one way or the other if something should be done about this. </p><p> </p><p>What happened in our nation's capital this week? The story is after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1683-house-votes-down-blocking-employers-from-asking-for-facebook-passwords-sort-of.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Apr 2012 13:49:45 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1683-house-votes-down-blocking-employers-from-asking-for-facebook-passwords-sort-of.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1681-house-works-to-limit-the-fcc.html <p>The FCC has been working very hard to expand their reach over the past few years. They tried to declare themselves <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/883-the-day-the-interwebz-fell.html" class="UpStreamLink">Lord of the Internet</a>, they single-handedly <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1447-attmobile-one-step-closer-to-failing.html" class="UpStreamLink">shut down the AT&T/T-Mobile merger</a> and most recently wasted billions in private funding by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="UpStreamLink">stopping LightSquared's LTE network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Most of the country is more than a little concerned about the FCC and their self-proclaimed powers over others. Included in that list are members of the US House of Representatives. Currently, the House has been working on a bill, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr3309" class="UpStreamLink">FCC Process Reform Act of 2012</a>, to limit the powers of the FCC. This bill would essentially create oversight for the agency, which has never existed before. </p><p> </p><p>How would this bill make the world a better place? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1681-house-works-to-limit-the-fcc.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:48:56 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1681-house-works-to-limit-the-fcc.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1680-windows-licensing-put-to-the-test.html <p>With piracy in the news constantly right now because of the recent takedown of Megaupload and the future of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1669-pirates-take-to-the-skies.html" class="UpStreamLink">piracy in the sky</a>, now is possibly the worst time for a new company to try and make a name for itself in the piracy game. Desktops on Demand, however, is trying to do just that. </p><p> </p><p>If you have ever wanted to have a Windows computer without the hassle of speed or dealing with the peskiness of having a legal copy, then this service is for you. Through the service you can host virtual desktops that allow you to do normal computer functions remotely, through any Windows, Mac, iOS or Android device. They describe themselves as, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Desktops on Demand is a hosted virtual desktop service providing disposable desktops which allow you to protect yourself against malware and cyber attacks. Most malware and cyber attacks occur simply because you use the internet and increasingly sophisticated malware can easily infect your computer and give cyber-criminals access to your personal and financial data.</div> </p><p> </p><p>While their beta will start in less than a month, there is a lot of trouble ahead. Hit the break to find out why. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1680-windows-licensing-put-to-the-test.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:16:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1680-windows-licensing-put-to-the-test.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1679-xbox-360-adds-more-media-apps-still-lacks-some-promised-in-october.html <p>Since October, Microsoft has been <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1363-xbox-live-announces-its-video-lineup.html" class="UpStreamLink">boosting its media partners</a> that are available on the Xbox 360 and even though all of the partners they announced were not available <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1446-xbox-lives-enhancements-and-downgrades.html" class="UpStreamLink">when the Xbox Dashboard was refreshed</a>, we were promised we'd see the entire list at some point. While the news surely wasn't encouraging, a few days after the refresh <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1453-xbox-live-gets-select-media-partners-signed-on-shortly-after-dashboard-update.html" class="UpStreamLink">Xbox Live was given another bunch of media apps</a> that we were able to play with, however we still were missing around ten that were on Microsoft's initial list. Then, in mid-February, the 360 was given <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1610-more-media-partners-sign-on-to-xbox-live.html" class="UpStreamLink">another batch of apps</a>, yet we still did not see Bravo, HBO Go, Vevo, Xfinity and Manga Entertainment and some of those weren't even on the "Coming Soon" list. </p><p> </p><p>Almost six months after the announcement of all of these different media additions to Xbox Live, more were added this week. What's been added and why are we still missing some apps? Learn about it all after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1679-xbox-360-adds-more-media-apps-still-lacks-some-promised-in-october.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:15:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1679-xbox-360-adds-more-media-apps-still-lacks-some-promised-in-october.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1678-blackberrys-new-direction.html <p>It is no secret that Research in Motion and BlackBerry are in trouble. They have had trouble selling their PlayBook tablets, even having to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1161-rim-recalls-1000-faulty-playbooks.html" class="UpStreamLink">recall some</a> and they are losing marketshare at an alarming rate, not helped by a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1370-what-does-the-blackberry-outage-mean-for-the-company.html" class="UpStreamLink">massive outage last year</a>. Add to that a long-overdue and constantly teased BlackBerry OS 10, also <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1443-rims-most-recent-marketing-blunder.html" class="UpStreamLink">not without issue</a> and the company's inability to get people to upgrade to OS 7-powered devices and you end up with a new CEO. </p><p> </p><p>Only 10 weeks into his tenure and Thorsten Heins is making some major changes. He has started cleaning house on executives that have led to this disaster, including former Co-CEO Jim Balsillie. He also plans to clean house on some of RIM's consumer-facing projects. He believes that consumer-level products do not quite play into RIM's wheelhouse of expertise. On this week's earnings call he said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">It's now very clear to me that substantial change is what RIM needs... We see that Blackberry can not succeed if we try to be everybody's darling and all things to all people.</div> </p><p> </p><p>So, what does Heins believe are RIM's strengths and what are the changes he sees? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1678-blackberrys-new-direction.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 31 Mar 2012 23:52:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1678-blackberrys-new-direction.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1677-facebook-timeline-now-active-for-brand-pages.html <p>Friday, Facebook make a pretty major move, introducing Facebook Timeline to all brand pages. Unlike personal timelines, which have not yet forced their way into the lives of those who do not want it, brand pages have all been converted. Perhaps Facebook learned their lesson from making it semi-optional with personal profiles, requiring them to now maintain two separate sets of profile code for personal pages. </p><p> </p><p>The Timeline for Brands comes with a load of new features that did not exist previously. First, and most interestingly, is messaging capabilities. In the past, it was incredibly difficult to communicate with a brand in a meaningful way. You could leave a comment on their wall, but I can tell you as a brand manager myself, it is very difficult to keep up with what you have read and what you have not. The ability for someone to message you directly is a much more convenient way of communicating. </p><p> </p><p>What other new features are available to Brands now? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1677-facebook-timeline-now-active-for-brand-pages.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:37:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1677-facebook-timeline-now-active-for-brand-pages.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1676-small-simcity-updates-tells-us-theres-a-bigger-picture-in-store-for-all.html <p>As promised, I bring an important, albeit small update from Maxis and EA regarding their upcoming <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1657-maxis-and-ea-bringing-simcity-back-in-2013.html" class="UpStreamLink">SimCity title that was announced at GDC a few weeks ago</a>. </p><p> </p><p>SimCity's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/SimCity" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook was completely redone this week</a> in-line with their Timeline transition and we got to see a new cover photo and a few new status updates. More importantly, Ocean Quigley, SimCity's Creative Director, posted on the fan page late Friday afternoon a message to all fans about how the cities in the new <i>SimCity</i> game will interact and connect with each other. Everything looks to be pointing to another game that will require an active Internet connection to play and keep the game updated. </p><p> </p><p>Of course, users will always be up in arms over a change, and you can read about that on their fan page. However, we have the message and a new screenshot from the game after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1676-small-simcity-updates-tells-us-theres-a-bigger-picture-in-store-for-all.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:05:08 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1676-small-simcity-updates-tells-us-theres-a-bigger-picture-in-store-for-all.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1675-playstation-4-being-called-orbis-internally-no-talk-about-it-at-this-years-e3.html <p>As we talked about on the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/radio/1-248-episode-248.html" class="UpStreamLink">show a couple weeks ago</a>, Microsoft would not be talking about anything that has to do with a new Xbox at this year's E3. We mentioned how if and when they decided to talk about something new would be about the same time Sony would follow suit. </p><p> </p><p>Well, that kind of has happened this week, as Sony has said you can kill all the rumors about the PlayStation 4 being the highlight of this year's E3 show. However, Sony went into a little more detail about what the future would hold for PlayStation and the brand. </p><p> </p><p>Of course, we have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1675-playstation-4-being-called-orbis-internally-no-talk-about-it-at-this-years-e3.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:05:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1675-playstation-4-being-called-orbis-internally-no-talk-about-it-at-this-years-e3.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1674-aol-considering-selling-patent-portfolio.html <p>Here's a story to put into the "I can't believe it" file: AOL is in financial trouble. Now, I'm not saying I cant believe it because I'm surprised AOL is having financial trouble, but because I'm surprised they are still around. Since their spin-off from the doom that was AOL Time Warner in 2009, they have seen a 29 percent drop in revenue, probably because Time Warner isn't propping them up anymore. </p><p> </p><p>One way they believe they can fix this is to sell off their patent portfolio, which has over 800 active patents in it. One major AOL shareholder, Starboard Value LP, believes the portfolio could be worth over $1 billion in licensing revenue. That is probably a lot more than their 29 percent drop if you ask me. </p><p> </p><p>So, who would be interested in technology that AOL has? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1674-aol-considering-selling-patent-portfolio.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:26:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1674-aol-considering-selling-patent-portfolio.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1673-kinectable-linux-on-its-way.html <p>If you have had an ache to build a motion-controlled application for Linux, have I got some great news for you. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.igalia.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Igalia</a>, the people who brought you <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.igalia.com/nc/work/project/item/webkit/" class="UpStreamLink">WebKit</a>, the browser engine that powers iPhone, Android and webOS, comes the next generation of Kinect playground. </p><p> </p><p>Skeltrack is an open source library for interacting with Kinect without using the already pre-made library provided by Microsoft, which would be important if you were using it on Linux. While the purpose is a little unclear, what is clear is the talent this team has. They have managed to replicate the pre-E3 2009 state of Project Natal, tracking a single skeleton and 7 joints. </p><p> </p><p>Personally I cannot see where or how this will have any real-world implementation as Linux's reach outside of the web server realm, where it is also losing ground, and mobile devices, which do not have USB to run Kinect, is one <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.zdnet.com/search?q=steven+j.+vaughan-nichols&tag=content;siu-container" class="UpStreamLink">really lonely guy at ZDNet</a>. I suppose the 4 remaining people who are writing Windows apps in Java might also be able to benefit from it, but the vast majority of software these days is written in Visual Studio, where you can use the full-featured, official Microsoft SDK for Kinect. </p><p> </p><p>So, what do you think? Really cool tool or a lot of time spent duplicating something Microsoft gives out for free? Let us know in the comments section.</p> Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:54:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1673-kinectable-linux-on-its-way.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1672-lightsquared-takes-it-right-to-the-fcc-claiming-violated-rights.html <p>Just when you thought you might have heard the last of the whole LightSquared saga, think again. It seems like those guys just won't go down without a fight, although I can't really blame them considering they were <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="UpStreamLink">shut down by the same regulation committee who told them to build-out in the first place</a>. After the stop-work injunction was sent to LightSquared by the FCC, the company <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1636-lightsquared-responds-to-the-fcc-rejection-slashes-workforce-in-half.html" class="UpStreamLink">responded, saying they would fight this</a> shortly before <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1658-sprint-terminates-relationship-with-lightsquared.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sprint decided to cancel its relationship with them</a>. That must have been the one thing to send LightSquared over the edge. </p><p> </p><p>The privately-funded company has said this week that the FCC rejection is a violation of LightSquared's rights as a company and that it is now subjected to multi-billion dollar losses and useless spectrum. They also cite the negated <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1628-tmobile-to-use-atts-money-to-build-4g-lte.html" class="UpStreamLink">T-Mobile acquisition by AT&T</a> and have said that if permanently shut down, it would violate "public interest by eliminating a potential mobile competitor that would sell network capacity" potentially to anybody who would want it. </p><p> </p><p>What will happen now? We have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1672-lightsquared-takes-it-right-to-the-fcc-claiming-violated-rights.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:17:56 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1672-lightsquared-takes-it-right-to-the-fcc-claiming-violated-rights.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1671-tmobile-closing-7-call-centers-cutting-1900-jobs.html <p>Commence the downward spiral of T-Mobile! If you haven't been keeping up with the whole T-Mobile FauxG (4G) network debacle, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1290-tmobile-loses-50000-customers-in-q2-note-it-as-a-huge-success.html" class="UpStreamLink">you have you been missing out</a>. At the end of the day, through T-Mobile saying first that 4G is a niche market, then saying that they have released a fake 4G network (3G+), last month the company said it would be taking the money earned from the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">failed AT&T acquisition</a> to build <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1628-tmobile-to-use-atts-money-to-build-4g-lte.html" class="UpStreamLink">their own 4G LTE network</a>. I can't make this stuff up! </p><p> </p><p>You could understand the confusion that customers would have when they hear of all these different things going on with their wireless carrier, and you could imagine that all of this bad and mixed up publicity couldn't be too great for T-Mobile itself. Well, two quarters ago they lost 50,000 customers and this week, T-Mobile will be cutting 1,900 jobs to go with it, which is roughly 5% of its workforce. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1671-tmobile-closing-7-call-centers-cutting-1900-jobs.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 25 Mar 2012 11:58:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1671-tmobile-closing-7-call-centers-cutting-1900-jobs.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1670-zynga-buys-omgpop-for-200-million.html <p>For a little over a year now, Zynga has been making a name for itself on its own. When <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1050-investors-bet-the-farm-on-zynga.html" class="UpStreamLink">investors started looking at the company</a> as not just connected to Facebook and <i>FarmVille</i>, Zynga went and told the social media giant that they'd <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1378-zynga-thinks-it-would-do-better-with-facebook-as-just-friends.html" class="UpStreamLink">probably be better off as just friends</a>, and decided to branch out and do something on its own. At the beginning of this year, we saw Zynga <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1641-the-zynga-platform-beyond-facebook.html" class="UpStreamLink">gain more investor popularity</a> and the company has even started its own gaming platform, giving 240 million of its customers direct access to not only its own games, but <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1650-zynga-sets-up-big-name-partnerships.html" class="UpStreamLink">games of partners</a> it's been scooping up in the process. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Zynga made another big purchase and bought the developer studio OMGPOP. Up until this point, the New York-based company was just another game studio that most people probably never heard of until the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.omgpop.com/drawsomething?ref=omgnav02dst" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Draw Something</i></a> craze hit shortly before Zynga picked them up to the tune of around $200 million. </p><p> </p><p>Why the purchase and what happens now to your newest version of <i>Pictionary</i>? We discuss that more after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1670-zynga-buys-omgpop-for-200-million.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 24 Mar 2012 21:40:11 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1670-zynga-buys-omgpop-for-200-million.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1669-pirates-take-to-the-skies.html <p>After a brief outage this week, The Pirate Bay, a popular torrent search site, confirmed that their outage was due to scheduled network maintenance and not some sort of government shut down. So, what kind of upgrades are they preparing for? Airships. </p><p> </p><p>That's right - The Pirate Bay is working on developing servers that will float in the air. They will be powering their servers with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://blog.laptopmag.com/usb-stick-contains-dual-core-computer-turns-any-screen-into-an-android-station" class="UpStreamLink">Raspberry Pi</a> machines - the $35 USB-powered computers. In a blog post, a TPB staff member said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">With the development of GPS controlled drones, far-reaching cheap radio equipment and tiny new computers like the Raspberry Pi, we're going to experiment with sending out some small drones that will float some kilometers up in the air. This way our machines will have to be shut down with aeroplanes in order to shut down the system. A real act of war.</div> </p><p> </p><p>I'm not sure it's so much an act of war as it is a defense mechanism to prevent what happened to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaupload" class="UpStreamLink">Megaupload</a> in January. The international copyright law is on their tail and they really have only 2 options - the air and the water, and it seems that the air is the easier and cheaper way to go. </p><p> </p><p>It all makes you wonder, is there enough money in stealing other people's stuff to justify the expense of GPS-controlled aerial drone servers? Only time will tell.</p> Sat, 24 Mar 2012 21:05:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1669-pirates-take-to-the-skies.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1668-violent-videogames-and-the-law-federal-edition.html <p>I predicted on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/radio/1-245-episode-245.html" class="UpStreamLink">F5 Live - Episode 245</a> that we had heard the last of violent videogame legislation for a while after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1629-violent-videogames-and-the-law.html" class="UpStreamLink">the cost of the California loss</a>. It turns out that I could not have been more wrong. </p><p> </p><p>This week, two US Congressmen, Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Representative Joe Baca (D-CA), have proposed <a target="NewWindow" href="http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/flooraction/jan2012/hr4204.pdf" class="UpStreamLink">a bill</a> that would require all videogames not rated "EC", or Early Childhood, to carry a label warning, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">WARNING: Exposure to violent video games has been linked to aggressive behavior.</div> </p><p> </p><p>There are a few things I feel I need to point out. First, Rep. Joe Baca is from California. I would have thought that their pitiful loss in the Supreme Court and the extreme cost to the already financially strapped state would have taught them a lesson; apparently not. Second, does his name not sound hilariously similar to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca" class="UpStreamLink">Chewbacca</a>? Lastly, and most importantly, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sesame-Street-Once-Monster-Xbox-360/dp/B004OCK9KG/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1332642868&sr=1-1" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster</i></a> is rated "E" for Everyone. </p><p> </p><p>How do the Representatives justify the bill and what are its chances in Congress? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1668-violent-videogames-and-the-law-federal-edition.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 24 Mar 2012 20:27:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1668-violent-videogames-and-the-law-federal-edition.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1667-pakistan-backs-down-on-internet-censorship.html <p>We reported last week about Pakistan's Request for Proposal (RFP) for an Internet filter for the country and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1662-technology-and-ethics-can-coexist.html" class="UpStreamLink">McAfee's decision to not participate</a>. Since McAfee wasn't the only company to have reservations about this idea and so far no company who is capable of accomplishing Pakistan's goal has had any interest in participating, Pakistan seems to have backed down. </p><p> </p><p>Of course, we know that the Pakistani government isn't going to admin what they were doing was wrong and that they had made a mistake. Instead, they have spun the story and taken the coward's way out - blaming someone. </p><p> </p><p>Who's going to take the fall for this one? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1667-pakistan-backs-down-on-internet-censorship.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:58:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1667-pakistan-backs-down-on-internet-censorship.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1666-apples-new-ipad-heats-up-conversation-in-more-than-one-way.html <p>Within the first three days of sales, Apple was able to break their own record with the new new iPad, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://blog.laptopmag.com/apple-sells-three-million-new-ipads-over-launch-weekend" class="UpStreamLink">selling 3 million</a> of the devices. Analysts assumed Apple would only move approximately 500,000 to 1 million units and regardless of their mistake to make the new tablet <a target="NewWindow" href="http://blog.laptopmag.com/away-from-apples-stores-ipads-often-easy-to-find" class="UpStreamLink">easy to find on launch day in other retailers like Best Buy</a>, they were still able to triple the projected number, which is an impressive feat in itself. </p><p> </p><p>However (and there's always a however with an Apple report), I believe they have been a little too scared about Amazon's Kindle Fire and how well Amazon might actually do with their little tablet that could. Apple could be so scared, in fact, that they might even be taking a page out of the competitor's book as this week, we learned that this new version of the new iPad may be a little too hot to handle. </p><p> </p><p>We have the burning scoop after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1666-apples-new-ipad-heats-up-conversation-in-more-than-one-way.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:42:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1666-apples-new-ipad-heats-up-conversation-in-more-than-one-way.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1665-walmart-asks-customers-to-bring-in-their-dvds-to-make-them-digital.html <p>We have another disc-to-digital story for you this week but I promise it's not like Sony selling CDs online, or the tried-but-failed <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1287-zediva-down-but-not-out.html" class="UpStreamLink">Zediva</a> or, our favorite new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1646-aereo-prepares-for-future-legal-action.html" class="UpStreamLink">broadcast streaming service, Aereo</a>. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Walmart has announced that it believes DVDs are still relevant and that it will give customers a chance to further enhance their DVD viewing experience. How? For just $2, you can bring in your DVD to Walmart and you will get a copy on Walmart.com's cloud service, which is running on the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.uvvu.com/" class="UpStreamLink">UltraViolet software</a>. That will get you the standard definition version but for high-def you will need to shell out $5. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this project and why it's perfect for Walmart, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1665-walmart-asks-customers-to-bring-in-their-dvds-to-make-them-digital.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:05:30 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1665-walmart-asks-customers-to-bring-in-their-dvds-to-make-them-digital.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1664-spontaneously-combustible-pig-farms-cause-scientists-to-scratch-their-heads.html <p>This story is so strange that I'll just jump right into it. <b>Pig farms are exploding.</b> I put it in bold so you wouldn't have to have a double-take to make sure you read it right. In the Midwest, manure pits are filled with a new foam that is simply <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.dinomitemag.com/" class="UpStreamLink">dynamite</a>! </p><p> </p><p>Since 2009, a total of six farms have actually blown up because of methane that is being held underneath a foam that sits on top of manure pits in these pig farms. 1 in 4 farms in the Midwest's affected area contain this foam. However, there is not one thing anybody can do, as scientists and farmers alike have no clue as to what this foam even is. </p><p> </p><p>More on the insanity after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1664-spontaneously-combustible-pig-farms-cause-scientists-to-scratch-their-heads.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:35:03 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1664-spontaneously-combustible-pig-farms-cause-scientists-to-scratch-their-heads.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1663-pimps-hide-your-phones-and-hide-your-tablets-because-the-fbi-is-siezing-everything-out-here.html <p>The FBI are apparently baffled by new technology. In this case, they cannot seem to figure out how to get past the lock screen on an Android smartphone. Why would the FBI be outsmarted by a small piece of protection software and why can't they just ask one of their <i>CSI</i> buddies? Great questions! </p><p> </p><p>The FBI has taken possession of a phone from Dante Dears. Dante is a convicted felon and founder of a San Diego gang named "Pimpin' Hoes Daily." (No, that's not a typo there and it's probably the only time I can use those words, in any order, on this publication.) When Dears was released from prison in January of 2009, reports have it that he went back to his old hood, probably near the playgrounds where he spent most of his younger days, and realigned himself with the same homies that put him in the slammer in the first place. So, the FBI was granted a search warrant to get a hold of his phone. However, on March 9, FBI agent Jonathon Cupina writes to the US District Court saying that their Regional Computer Forensics Lab team could not figure out the lock pattern on the phone after trying "multiple times" to get into it. </p><p> </p><p>Now, they are ordering Google to get involved and get this thing unlocked. What is happening here? We have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1663-pimps-hide-your-phones-and-hide-your-tablets-because-the-fbi-is-siezing-everything-out-here.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:06:08 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1663-pimps-hide-your-phones-and-hide-your-tablets-because-the-fbi-is-siezing-everything-out-here.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1662-technology-and-ethics-can-coexist.html <p>There are a lot of companies in the forefront of technology news that consistently live on or over the line of ethical conduct. Whether it be Google using their search position to marginalize or steal from their competition or Apple using near slave labor to produce their products, we live in a world where ethics and technology seem to not work together. </p><p> </p><p>Then this happens, and everything we know is turned sideways. Pakistan has drafted an RFP (Request for Proposal) on a new piece of software that would help them censor the Internet. This is a government contract, potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In the world of Google and Apple described above, any major software giant would want to jump in on this contract. It turns out that isn't exactly the world we live in. </p><p> </p><p>A tweet from McAfee, one of the companies I would assume could pull off this tremendous task, states that they are not interested in bidding on this RFP. This is a big deal; hit the break to find out why. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1662-technology-and-ethics-can-coexist.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:07:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1662-technology-and-ethics-can-coexist.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1661-walmart-buys-social-calendar-for-data.html <p>Walmart, the world's largest everything it would seem, has been feeling the push to get involved in the social craze. For a retailer, such as Walmart, the reason to want to get involved is the same as Google's reasons: data. There is no better way to find out about your customers than to spy on their online usage. </p><p> </p><p>In an attempt to gain access to people's information, Walmart has purchased Facebook app <a target="NewWindow" href="https://www.socialcalendar.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Social Calendar</a>. Anyone who uses Facebook knows about Social Calendar - we have all received invitations from more than one friend to add our birthday to their calendar. With access to everyone's birthday and who their friends are, Walmart now has the ability to remind you with more than just Facebook birthday cards; you could now be reminded to send a gift from Walmart.com. </p><p> </p><p>How can they pull this off? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1661-walmart-buys-social-calendar-for-data.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:59:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1661-walmart-buys-social-calendar-for-data.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1660-yahoos-facebook-lawsuit-an-ipo-gimmick.html <p>Yahoo's management made an interesting and unexpected move this week, suing Facebook for patent infringement. There are 10 patents in question here, some of which were filed and issued long ago, before anyone really knew what the Internet was or where it was headed. The patents are vague and mostly nondescript, leaving open a lot of room for failure on Yahoo's part. </p><p> </p><p>There are a number of issues that this filing has raised. First, there is the major problem of software patent law. There are a lot of thoughts on what needs to happen, and most of those thoughts seem to come from a place of misunderstanding of how software or patents work. Patents, for software or hardware, are only allowed to be approved for implementation not concept. For instance, one of the patents in question, "Control for enabling a user to preview display of selected content based on another user's authorization level," is not focused on implementation, but instead on concept. This patent does not bind to the law for patents, and therefore has no chance of standing up in a court case like this. </p><p> </p><p>The solution here is to get the US Patent Office involved and get them to stop approving unlawful patents. That is not an option with patents already in question, so that leads to the second issue. With the ability of the court to nullify the patents in question here, why would Yahoo choose to file against Facebook after theoretically infringing for years? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1660-yahoos-facebook-lawsuit-an-ipo-gimmick.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:09:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1660-yahoos-facebook-lawsuit-an-ipo-gimmick.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1659-microsoft-says-they-wont-be-releasing-a-new-console-until-at-least-next-year.html <p>Even with the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1207-e3-2011-nintendo-asks-will-you-wii-u.html" class="UpStreamLink">Wii U</a> being released this year, Microsoft says the company will not be following suit by releasing their next Xbox console and hopes to get one more year out of the Xbox 360's life. Sources have reported that the Xbox team has confidence that the console will continue selling <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/882-microsoft-boasts-sales-numbers-amid-npd-report-changes.html" class="UpStreamLink">at a record pace</a>, especially when it's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/952-kinect-sells-25m-in-25-days-beats-move-and-ipad.html" class="UpStreamLink">paired with the Kinect</a>. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1659-microsoft-says-they-wont-be-releasing-a-new-console-until-at-least-next-year.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Mar 2012 11:18:28 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1659-microsoft-says-they-wont-be-releasing-a-new-console-until-at-least-next-year.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1658-sprint-terminates-relationship-with-lightsquared.html <p>It would appear that this week the end to a very short but very tragic story has been written. LightSquared, the company that Sprint had <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1362-sprints-4g-technological-evolution.html" class="UpStreamLink">announced a LTE network partnership with</a> in October, has lost its never-existent partner. Sprint has announced that it has ended its planned partnership. This is a decision that we have expected to hear considering the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="UpStreamLink">problems that LightSquared has had</a> and the money that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1644-sprint-to-help-clearwire-again-with-another-2-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sprint has poured</a> into its other 4G partner, Clearwire. </p><p> </p><p>Over the past few months, as Clearwire has had <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1428-clearwire-might-skip-on-upcoming-debt-payment.html" class="UpStreamLink">more</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1626-clearwire-needs-more-than-the-1-billion-in-cash-to-operate.html" class="UpStreamLink">more</a> financial problems, plus <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1435-clearwire-loses-3-resellers.html" class="UpStreamLink">losing most of its partners</a>, Sprint has been the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1452-clearwire-gets-some-help-from-sprint-for-future-and-existing-4g-networks.html" class="UpStreamLink">knight in shining armor</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1644-sprint-to-help-clearwire-again-with-another-2-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">twice</a>. With all of the money that Sprint has given to Clearwire, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that it indicated Sprint had lost faith in its new partner and was moving to focus on repairing its relationship with Clearwire. </p><p> </p><p>What does Sprint have to say about all of this? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1658-sprint-terminates-relationship-with-lightsquared.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Mar 2012 10:52:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1658-sprint-terminates-relationship-with-lightsquared.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1657-maxis-and-ea-bringing-simcity-back-in-2013.html <p>Remember <i>SimCity</i>? This was a game that anyone could pick up, play and have a great time. It spanned from 1989 all the way to <i>SimCity 4</i> in 2003 and the latest <i>SimCity: Societies</i> in 2007. We've even seen iterations on PSPs, DS's and the iPhone. </p><p> </p><p>Now, with all the hoopla happening at South by Southwest and GDC this week, we've seen a new title come out of the Maxis studio at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. </p><p> </p><p>Electronic Arts and Maxis have confirmed they are bringing the amazingness of <i>SimCity</i> back in 2013. </p><p> </p><p>Lucy Bradshaw from Maxis said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">SimCity for PC will equip players with the tools to play the most sophisticated simulation of its kind. We are dedicated to making sure the experience - no matter the platform - has the fun, flavor and playability that has been intrinsic to the franchise since its birth.</div> </p><p> </p><p>We will see nuances from all of the previous titles appear in the game, as is the norm for this series, including the social elements from <i>Societies</i>. We will also get the ability to build your empire masterpiece next to a friend's. New to the game will be climate changes, added natural disasters and the ability to research renewable energy resources. </p><p> </p><p>We have the trailer after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1657-maxis-and-ea-bringing-simcity-back-in-2013.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:02:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1657-maxis-and-ea-bringing-simcity-back-in-2013.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1656-google-drops-clearwire-stock-takes-huge-loss-in-the-process.html <p>Last week I covered Sprint's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1644-sprint-to-help-clearwire-again-with-another-2-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">continuing aid for wireless company Clearwire</a> who is currently facing some tough times. Last month, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1626-clearwire-needs-more-than-the-1-billion-in-cash-to-operate.html" class="UpStreamLink">I did a recap on their entire current situation from the beginning up until now</a>. </p><p> </p><p>This week, however, we must talk about the instability of the company yet again. Reports are coming in that Google has sold its portion of Clearwire stock to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/cs" class="UpStreamLink">Credit Suisse Group AG</a>. Google had purchased its 29.4 million shares in 2008 for $500 million and has now sold off that purchase at $2.26 per share, or $66.5 million, well under the original purchase price. However, Google was only looking for $1.60 a share last week, so I suppose getting more than what you wanted out of it isn't a total loss. $453 million is a lot of money to lose, though. </p><p> </p><p>Now, while it's a common practice for companies like Credit Suisse to pick up large quantities of shares to then resell to other interested buyers, Google dropping its stake in the company could speak volumes about the uncertainty that is looming around Clearwire's future. Google commented that, "Google periodically rebalances its investments based on its goals and its evaluation of market conditions." </p><p> </p><p>After all that you've seen from our Clearwire coverage just this year alone, do you think the company will be around in 6 months? A year? Longer? We want to know in the comments section below.</p> Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:07:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1656-google-drops-clearwire-stock-takes-huge-loss-in-the-process.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1655-hp-sees-light-powered-computer-chips-and-theyre-fast.html <p>HP is working on a project codenamed "Carona" that focuses on using fiber optic-like technology to address some problems that data centers and supercomputers are facing in terms of scalability and power consumption. Advancements and implementation of this technology could effectively make "electronics" so last MacWorld. </p><p> </p><p>Corona will be a 265 core computer chip manufactured with a 16nm form factor that uses beams of light to connect the cores together. The cores in the chip will be arranged in 64 core clusters and be able to operate at 10 trillion operations per second, allowing the cores to communicate with each other at 20 terabytes per second! The cores would also be able to communicate with external memory at 10 terabytes per second... that's insane. Put 5 of these chips together and you're in the same league with modern supercomputers in terms of computing power. "Integrated photonics" is the key to making Corona a reality by 2017 and it focuses on using a similar technology that exists in telecommunication networks but this has to be adapted for core-to-core communication. This technology is not a reality yet but with chip manufactures shrinking optical communication devices to fit onto chips, the reality is getting closer. According to HP Lab's researcher Marco Fiorentino, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">A lot of people have concentrated on individual devices. Now they're starting to build circuits. It's like going from the transistor to the integrated circuit.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Corona would be incredibly fast but how will it help increase scalability and reduce power consumption which are equally important? Read on after the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1655-hp-sees-light-powered-computer-chips-and-theyre-fast.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:58:03 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1655-hp-sees-light-powered-computer-chips-and-theyre-fast.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1654-germany-researches-platoon-power-for-future-cars.html <p>It's been about 67 years since Germany has actively explored platooning technology but the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://robotik.dfki-bremen.de/en/welcome.html" class="UpStreamLink">Robotics Innovation Center at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz)</a> brought it back to the present at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cebit.de/" class="UpStreamLink">CeBIT</a> this year. Their EO prototype electric car showcased some interesting abilities and, despite its futuristic design, there didn't seem to be any futuristic weapons mounted on it just yet; so, for now, it seems we're safe. </p><p> </p><p>The EO prototype is the product of only 10 months of work and is a ways away from traversing the Autobahn but it has demonstrated some pretty cool functionality. For example, the car is very versatile with regards to adjusting to its environment. Every driver finds themselves in common situations where space is limited and they are required to maneuver vehicles in awkward ways. Thankfully, the EO can shorten its wheelbase to perform tighter turns, something that would be useful for urban driving. It can also lower its center of gravity to make "high speed" driving more efficient. It's also well worth mentioning that it can rotate its wheels 90 degrees making parallel parking a cinch. </p><p> </p><p>But wait, there's more! Platooning will help make sure that you never have to roam alone again, even if you book a vacation without using Travelosity. Find out more and check out a video after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1654-germany-researches-platoon-power-for-future-cars.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Mar 2012 11:24:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1654-germany-researches-platoon-power-for-future-cars.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1653-verizons-homefusion-internet-service-brings-highspeed-to-a-onestreetlight-city-near-you.html <p>Hey, are you some of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2010/02/17/39925/40-of-us-homes-dont-have-broadband-internet" class="UpStreamLink">40% of Americans who don't have high-speed Internet</a>? Is it because the price is too high? Are you too far out in a rural area that no service is available to you? Well, if you're the former, this news won't help you. However, the people in the latter, prepare to rejoice as we have some news this week that will brighten your day in the same way upgrading your modem from 28.8 to 56k did! </p><p> </p><p>We have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1653-verizons-homefusion-internet-service-brings-highspeed-to-a-onestreetlight-city-near-you.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Mar 2012 23:26:03 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1653-verizons-homefusion-internet-service-brings-highspeed-to-a-onestreetlight-city-near-you.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1652-rumor-mill-churns-with-talks-of-valve-creating-a-console-called-steam-box.html <p>While we may never see the next release of <i>Half-Life: Episode 3</i> in our lifetime, Valve is rumored to be working on a new project that may make the final chapter in the Black Mesa world seem less important. Valve's co-founder Gabe Newell spoke to Penny Arcade and hinted at the company possibly making a physical console that could go toe-to-toe with the next-gen versions of the Xbox and PlayStation. Newell said, "well, if we have to sell hardware we will." </p><p> </p><p>Under normal circumstances, we'd chalk this up to another Internet rumor that is merely fun to chat about on a message board, however this time there may be some proof behind this speculation. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1652-rumor-mill-churns-with-talks-of-valve-creating-a-console-called-steam-box.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Mar 2012 23:07:27 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1652-rumor-mill-churns-with-talks-of-valve-creating-a-console-called-steam-box.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1651-us-cellular-employees-enjoy-nudity.html <p>Have you ever taken a naughty photo with your phone's camera? Sure you have. Well, the people who have taken those photos AND brought their phone in to a US Cellular store in Iowa might have had their photos shared around the store. That is the claim of a sexual harassment suit filed by Lisa Blazek against the company. </p><p> </p><p>Apparently, the employees would look through customers' phones for nude photos, and when found, would show them to other employees. According tot he complaint, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">If photos of that nature were found, they would show them throughout the store. Many times I would be called over to look at something only to find out that it was a sexual picture on a customer's phone. </p><p> </p><p>It got to the point where I could no longer handle going to work. It affected me physically, mentally and emotionally. It took over every aspect of my life.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Blazek also alleges that co-workers would talk about their sexual escapades, as well as being asked to show her breasts. When she complained, her hours were changed and the harassment increased. These are all not out of the ordinary for the circumstances, but the rifling through a customer's personal property looking for dirty pictures is a little out of the ordinary, I would imagine. </p><p> </p><p>With this information out in the open, I would imagine US Cellular will start receiving letters of complain from customers. I would hope they handle the situation better than Boost Mobile did a few years ago when they resold used phones with pornography on them to customers. </p><p> </p><p>Have you had an experience with a wireless store or a computer store sharing your personal photos? Let us know in the comments section.</p> Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:02:55 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1651-us-cellular-employees-enjoy-nudity.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1650-zynga-sets-up-big-name-partnerships.html <p>The Zynga platform, officially <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1641-the-zynga-platform-beyond-facebook.html" class="UpStreamLink">announced last week</a> is already building up quite a partnership catalog. In its first week of existence, Zynga has managed to rope in some pretty big-named studios, including Playdemic, Rebellion and Konami. </p><p> </p><p>While no games have been officially announced, there is a lot of potential here for Konami to bring some popular games to the platform. With franchises like <i>Dance Dance Revolution</i>, <i>Contra</i>, <i>Castlevania</i>, <i>Metal Gear</i> and <i>Silent Hill</i>, there are a lot of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.konami.com/games/browse" class="UpStreamLink">popular games</a> that would be easy to port to Zynga with a high success rate. According to Kazuhiko Uehara, senior vice president for Konami, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">This new partnership accelerates Konami's continued success as a top global social games developer and underscores our commitment to provide high quality gaming experiences to the ever-growing social space. We are thrilled to partner with Zynga to bring Konami games to the heart of the gaming audience on Zynga.com and Facebook.</div> </p><p> </p><p>I am personally hoping to see some DDR-inspired, StepMania-style games hit the platform. What Konami games do you hope come to Zynga through this partnership? Tell us in the comments section.</p> Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:59:49 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1650-zynga-sets-up-big-name-partnerships.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1649-google-plays-inapp-payment-requirements.html <p>We all remember when <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1041-apple-subscribes-to-the-death-of-subscriptions.html" class="UpStreamLink">Apple forced app subscriptions to use iTunes</a> for their payment method, including a 30% cut to Apple. If I remember correctly, it was received really well by app developers. I don't think I am remembering correctly, though. In fact, there might have been a lot of backlash from companies like Pandora and last.fm. </p><p> </p><p>Positive media coverage and happy developers from Apple's decision have led to Google making a similar decision. In standard Google fashion, however, they have upped the ante and threatened developers who do not currently follow the rules. Si Shen, CEO of Papaya, an Android social gaming network, told <i>Reuters</i>, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">{Google} told people that if they used other payment services they would be breaking the terms of use. Whether it's right or wrong, we have to follow the rules.</div> </p><p> </p><p>How is this affecting developers? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1649-google-plays-inapp-payment-requirements.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:36:17 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1649-google-plays-inapp-payment-requirements.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1648-amazon-challenging-google-on-another-front.html <p>I think everyone knows that a great deal of Google's revenue comes from advertising; we have all seen Google AdSense ads all over the Internet, plus the sponsored links at the top and side of search results. Most of that revenue actually comes from a very streamlined set of searches, mainly certain products or product categories. No matter who someone purchases the product from, Google doesn't care so long as they start their purchasing journey through Google. What most people don't know, however, is that Amazon is also in the advertising business. </p><p> </p><p>Over the years, Amazon has transitioned its business model, for better or worse, from one of selling its own content to selling other peoples' content. One of the things they sell is advertising space on their product pages. In addition to showing other products you can purchase from Amazon sellers, they also sell advertising space to other, non-Amazon sellers. This method has allowed Amazon to gain revenue from regular sales revenue as well as stealing away Google's primary revenue stream. </p><p> </p><p>So, how well is it working? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1648-amazon-challenging-google-on-another-front.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Mar 2012 18:05:56 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1648-amazon-challenging-google-on-another-front.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1647-activision-blizzard-cuts-600-jobs-after-company-review.html <p>Activision Blizzard will be cutting a large portion of their workforce after it has finished an overview of its business and needs of the organization. The result is that the company plans to cut 600 employees, 90% of which will be from departments that are not involved in game development. So all my <i>World of Warcraft</i> and <i>StarCraft</i> fans need not worry about their games going away. </p><p> </p><p>Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Constant evaluation of teams and processes is necessary for the long-term health of any business. Over the last several years, we've grown our organization tremendously and made large investments in our infrastructure in order to better serve our global community. However, as Blizzard and the industry have evolved we've also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company. Knowing that, it still does not make letting go of some of our team members any easier. We're grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the people impacted by today's announcement, we're proud of the contributions they made here at Blizzard, and we wish them well as they move forward.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Current game design, planning and publishing schedules will not be affected. Blizzard has said they will be giving release plans for <i>Diablo III</i> very soon and it is still working on <i>World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria</i> and <i>StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm</i> beta testing. </p><p> </p><p>Blizzard has also said that the company is still hiring and that all job seekers should head to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://jobs.blizzard.com" class="UpStreamLink">http://jobs.blizzard.com</a>. If you apply, I hope your job isn't next on the chopping block. </p><p> </p><p>When we discover more information about the job cuts and what's happening internally, we will let you know.</p> Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:59:31 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1647-activision-blizzard-cuts-600-jobs-after-company-review.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1646-aereo-prepares-for-future-legal-action.html <p>I think we all remember <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1095-2-digital-streaming-of-new-films.html" class="UpStreamLink">Zediva</a>, the little company that streamed movies straight from DVD over the Internet to your computer for $2. We probably all remember their fate as well - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1287-zediva-down-but-not-out.html" class="UpStreamLink">shut down by a federal court</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Well, with the confidence inspired by such a success for Zediva, a new company, named Aereo, has decided to try something similar. In this case, instead of streaming movies straight from DVD, Aereo plans to stream television shows straight from an antenna. Yes, you read that properly, streaming full-broadcast television over the Internet. Thank goodness for digital television, right? </p><p> </p><p>This week, all of the major broadcast companies have come together to file suit against the little startup. Hit the break to read about Aereo's plans for success. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1646-aereo-prepares-for-future-legal-action.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:23:26 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1646-aereo-prepares-for-future-legal-action.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1645-astronaut-builds-an-international-space-station-while-on-the-international-space-station.html <p>Occasionally, we run across cool stories that we just have to share and this is one of those times. You could imagine the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/teachingfromspace/dayinthelife/working-adil-index.html" class="UpStreamLink">day in the life</a> of an astronaut living on the International Space Station. Between the space walks, recording important space data and making sure the whole thing doesn't crash, there's probably a little downtime for the crew that doesn't involve <a target="NewWindow" href="http://youtu.be/PrX3EmdKtRc" class="UpStreamLink">fixing a space toilet</a>. </p><p> </p><p>For Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, he spent two hours of his downtime building a replica of the ISS out of LEGOs. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1645-astronaut-builds-an-international-space-station-while-on-the-international-space-station.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Mar 2012 13:28:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1645-astronaut-builds-an-international-space-station-while-on-the-international-space-station.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1644-sprint-to-help-clearwire-again-with-another-2-billion.html <p>Just when I think it can't get any worse or stranger for <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1626-clearwire-needs-more-than-the-1-billion-in-cash-to-operate.html" class="UpStreamLink">Clearwire</a>, Sprint steps in and adds some more life into this crazy money train we call a wireless network. On March 1st, Sprint sold $2 billion - not a typo - in notes to further aid Clearwire in refinancing, funding and to help with their network upgrades. They've now moved past the "helping too much" level and shot right to "might as well own the company" status. </p><p> </p><p>These notes, totaling $2 billion, include notes due in 2017 at 9.125% interest and notes due in 2020 at 7% interest. This is on top of the $4 billion they put up in November to start Clearwire's recovery process. I suppose Sprint recognizes that they need to continue the upgrades for Clearwire, after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="UpStreamLink">LightSquared's problems with the FCC</a>. </p><p> </p><p>It could also have something to do with their abandonment of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1627-sprint-almost-bought-metropcs-rumor.html" class="UpStreamLink">buying MetroPCS</a>. We learned this week, after the rumors from last week, that the board decided not to acquire the company, as it would have cost up to $8 billion, including debt, which would have been way too much for Sprint to take on, especially with their stock price being around $2.50. </p><p> </p><p>Perhaps all of this will make sense in the long run. Sprint has $6 billion+ tied up into Clearwire now. I hope they really don't decide to abandon them in 2014 as their network support and instead just move to their potential LTE network that Sprint is helping Clearwire build.</p> Sun, 04 Mar 2012 12:41:22 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1644-sprint-to-help-clearwire-again-with-another-2-billion.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1643-google-wallet-didnt-ruin-digitalwallets-says-isis-ceo.html <p>Earlier this month, Google <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1609-google-wallets-newest-security-flaw.html" class="UpStreamLink">hit a security snag with Google Wallet</a> that ended up exposing sensitive payment information for people who had their phones stolen and settings wiped. In general, Google doesn't like to think things through and seeing as how they've been racing through development to be at the forefront of digital-wallet adoption, this is not a surprise. Thankfully, Google was proactive about solving the problem and at least <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1616-google-says-wallet-flaw-fixed.html" class="UpStreamLink">gave Google Wallet users some half-baked recourse</a>. </p><p> </p><p>What may come as a surprise to some is the reaction of Isis CEO Michael Abbot. For those of you not familiar, Isis has been in the process of developing a technology that would act as a framework for payment processors to integrate with. It's similar in concept to Bump in the sense that mobile phone manufacturers would build in their NFC technology and consumers could simply tap their phones against a retailers cash registers to render payment. They have been developing this technology with backing from Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and AT&T and are looking to start technology trials in Austin Texas and Salt Lake City Utah around July this year. </p><p> </p><p>Find out why Abbot's thinks Google hasn't ruined digital-wallet adoption after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1643-google-wallet-didnt-ruin-digitalwallets-says-isis-ceo.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Mar 2012 12:15:32 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1643-google-wallet-didnt-ruin-digitalwallets-says-isis-ceo.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1642-visa-and-samsung-partner-to-bring-nfc-to-the-olympics.html <p>Recently, we've seen technology companies realizing the potential in launching new products or concepts at major sporting events and other festivities. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1070-ie9-to-join-your-computer-live-from-sxsw.html" class="UpStreamLink">IE9 showed up at SXSW</a>, Silverlight was a heavy hitter at both the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/593-silverlight-4-is-here.html" class="UpStreamLink">2010 Winter Olympics</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.masters.com/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">The PGA Masters</a>, Twitter and HP teamed together with the iconic Tiesto to host a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://musically.com/2012/01/09/twitter-and-hp-to-host-tiesto-concert-webcast-this-week/" class="UpStreamLink">concert from Vegas on the web</a> and we've even learned that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1380-hdtv-is-so-last-macworld.html" class="UpStreamLink">the 2012 London Olympics will feature new UHDTV technology</a>. This week, add Samsung and Visa to the list of Olympic participants, as they will be launching payWave, an NFC wireless payment system, at the London games. </p><p> </p><p>We have the full details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1642-visa-and-samsung-partner-to-bring-nfc-to-the-olympics.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Mar 2012 12:03:43 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1642-visa-and-samsung-partner-to-bring-nfc-to-the-olympics.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1641-the-zynga-platform-beyond-facebook.html <p>Zynga has had an extremely lucrative partnership with Facebook and it was revealed that Zynga accounted for 12% of their revenue when <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1430-facebook-ipo-might-not-be-the-smartest-thing-after-groupons-failure.html" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook filed for its IPO</a>. Their relationship wasn't always as pleasant as a sunshine-filled day on the farm, however. Back in May 2005 Zynga wasn't happy with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/627-farmville-a-thing-of-the-past.html" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook taking 30% of their revenue</a> and it prompted some uneasy negotiations that ended up in Zynga reaching out to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1378-zynga-thinks-it-would-do-better-with-facebook-as-just-friends.html" class="UpStreamLink">other potential partners</a>. </p><p> </p><p>It also prompted Zynga to start developing games that were independent of Facebook and, within a few months after their Facebook fight, they had managed to churn out a few games on their own. They also managed to become a public company and have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into their own server farms in order to transition from Amazon services. Their goal here is to take Zynga.com and turn it into their own platform where they can carve out their own territory. According to CEO Mark Pincus, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We want to grow the market for everyone. Our vision is a billion people playing together.</div> </p><p> </p><p>That's not the whole story though. Read on after the break to find out what else Zynga has in mind to make their vision a reality. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1641-the-zynga-platform-beyond-facebook.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Mar 2012 11:19:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1641-the-zynga-platform-beyond-facebook.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1640-wholesale-applications-communitys-mobile-payment-plan.html <p>It has been almost 2 years since I first wrote about the founding of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wacapps.net/payment-api-faqs" class="UpStreamLink">Wholesale Applications Community</a> and their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/492-telecom-unites-over-apps.html" class="UpStreamLink">24 original members</a>. Today, the organization has over 60 members and an even stronger focus on open standards for the wireless industry. The project they are currently tackling is the increasingly interesting wireless payment problem. </p><p> </p><p>We know that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1458-google-wallets-major-security-flaw.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google Wallet</a> has had <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1609-google-wallets-newest-security-flaw.html" class="UpStreamLink">some problems</a>, and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1359-paypal-takes-on-google-wallet-and-says-nfc-is-not-for-commerce.html" class="UpStreamLink">Paypal wants in</a>, but there is a flaw in both of these platforms: you have to attach an outside funding source. WAC aims to change that. </p><p> </p><p>How do they plan to accomplish this goal? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1640-wholesale-applications-communitys-mobile-payment-plan.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:01:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1640-wholesale-applications-communitys-mobile-payment-plan.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1639-228000-worth-of-bitcoins-stolen.html <p>Not a lot of people know what <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bitcoin.org/" class="UpStreamLink">Bitcoin</a> is, so we will start this story there. Bitcoin is a digital currency, similar to Microsoft Points, with a twist. Bitcoins are not purchased in unlimited quantities - instead, they are "<a target="NewWindow" href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Pooled_mining" class="UpStreamLink">mined</a>" on servers and personal computers. Essentially, you are paid for the usage of your computer's idle CPU usage. According to the Bitcoin FAQ, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">New coins are generated by a network node each time it finds the solution to a certain mathematical problem (i.e. creates a new block), which is difficult to perform and can demonstrate a proof of work. The reward for solving a block is automatically adjusted so that in the first 4 years of the Bitcoin network, 10,500,000 BTC will be created. The amount is halved each 4 years, so it will be 5,250,000 over years 4-8, 2,625,000 over years 8-12 and so on. Thus the total number of bitcoins in existence will not exceed 21,000,000. </p><p> </p><p>Blocks are generated every 10 minutes, on average. As the number of people who attempt to generate these new coins changes, the difficulty of creating new coins changes. This happens in a manner that is agreed upon in advance by the network as a whole, based upon the time taken to generate the previous 2016 blocks. The difficulty is therefore related to the average computing resources devoted to generate these new coins over the time it took to create these previous blocks. The likelihood of somebody creating a block is based on the calculation speed of the system that they are using compared to the aggregate calculation speed of all the other systems generating blocks on the network.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Why does any of this matter? Hit the break to find out where a lot of this money went. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1639-228000-worth-of-bitcoins-stolen.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 02 Mar 2012 22:28:27 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1639-228000-worth-of-bitcoins-stolen.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1638-windows-8-consumer-preview-hits-1-million-downloads.html <p>It didn't take long before the latest version of Microsoft's flagship product, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://windows.microsoft.com" class="UpStreamLink">Windows 8</a>, to have its public beta, known as the Consumer Preview, to receive 1 million downloads. In fact, it only took 24 hours to reach this milestone. Now, while Windows has had higher adoption rates in the past, it is unusual for a non-production ready operating system to get this kind of attention. </p><p> </p><p>This, however, is no normal Windows. In fact, it almost doesn't feature windows in its appearance, save for the Desktop, which has been relegated from its front-and-center position to an application running within the native environment. The primary interface sports the new universal Microsoft user experience, known as Metro, which is already in use on Windows Phone 7 and the new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1453-xbox-live-gets-select-media-partners-signed-on-shortly-after-dashboard-update.html" class="UpStreamLink">Xbox Dashboard</a>. This is what is driving all of the interest in the preview. </p><p> </p><p>I can tell you we have been testing Win8 here in the office since the original Developer Preview was released, and we installed the Consumer Preview immediately upon launch on Wednesday. I definitely understand why people are so excited about Windows 8. </p><p> </p><p>So, are you one of the million who had it day 1 or are you planning on trying it out soon? Let us know in the comments!</p> Fri, 02 Mar 2012 22:15:37 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1638-windows-8-consumer-preview-hits-1-million-downloads.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1637-iphone-4-users-receive-15-payout-for-antenna-problems.html <p>Let's take you back almost two years ago. The iPhone 4 was among the newest of the iCraze to be announced and in the hands of the massive amount of people who simply wanted something that "just worked." It just worked, except when you wanted to make a phone call; then the antenna wouldn't work at all. Why? It was because the phone was designed so poorly that your hand would naturally hold the area of the phone that Apple put the weak spot. </p><p> </p><p>The fix? Leave it to Apple to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/734-iphone-isnt-the-problem-everyone-else-is.html" class="UpStreamLink">say everyone has this problem</a> even though <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/738-apple-engineer-was-worried-about-iphone-4-antenna-problems-early-on.html" class="UpStreamLink">their developers knew about this issue well before release</a> and chose not to fix it. Apple also said to buy a rubber bumper to put on your phone to fix the problem. Perfect. </p><p> </p><p>As you could image, some people weren't too happy about this and actually received a settlement from the whole ordeal. These were the users who didn't want to exchange their phone, didn't want the stupid bumper and didn't want a voucher. </p><p> </p><p>So what was the settlement? Find out after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1637-iphone-4-users-receive-15-payout-for-antenna-problems.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:11:57 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1637-iphone-4-users-receive-15-payout-for-antenna-problems.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1636-lightsquared-responds-to-the-fcc-rejection-slashes-workforce-in-half.html <p>In an age where spectrum and cash are king, wireless carriers need to be able to stay afloat financially, but also need to be able to innovate and move forward with the technologies. For companies like Clearwire, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1626-clearwire-needs-more-than-the-1-billion-in-cash-to-operate.html" class="UpStreamLink">financial troubles have been plaguing them</a> for over a year now. Sprint was going to leave them for 4G company LightSquared, except last week <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="UpStreamLink">LightSquared ran into a roadblock</a> called the FCC and it may put a permanent halt on rolling out a 4G LTE network. </p><p> </p><p>This week we learned that LightSquared is trying to stay ahead of the financial troubles it will inevitably encounter due to no production as billionaire Philip Falcone, who backs LightSquared financially, is going to cut 149 of its 330 jobs, roughly 45 percent of the entire workforce. The majority of the jobs being axed are the ones who were going to be responsible for rolling out the actual network. </p><p> </p><p>On what's going to happen during this downtime, check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1636-lightsquared-responds-to-the-fcc-rejection-slashes-workforce-in-half.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:56:28 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1636-lightsquared-responds-to-the-fcc-rejection-slashes-workforce-in-half.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1635-the-mobile-landscape-just-got-a-little-more-crowded.html <p>We've known for a while now that Mozilla has been working on a new mobile operating system known as Boot2Gecko. What we didn't know, however, was how close to being complete they were. If rumors are true, it would appear that they are at least to the Developer Preview stage. </p><p> </p><p>Before we get to the rumors, let's cover what Boot2Gecko is. This mobile operating system is both revolutionary and derivative, all at the same time. Its revolutionary in that it will be the most open OS in the mobile world, and it will also be able to run inside of any browser. While the fact that it will run in any browser might seem new, this is not the first mobile OS to be entirely based on web technologies (webOS). webOS, however, runs inside of a WebKit environment, whereas Boot2Gecko can run anywhere. Certainly an interesting concept. </p><p> </p><p>However, will Boot2Gecko suffer the same fate as webOS, or will its starting out open help it avoid a slow, painful death? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1635-the-mobile-landscape-just-got-a-little-more-crowded.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:47:07 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1635-the-mobile-landscape-just-got-a-little-more-crowded.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1634-in-south-africa-you-can-preorder-a-game-that-hasnt-been-officially-announced.html <p>An interesting thing has occurred on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.btgames.co.za/bt/infopage.asp?C12804" class="UpStreamLink">BT Games's South African website</a>. They have given their customers the ability to pre-order a game that hasn't officially been announced. What makes it more intriguing is that the game in question here is the fabled fourth installment of the <i>God of War</i> franchise, <i>God of War IV</i>, which they estimate to be released in February 2013. Exactly how they reached this conclusion is up for debate: it is possible they know something we don't or maybe they are just being optimistic? The game hasn't been officially announced in any capacity as of this article but at the beginning of this year Joystiq reported that Timothy Williams, the man in charge of the orchestral music in many videogames, had listed <i>God of War IV</i> in his resume under the "Video Games" section. </p><p> </p><p>You really don't have to stretch your imagination to believe a 4th game in the wildly popular <i>God of War</i> franchise could happen. In fact, I would go so far as to say it's a probability just based on a gut feeling but this may just be a clever publicity stunt for the retailer. At least they are smart enough not to be charging you money for the pre-order at this time. See it for yourself after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1634-in-south-africa-you-can-preorder-a-game-that-hasnt-been-officially-announced.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:11:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1634-in-south-africa-you-can-preorder-a-game-that-hasnt-been-officially-announced.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1633-netflix-tells-blackberry-device-users-to-not-count-on-support.html <p>Netflix has worked it's way into the news several times over the last 8 months beginning with their price increases last July and their attempt to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1368-netflix-to-remain-whole-another-change-in-direction.html" class="UpStreamLink">spin off their the DVD portion of their business</a> into another entity called Quickster. This was a strategic move that wasn't received very well as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1389-800000-customers-leave-netflix-for-possibly-greener-pastures.html" class="UpStreamLink">around 800,000 customers left the service</a> from July through October. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings did make a humorous attempt at explaining why the changes were occurring but at that point the damage had been done and it was too little too late to save face with their customers. </p><p> </p><p>This time Netflix has angered a potential customer segment by voicing their non-supportive stance concerning BlackBerry devices via Twitter. <a target="NewWindow" href="https://twitter.com/#!/jr4941" class="UpStreamLink">Jon Robinson</a> is one of the few and proud BlackBerry device users left in the world who dared to inquire as to where the Playbook app for Netflix was. He also challenged Netflix by saying that it was overdue and there is no reason for them to continue holding off. On February 23rd Robinson got a response to his query that apparently didn't sit well with BlackBerry users. Read on after the break to find out what they said. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1633-netflix-tells-blackberry-device-users-to-not-count-on-support.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:06:52 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1633-netflix-tells-blackberry-device-users-to-not-count-on-support.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1632-lackluster-performance-means-500-less-blockbuster-stores-by-end-of-q2.html <p>Blockbuster has found itself in a precarious position since September 2010 when they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/848-blockbuster-finally-files-for-blockbusting-bankruptcy.html" class="UpStreamLink">filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy</a> after previously closing 1000 stores and putting together some failed distribution deals with movie studios. Even after Dish Network came along and potentially saved the day by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1114-dish-network-blockbuster.html" class="UpStreamLink">winning Blockbuster Video's auction</a> last April, Blockbuster can't seem to find it's way out of the horror section. The 1500 locations that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1277-dish-network-keeps-open-over-1500-blockbuster-locations.html" class="UpStreamLink">survived the Dish Network cutbacks</a> last July are experiencing another round of closings. </p><p> </p><p>In 2011 Blockbuster made $975 million in revenues and retained a positive net income figure of $4 million, which is impressive given all the massive changes the company has undergone. The addition of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1327-dish-network-introduces-blockbuster-movie-streaming-service.html" class="UpStreamLink">Blockbuster Movie Streaming service</a> is starting to make some progress with regards to their churn rate for the service. The churn lowered from 1.76 in 2010 to 1.63 in 2011, which means they are holding on to more new subscribers. In January 2012 Blockbuster had 6,000 new programs added to their 125,000 titles, 25,000 of which are available online, thanks to a deal with Univision. This helps prove that what CEO Joe Clayton said about Dish being committed to making this work is true. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">By introducing new Blockbuster-branded services, we've begun to turn the tide in subscriber losses while continuing to face increased competitive pressures. The Blockbuster brand is a significant brand in the marketplace, which focuses on family and movies. And that's clearly what Dish is all about.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Why is Dish continuing to close locations even though the service is making some headway? Find out after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1632-lackluster-performance-means-500-less-blockbuster-stores-by-end-of-q2.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Feb 2012 10:38:42 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1632-lackluster-performance-means-500-less-blockbuster-stores-by-end-of-q2.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1631-groupon-vip-program-starts-a-way-to-rake-in-more-dollars.html <p>What do you do when you have conned all of your customers, exhausted all of your resources, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1394-groupon-looks-to-group-buy-its-way-out-of-termoil.html" class="UpStreamLink">failed at the "confidence" portion of your IPO</a> and have <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1460-paypal-says-they-can-do-groupon-better.html" class="UpStreamLink">PayPal breathing down your neck</a>? If you're Groupon, you switch tactics completely and try something entirely different. That's what we're seeing this week, as Groupon is testing a new annual fee platform in the Tampa Bay area. </p><p> </p><p>Is this a case of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://f5live.tv" class="UpStreamLink">new name, same great taste</a>? See for yourself after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1631-groupon-vip-program-starts-a-way-to-rake-in-more-dollars.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Feb 2012 09:23:17 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1631-groupon-vip-program-starts-a-way-to-rake-in-more-dollars.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1630-microsoft-waves-goodbye-to-windows-live-and-zune-in-windows-8.html <p>Ever since the //build/windows conference, Microsoft has been <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1342-microsofts-buildwindows-conference-delivers-windows-8-preview.html" class="UpStreamLink">showing off</a> all the cool new features you get with Windows 8. We saw things not only from the Developer Preview, but even directly from Ballmer during <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1373-ballmer-shows-off-more-windows-8-at-dell-world.html" class="UpStreamLink">Dell World</a>. Since December, rumors were flying around that we would see the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1434-windows-8-public-beta-could-be-out-as-soon-as-february.html" class="UpStreamLink">public beta drop as soon as this month</a> and we now know Leap Day will be the bearer of the riches. </p><p> </p><p>We know Windows 8 will be full of big changes for the better, with things as simple as a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1618-microsoft-reinvents-1985.html" class="UpStreamLink">logo redesign</a>. However, unfortunately we will also see some things possibly change that I personally do not like. The Zune and Windows Live brands will end their existence upon the release of Windows 8. </p><p> </p><p>What's going on? We have the full story after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1630-microsoft-waves-goodbye-to-windows-live-and-zune-in-windows-8.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Feb 2012 09:08:25 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1630-microsoft-waves-goodbye-to-windows-live-and-zune-in-windows-8.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1629-violent-videogames-and-the-law.html <p>The state of Oklahoma, or more their House Revenue and Tax Subcommittee, tried to pass a law adding a 1% sales tax to videogames sold within the state that are rated T (Teen) or higher. The bill was defeated in committee, but the fact that they thought about this is concerning. There was some discussion from Representative Pat Owenby (R) which made the committee seem less crazy: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Why just video games? Why not French fries or rap music or movies? We could have a task force on a multitude of reasons children are obese.</div> </p><p> </p><p>The idea that one of the members found it ridiculous that they were singling out videogames is a positive sign. The fact that the law would have affected <i>Mass Effect</i> and <i>Zumba Fitness</i> the same is still a little odd. It is still surprising that the law got even this far considering the now <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/147-california-vs-the-constitution.html" class="UpStreamLink">famous California battle</a> that led to a major public defeat in the Supreme Court. </p><p> </p><p>Oklahoma's not the only gaming law in the news. Hit the break to find out what is new in California's battle. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1629-violent-videogames-and-the-law.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:07:59 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1629-violent-videogames-and-the-law.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1628-tmobile-to-use-atts-money-to-build-4g-lte.html <p>The past 16 months have been interesting for T-Mobile USA. The wireless industry has changed around them and they have fought back with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="UpStreamLink">deceptive advertising</a> instead of improvements. In October of 2010, T-Mobile's USA Chief Network Officer Neville Ray said that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/863-tmobile-says-4g-isnt-important.html" class="UpStreamLink">4G Networks weren't important</a>, which has certainly explained the company's direction of the last year or so. </p><p> </p><p>At the time, Sprint had launched its Clearwire-powered WiMax 4G service nationwide and Verizon was building out its own LTE network for a tiered launch starting just <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/956-verizons-4g-launches-today-10gb-data-for-80.html" class="UpStreamLink">2 months in the future</a>. T-Mobile, on the other hand, had just launched its own 3G+ network, the same technology AT&T was running <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/931-hey-tmobile-att-has-a-3g-network-80-of-it-hspa.html" class="UpStreamLink">almost its entire network on</a> and was looking to replace. How was T-Mobile, the smallest nationwide carrier, going to compete with the big boys who were all working to abandon the technology they had just switched to? By calling HSPA+ (3G+) 4G, of course. That decision, which helped them for a while, might turn out to be the biggest mistake the company has made to date. </p><p> </p><p>How is this all going to work for T-Mobile USA? Hit the break to find out my thoughts. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1628-tmobile-to-use-atts-money-to-build-4g-lte.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:06:16 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1628-tmobile-to-use-atts-money-to-build-4g-lte.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1627-sprint-almost-bought-metropcs-rumor.html <p>We all know that the wireless industry is a cut-throat business, and with everyone competing on who will get to a wide-spread LTE network first, it is no surprise that national carriers are considering purchasing regional carriers, or even smaller national carriers. We've seen AT&T purchase regional carriers like Dobson Cellular and, of course, Verizon's purchase of Alltel. Most recently, there was the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1447-attmobile-one-step-closer-to-failing.html" class="UpStreamLink">failed</a> attempt at an <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T/T-Mobile merger</a>, but there are always smaller deals in the works. </p><p> </p><p>This week, one of those deals we didn't even know about fell through. Apparently Sprint Nextel and and MetroPCS have been in talks for months about MetroPCS, a smaller regional carrier, becoming part of the Sprint Nextel family. While the deal did not go through, it took right up to the last minute for it to fail. Apparently, within hours of the final signing, the Sprint board of directors decided to veto the buyout. </p><p> </p><p>The decision, against CEO Dan Hesse's already signing off, seems to be surprising. Sprint has made the commitment <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1362-sprints-4g-technological-evolution.html" class="UpStreamLink">to transition to LTE</a>, but their original LTE partner, LightSquared has been hit with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="UpStreamLink">FCC issues political</a> and their existing <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1428-clearwire-might-skip-on-upcoming-debt-payment.html" class="UpStreamLink">WiMax partner</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1435-clearwire-loses-3-resellers.html" class="UpStreamLink">Clearwire</a>, has <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1452-clearwire-gets-some-help-from-sprint-for-future-and-existing-4g-networks.html" class="UpStreamLink">had nothing</a> but <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1626-clearwire-needs-more-than-the-1-billion-in-cash-to-operate.html" class="UpStreamLink">trouble lately</a>. The addition of MetroPCS to its network would have added <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/977-metropcs-brings-real-4g-network-to-boston-sacramento-and-nyc.html" class="UpStreamLink">MetroPCS's existing LTE footprint</a>, as well as their spectrum, into the fold, giving Sprint their first big win in the LTE process. </p><p> </p><p>Of course, Sprint's response to the rumor was, as always, "we never comment on rumors or speculation." </p><p> </p><p>What do you think? Was killing off the deal a good or a bad move for Sprint Nextel and for MetroPCS? Let us know in the comments section.</p> Sat, 25 Feb 2012 20:40:49 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1627-sprint-almost-bought-metropcs-rumor.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1626-clearwire-needs-more-than-the-1-billion-in-cash-to-operate.html <p>For those who haven't been following along through the Clearwire story, the wireless company has been going through a bit of turmoil as of late. Uncertainty, some changes and some money issues have been troubling the company for more than a year. Let's quickly recap to catch you up to speed. </p><p><ul><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1452-clearwire-gets-some-help-from-sprint-for-future-and-existing-4g-networks.html" class="UpStreamLink">Clearwire Gets Some Help from Sprint for Future and Existing 4G Networks</a></li><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1435-clearwire-loses-3-resellers.html" class="UpStreamLink">Clearwire Loses 3 Resellers</a></li><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1428-clearwire-might-skip-on-upcoming-debt-payment.html" class="UpStreamLink">Clearwire Might Skip on Upcoming Debt Payment</a></li><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1362-sprints-4g-technological-evolution.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sprint's 4G Technological Evolution</a></li></ul>You should be all caught up now. So this week, more financial issues came up for Clearwire. We have more on that after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1626-clearwire-needs-more-than-the-1-billion-in-cash-to-operate.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:51:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1626-clearwire-needs-more-than-the-1-billion-in-cash-to-operate.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1625-the-vcr-is-dead-in-japan.html <p>This week, we learned of an interesting story that is on the same strange level as that of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/358-ps2-released-our-crew-now-asks-who-cares-about-brazil.html" class="UpStreamLink">Brazil arriving late to the PS2 party</a>. Panasonic has announced that it has stopped producing VCRs in Japan. I had no clue they were still making them, but it is assuring to hear they have halted production of their antiquated effort. I suppose the realization of video content being streamed over the Internet or being stored on a DVR device has finally hit them. There aren't many places that even source the blank tapes anymore. </p><p> </p><p>It should be noted that they have stopped production on the tape-playing machines in the domestic market at the end of 2011. Until inventory depletes, sales will continue on VCRs in Japan. However, Panasonic still does manufacture VCRs in China and Slovakia and they do still have plans to sell VCRs in other smaller countries, depending on the market environment. </p><p> </p><p>This now puts the VCR to rest just like the Walkman and the 8-track. JVC had stopped production of the VCR back in 2006 and stopped selling them altogether shortly thereafter. Panasonic has not released sales numbers for their VCRs, and the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITIA) doesn't even track shipments of the devices, although it does track the car stereo cassette deck sales. </p><p> </p><p>In the end, though, the VCR is now deceased. Rewind In Peace 1977-2012.</p> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:12:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1625-the-vcr-is-dead-in-japan.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1624-nintendo-wii-gets-hulu-plus-now-3ds-later-this-year.html <p>First there was Wii Motion Plus and now Hulu Plus. On February 16th, Nintendo inked a partnership with Hulu that will finally allow the Wii to stream movies and TV shows using Hulu Plus through the console. It took a while, but the good news is that the Wii now has the same popular lineup as that of the PS3 and the Xbox 360. </p><p> </p><p>While it may be a little late in the game for the console platform, the 3DS will certainly get a boost with this move as consumers should expect Hulu Plus to hit the devices later this year. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1624-nintendo-wii-gets-hulu-plus-now-3ds-later-this-year.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:21:22 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1624-nintendo-wii-gets-hulu-plus-now-3ds-later-this-year.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1623-foxconns-apple-facility-investigation-could-be-over-before-it-starts.html <p>What happens after you post record profits and then your <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1614-foxconn-and-apple-learn-that-swag-isnt-always-necessarily-a-good-thing.html" class="UpStreamLink">production facility's documents were hacked</a> because people are starting to learn about the downright awful working conditions of the employees? If you're Apple, you are investigated and audited to make sure these allegations aren't true, even though <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/657-foxconn-employees-pledge-not-to-kill-themselves.html" class="UpStreamLink">reports of suicides and other deaths</a> have been coming out of the Foxconn production plant for almost a year now. </p><p> </p><p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.fairlabor.org/fla/" class="UpStreamLink">Fair Labor Association (FLA)</a> has taken on the task of auditing Foxconn's Apple manufacturing facility this week. Instead of actually going through a process and conduct a complete investigation, however, the head of the organization has already stated that things are probably fine inside the workplace and the injuries are more than likely due to "boredom" and not anything else. </p><p> </p><p>We have all of the details on the absurdity after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1623-foxconns-apple-facility-investigation-could-be-over-before-it-starts.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:34:06 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1623-foxconns-apple-facility-investigation-could-be-over-before-it-starts.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1622-sony-exec-expects-the-ps-vita-to-dominate-in-the-us.html <p>It has been about 9 months since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/5-electronic-entertainment-expo-e3-2011.html" class="UpStreamLink">E3 2011</a> when Sony proudly showed off the new and improved <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1383-sonys-postvalentines-day-present-vita-due-out-february-22nd-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">PS Vita</a> but only Japan had yet to see it on store shelves, until this week, and in the hands of core gamers. According to Shuhei Yoshida, who is in charge of all the games produced internally for Sony platforms, the mobile gaming market in Japan is healthy and actually larger than the console market. He also mentioned that sales were good but nothing to get ecstatic over, in an interview with Dean Takahashi of Venture Beat. Sony fans outside of Japan remember the disappointment of having the release date <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1383-sonys-postvalentines-day-present-vita-due-out-february-22nd-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">pushed back to February 22nd 2012</a> (unless you preordered) from an original 2011 holiday season release. So why is Yoshida remaining optimistic about the PS Vita's US launch? </p><p> </p><p>As it turns out, Yoshida believes the success of their US launch will be based on three factors. The first one is at the core of how Sony traditionally looks at improving their devices, add a lot more power and make the graphics look really great. The PS Vita certainly lives up to those expectations, given it's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1027-sony-to-bring-nextgeneration-portability-to-your-pants.html" class="UpStreamLink">production specs</a>. The second factor plays to the PS Vita's new array of innovations like the touchscreen, back touch, camera, 6 axis, accelerometer and revamped operating system. These additions open up how gamers experience a portable gaming device in a way that is truly unique from the PlayStation 3 and 3DS. At E3 2011 <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1206-e3-2011-living-la-vita-playstation.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Uncharted: Golden Abyss</i> stole the show</a> when it came to showing off the Vita's new functionality and how it could be implemented in games. </p><p> </p><p>The third thing Yoshida feels will seal the deal for a great US release has to do with ditching the old XCrossMediaBar in favor of a new and improved Android-based operating system. Find out why after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1622-sony-exec-expects-the-ps-vita-to-dominate-in-the-us.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:59:35 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1622-sony-exec-expects-the-ps-vita-to-dominate-in-the-us.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1621-india-is-invaded-again-this-time-by-microsoft-store-hackers.html <p>The last time anything from Microsoft was reported as being hacked goes back to November 2010 when a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/913-developer-hacks-kinect-microsoft-says-pics-or-it-didnt-happen.html" class="UpStreamLink">developer reportedly "hacked" the Kinect</a> for Xbox 360 and just recently the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.microsoftstore.co.in/" class="UpStreamLink"> Microsoft Store for India</a>, operated for Microsoft by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://quasar.co.in/" class="UpStreamLink">Quasar Media</a>, was temporarily taken offline in response to attacks from the group Evil Shadow. This adds the Microsoft Store to a long list of other companies that have been hacked over the past 2 years such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1211-3-psn-arrests.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sony's PlayStation Network</a> (now the Sony Entertainment Network), <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1223-hackers-didnt-pass-up-on-sega-pass-online.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sega Pass Online</a>,<a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1233-electronic-arts-also-falls-victim-to-data-breach.html" class="UpStreamLink"> Electronic Arts</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1433-call-of-duty-elite-passwords-not-totally-secure.html" class="UpStreamLink">Activision's Call of Duty Elite</a> service. </p><p> </p><p>On Monday the 13th, Microsoft decided to take their India store offline after realizing that it's customer database might have been compromised. In a blog post, someone calling themselves 7zl and the organization Evil Shadow, took credit for the attack. They also released usernames and passwords to accounts that Microsoft had kept stored in plain text. In most cases, retailers only secure the minimum amount of information required by the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_Card_Industry_Data_Security_Standard" class="UpStreamLink">Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard</a> which only really entails encrypting payment processing information. As bad as this is for customers, it's still a step up from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/720-ftc-direct-messages-twitter-about-security-breaches.html" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter employees storing usernames and passwords in plain text</a> in their gmail accounts. Microsoft released a generic statement saying that they are dealing with the situation. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The store customers have already been sent guidance on the issue and suggested immediate actions. We are diligently working to remedy the issue and keep our customers protected.</div></p> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:12:16 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1621-india-is-invaded-again-this-time-by-microsoft-store-hackers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1620-in-2030-sony-plans-to-give-consumers-power-over-electricity.html <p>Sony recently tipped their hand a little by showing us how they see the future of power distribution in the year 2030 with their prototype power outlets. About 18 years from now we will no longer be slaves to the power companies' monopoly on our lives and the pay-as-you-go way of life will have infiltrated more than just mobile communications service providers and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1438-toyota-and-yamaha-bring-the-future-into-the-past-with-ebike-collaboration.html" class="UpStreamLink">charging stations for your electric cars and e-bikes</a>. </p><p> </p><p>The outlets themselves will be outfitted with FeliCa transmitters which are an RFID (radio frequency identification) technology that works over existing power lines. This is meant to allow the user to be identified and payment to be processed based on a pay-as-you-go-basis where the user can simply swipe a card across the outlet or automatically get charged based on the payment information on file with Sony. They would also give the user a choice from energy sources currently available so if your house just so happens to have solar panels and batteries or perhaps a personal nuclear reactor, you might feel better about having more control over power. </p><p> </p><p>Leveraging this conceptual technology to make the world a better place has some major dependencies to contend with. Check out Sony's concept movie below and see just how bright and white Sony thinks the future will be. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1620-in-2030-sony-plans-to-give-consumers-power-over-electricity.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 07:54:10 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1620-in-2030-sony-plans-to-give-consumers-power-over-electricity.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html <p>After an interesting battle with the FCC, LightSquared, and subsequently Sprint, who had announced a plan to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1362-sprints-4g-technological-evolution.html" class="UpStreamLink">partner with LightSquared for 4G LTE</a>, the company has been dealt a crippling blow. The FCC has suspended a waiver granted to them in 2010, that would allow them to build-out their LTE network. The waiver was revoked over concerns that the spectrum used by LightSquared would be dangerously close to navigational GPS, and that it could affect up to 75% of GPS signals. </p><p> </p><p>The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, in a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/lightsquared_letter_to_chairman_genachowski_-_feb_14_2012.pdf" class="UpStreamLink">letter</a>, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Based on NTIA's independent evaluation of the testing and analysis performed over the last several months, we conclude that LightSquared's proposed mobile broadband network will impact GPS services and that there is no practical way to mitigate the potential interference at this time.</div> </p><p> </p><p>What does LightSquared have to say about all of this? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:52:15 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1619-trouble-for-lightsquared-and-sprint.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1618-microsoft-reinvents-1985.html <p>Microsoft has made a bold move this week, announcing the end of an era; the most inappropriate branding in the tech industry. For the past 20 years, Microsoft has used a flag to denote its Windows line of products, but it didn't used to be that way and won't be that way much longer. </p><p> </p><p>Paula Scher, from the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.pentagram.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Pentagram</a> design agency, asked the Windows team a very simple, but important question: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Your name is Windows. Why are you a flag?</div> </p><p> </p><p>Indeed. So, how do you solve that problem? You return to Windows origins, as so much of the consideration for Windows 8 and the Metro UI in general has done, and re-imagine the original logo with a modern flare. The new logo features live tiles, the foundation for the Metro interface, arranged to form a window. When compared against the existing Windows logo, it seems a huge departure, but when compared against the original Windows logo, everything over the last 20 years seems to be the departure from the sane. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see the new logos side-by-side, along with the current Windows logo. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1618-microsoft-reinvents-1985.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:28:14 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1618-microsoft-reinvents-1985.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1617-apple-plans-to-sue-kodak-again.html <p>As if <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.kodak.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Kodak</a> doesn't have <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1606-kodaks-new-business-model.html" class="UpStreamLink">enough trouble on its own</a>, Apple has asked the bankruptcy court for permission to sue the struggling company, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/600-apple-vs-htc-google-nokia-kodak.html" class="UpStreamLink">again</a>. Apple believes that Kodak's importing of some products, including printers and digital cameras, infringes on patents held by Apple. </p><p> </p><p>While this is not the first time Apple and Kodak have gone head-to-head in court, it is certainly the most interesting. First, Apple wants to bar the importing of products Kodak has announced it will no longer manufacture. While we all know Apple is a company known for suing instead of innovating, it would seem that trying to block the import of non-existent product would be a waste of time, granted the printers will still exist. </p><p> </p><p>Secondly, what patents could Apple possibly hold on digital imaging that the inventors of digital imaging could possibly be infringing on? Kodak has been involved in digital imaging since before Steve Jobs was openly involved with fruit. How could Apple believe they hold a patent on the technology? I guess only time will tell, if this case is allowed to go to court.</p> Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:41:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1617-apple-plans-to-sue-kodak-again.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1616-google-says-wallet-flaw-fixed.html <p>It has been an interesting week at Google. Last week, it was discovered that there were <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1609-google-wallets-newest-security-flaw.html" class="UpStreamLink">two security flaws in Google Wallet</a>. This week, the laughably-easy to exploit issue was addressed by the search giant quickly and publicly. </p><p> </p><p>It started with Google shutting down provisioning of pre-paid cards, the important step in stealing a user's information, until they were able to find and fix the issue. Google has issued a hotfix to prevent re-provisioning of existing pre-paid cards and restored access to pre-paid cards in general. </p><p> </p><p>To find out what Google said about the issue and find details on the "fix," hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1616-google-says-wallet-flaw-fixed.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:29:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1616-google-says-wallet-flaw-fixed.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1615-motorolas-big-mistake-of-2012-happened-already-customers-data-in-jeopardy.html <p>Motorola just seems to have a lot of ups and downs as of late. While their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://cesweb.org" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a> booth was certainly miles ahead of what was presented last year, the disaster of the "CES Best In Show" Xoom still looms. This week, Motorola can chalk another mistake to their "oopsies" column. Motorola sold a batch of Xooms to the one day, one deal site Woot who then resold those units between October and December 2011. </p><p> </p><p>Everything would seem perfect except for the fact that out of 6,200 Xoom tablet that were refurbished, 100 of them "may not have been completely cleared of the original owner's data prior to resale." So a previous user's private data, possibly including credit card numbers and the like may still exist on these tablets, not to mention usernames and passwords to various sites, email accounts and other sensitive information. Like I said, oopsies. </p><p> </p><p>The security mishap affects customers who purchased and then brought back a WiFi version of the Xoom to Amazon.com, Best Buy, BJ's Wholesale, eBay, Office Max, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Staples and a couple select standalone retailers between March and October. To fix this, they are providing these customers with two years of free credit protection service from Experian's ProtectMyID Alert system. Any customer who may be affected should contact 1.866.926.9803 and sign up for the service. Motorola (and common sense) says to change any and all passwords to any service that may have been downloaded to or visited from the tablet. Users who have done a factory or "hard" reset to the device prior to return obviously do not need to worry. </p><p> </p><p>Woot is working with Motorola to find who purchased the units that may not have been completely reset so that they can wipe or replace the tablets. Concerned customers should also contact Motorola Mobility at 1.800.734.5870 or go to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.motorola.com/xoomreturn" class="UpStreamLink">Motorola's Xoom Return page</a> to see if their tablet is on the list of possibly affected devices. </p><p> </p><p>The question is, is this a problem that exists a lot more than we realize and companies cover it up, or is this a one-off sort of thing? How comfortable does it make you feel? We want to know in the comments section below.</p> Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:17:55 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1615-motorolas-big-mistake-of-2012-happened-already-customers-data-in-jeopardy.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1614-foxconn-and-apple-learn-that-swag-isnt-always-necessarily-a-good-thing.html <p>We've been covering Apple's relationship with several of their manufacturing companies, including Foxconn, for quite some time already. From the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/642-one-bad-apple.html" class="UpStreamLink">harsh working conditions</a> to workers <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/657-foxconn-employees-pledge-not-to-kill-themselves.html" class="UpStreamLink">pledging not to kill themselves anymore</a>, we've been reporting on these issues for over a year. Our good friend <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/15-avram-piltch.html" class="UpStreamLink">Avram Piltch</a> of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://laptopmag.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Laptop Magazine</a> discussed more issues at length on our <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/radio/1-242-episode-242.html" class="UpStreamLink">last episode of F5 Live</a> as the media has just picked up on these issues. </p><p> </p><p>Things have gotten a little worse since we last spoke of Foxconn and after Apple's posting of $46.3 billion in profit; I guess people aren't too happy that they're making so much bank while people are suffering. The cash stack is skyrocketing and the work conditions of the employees are getting to the point where even the nanobot infected iSheeple are starting to turn their heads towards the issue - even though some of them may not be able to copy and paste the story to their friends. </p><p> </p><p>Now, a hacking group has decided to get involved and make the outsourcing giant pay for allowing this to happen to their employees. Apple also needs to be concerned here because what happened directly affects them in more than one way. We have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1614-foxconn-and-apple-learn-that-swag-isnt-always-necessarily-a-good-thing.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:05:05 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1614-foxconn-and-apple-learn-that-swag-isnt-always-necessarily-a-good-thing.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1613-youtube-to-start-subscriptions-for-its-channels.html <p>Ever since buying YouTube back in 2006 for $1.6 billion, Google has had a hard time trying to make some money off of the entire project. Last April, Google decided they would work to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1124-youtube-channels-set-to-take-the-spotlight-.html" class="UpStreamLink">reposition the site</a> in hopes that its channel-based orientation would allow more revenue. In October, we learned that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1360-youtube-wants-more-advertisers-to-favorite-them.html" class="UpStreamLink">$100 million was spent on partnerships</a> to further bring recognition and ad dollars to the platform. </p><p> </p><p>I suppose all of this was just not enough for YouTube as we are learning that the popular video site may do what others are doing to bring in the cash: start charging for subscriptions. </p><p> </p><p>If this all sounds crazy, we have details for you after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1613-youtube-to-start-subscriptions-for-its-channels.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:04:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1613-youtube-to-start-subscriptions-for-its-channels.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1612-amazon-plans-to-join-the-brick-n-morter-movement-with-its-own-store.html <p>This year might end up marking the start of major e-tailers testing the waters with regards to a hybrid infrastructure of online retail outlets and traditional brick n' mortar retail stores. Most notably, Apple has had tremendous success with their 361 physical retail stores and Microsoft has been in the process of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1255-75-more-potential-microsoft-stores-you-dont-click-the-center-link-for.html" class="UpStreamLink">expanding their physical reach</a> with 75 new locations since July 2011. Google is in the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1611-dublin-may-get-a-google-store-in-real-life.html" class="UpStreamLink">process of planning their debut retail store</a> in Dublin Ireland where their European headquarters is located and Amazon has plans to open up a test store in Seattle in the next few months. According to an Amazon spokes person, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The primary goal of the test is to determine if a physical retail presence can accelerate sales of Kindle devices and follow-on consumption of digital content at an attractive return on invested capital.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Seattle makes sense because they are required to pay sales tax in any state where they have a physical presence and given that they are headquartered in Seattle, they are already paying sales tax. The concept of a physical retail store can work for a variety of reasons, they can generate sales revenue, increase brand familiarity and serve as customer service centers. It's often difficult to be successful at all three which does raise concerns about return on investment, something that Amazon will be watching closely. Right now it seems that the Amazon stores will be mostly centered around their Kindle products and be primarily sales focused over customer service driven.</p> Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:56:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1612-amazon-plans-to-join-the-brick-n-morter-movement-with-its-own-store.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1611-dublin-may-get-a-google-store-in-real-life.html <p>Apparently, even in the Internet Age, brick n' mortar stores still hold a glimmer of prestige even with mega-corp software giants like Microsoft, Apple and maybe Google in the near future. With Google's launch of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/968-chrome-os-do-more-things-that-make-google-money.html" class="UpStreamLink">online Chrome Store</a> back in December of 2010 it's only taken Google a little over a year to come up with some plans to pull a <i>Tron</i> and bring the shiniest online store ever into the physical world. </p><p> </p><p>Before we get ahead of ourselves, Google has stated that their plans are only plans and no hard decisions have been made. The decision to pursue this further has come from some testing with the concept that Google has conducted in London. They built some test stores inside of PC World and Currys and attempted to sell laptops, presumably with Chrome OS. </p><p> </p><p>In a planning application filed in Dublin, Google disclosed that the store would be 1,323 square-feet and sell some sort of Google merchandise, presumably Chrome OS laptops as well as t-shirts and the like. The store would be physically located in the Montevetro portion of Barrow Street. </p><p> </p><p>My personal hope is that they do a good job incorporation the whole "chrome" aspect in their store aesthetic very well. Apple needs someone to step up and sell products in a much brighter environment with more reflective properties to be challenged. The plans for the real life Google store also indicates that they are still serious about continuing to pit Chrome OS and Android against one another but that could start to change as the Chrome web browser recently became available for beta on Android 4.0 devices. It will be interesting to see what kind of a showing Android makes in their stores, if any. Should the store become a reality in the near future I would suggest using another form of payment besides <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1609-google-wallets-newest-security-flaw.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google Wallet</a> to make purchases since the security still seems to be a little on the unpolished side of things.</p> Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:09:51 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1611-dublin-may-get-a-google-store-in-real-life.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1610-more-media-partners-sign-on-to-xbox-live.html <p>For those living under a rock, this is the time where I inform you that the Xbox dashboard <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1453-xbox-live-gets-select-media-partners-signed-on-shortly-after-dashboard-update.html" class="UpStreamLink">was revamped shortly before Christmas</a> to include more media partners, features and enhancements that further helped them prove that the Xbox really is made to be the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1186-microsoft-says-xbox-entertainment.html" class="UpStreamLink">center of all your family entertainment</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, when the new dashboard rolled out, we only saw a handful of the new media partners we were promised when Xbox <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1363-xbox-%20live-announces-its-video-lineup.html" class="UpStreamLink">announced the list back in October</a>. Shortly thereafter, Verizon FiOS, YouTube, msnbc, TMZ, SyFy, Epix and iHeartRadio was added to the LIVE community. However, the problem remained that about ten other partners were still awaiting US debut. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Microsoft brought us one step closer to all of the content we've been waiting to see. What was added? We have the info after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1610-more-media-partners-sign-on-to-xbox-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:33:20 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1610-more-media-partners-sign-on-to-xbox-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1609-google-wallets-newest-security-flaw.html <p>This week, a few new vulnerabilities were discovered in <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.google.com/wallet/" class="UpStreamLink">Google Wallet</a>. The first requires that the device be rooted to allow someone near you to enable the stealing of a Google Wallet PIN. That exploit is about as easy to take advantage of as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1458-google-wallets-major-security-flaw.html" class="UpStreamLink">the last one we discussed</a>, so we won't go into a lot of detail. </p><p> </p><p>For those who do not know, Google Wallet allows for payment through a Citi Mastercard, a gift card or a Google prepaid card. The Google card allows you to tie any other form of payment, credit or debit from any company, as the funding method, allowing for payment through virtually any card. This third payment method, plus Google's tendency to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/512-the-buzz-continues.html" class="UpStreamLink">not think before they act</a>, are what allow a thief access to your money. </p><p> </p><p>To find out how and hear Google's response, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1609-google-wallets-newest-security-flaw.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:45:57 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1609-google-wallets-newest-security-flaw.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1608-psychonauts-sequel-in-the-works.html <p>Many of our readers may not even know what <i>Psychonauts</i> was, but those who do will be very excited to hear that a sequel might be in the works. The initial release of the game was not all that successful, but after being added to several of the older digital distribution systems, some for free, people learned about a game and everyone who played it seemed to love it. </p><p> </p><p>Creator Tim Shafer said about a sequel in a recent <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a363781/psychonauts-2-pitched-several-times-says-tim-schafer.html" class="UpStreamLink">interview</a>, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">I'd love to do that game, but I'd have to convince someone to just give me a few million dollars, that's all.</div> </p><p> </p><p>One of the people who discovered it and read this interview was the creator of <i>Minecraft</i>, Markus "Notch" Persson. He responded to the interview via Twitter saying, "<a target="NewWindow" href="https://twitter.com/#!/notch/status/166832955677884416" class="UpStreamLink">How many millions exactly?</a>", followed by "<a target="NewWindow" href="https://twitter.com/#!/notch/status/166838426207924224" class="UpStreamLink">Let's make <i>Psychonauts 2</i> happen.</a>" and "<a target="NewWindow" href="https://twitter.com/#!/notch/status/166843982683451392" class="UpStreamLink">Also, I'm serious.</a>" He told Ars Technica, "Their about page told me to contact Tim via Twitter, so I did!" </p><p> </p><p>Why did he make this offer and what could it mean? hit the break for more. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1608-psychonauts-sequel-in-the-works.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:27:18 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1608-psychonauts-sequel-in-the-works.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1607-linkedin-proving-social-networks-can-profit.html <p>It is fairly early in <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.linkedin.com" class="UpStreamLink">LinkedIn's</a> public life and it seems to have been nothing but good for the company so far. Since going public in May of last year, their earnings, as well as their subscriber-base, has continued to rise. Their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://blog.linkedin.com/2012/02/09/q4-2011-earnings-call/" class="UpStreamLink">earnings</a>, announced this week, show that their earnings this quarter have risen 105%. Yes, LinkedIn made more than double this quarter than this quarter last year. That is impressive growth for any company, even more so for a social network. </p><p> </p><p>While it may not seem like it, this might actually be good for <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook</a>. While it may show that LinkedIn is growing, possibly at the cost of Facebook, it also shows that a social network can be profitable, which could help Facebook in their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1430-facebook-ipo-might-not-be-the-smartest-thing-after-groupons-failure.html" class="UpStreamLink">inevitable IPO</a>. </p><p> </p><p>How is LinkedIn making money, while Facebook seems to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1018-will-facebook-fall-on-its-face.html" class="UpStreamLink">be losing</a>? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1607-linkedin-proving-social-networks-can-profit.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:47:25 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1607-linkedin-proving-social-networks-can-profit.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1606-kodaks-new-business-model.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.kodak.com" class="UpStreamLink">Kodak</a>, the company that invented the digital camera in 1975, will be phasing out production of digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital photo frames before the middle of the year. The company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, completed the middle of January. While the company will still manufacture home printers and offer photo-printing and enterprise services, the company will start focusing on their brand-licensing program to generate revenue. </p><p> </p><p>This is a major move for THE name in photography to be giving up on photography products. The decision will cost the company an initial $30 million, but they estimate that it will save the company $100 million annually. Of course, Kodak will continue to honor existing warranties for all products. </p><p> </p><p>This won't be the only changes to the Kodak Corporation. Hit the break to find out the changes. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1606-kodaks-new-business-model.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:16:52 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1606-kodaks-new-business-model.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1605-ces-2012-mwe-lab.html <p>Geeks the world over would have left CES this year with tiny holes in their artificial hearts if we here at F5 Live had not stumbled across something like the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mwelab.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Emperor 1510</a> to plug the hole and thankfully <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mwelab.com/" class="UpStreamLink">MWE Lab delivered</a>. With the growing dominance of mobile technology that suggests you have places to go and things to do it's always nice to find gadgets that make you not want to leave your home or office. Here's why the Emperor 1510 does exactly that. </p><p> </p><p>Gianni Martinez was nice enough to talk to us and give us a hands on demonstration despite the fact that he was about to keel over from exhaustion (just like me). Designed to be an ergonomic work station, it's purpose it straightforward. Create an environment where the user has easy access to the technology they require and allow them to leverage its use in a way that maximizes the user's performance. </p><p> </p><p>I had a chance to try it out myself and even though I was only able to experience it for a short time, it does seem that 10-12 hour shifts would pass by rather quickly and comfortably. Take into consideration the amount of time and energy we invest into using our computers and a $6,200 investment in yourself is a small price to pay over the long run. Check out our video below and as always leave your questions and comments so we can sure you stay as plugged in as possible to this years CES 2012 news! </p><p> </p><p>Interview by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/5-jon-wurm.html" class="UpStreamLink">Jon Wurm</a> of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/10-consumer-electronics-show-ces-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">F5 Live</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="https://www.gotomypc.com/tr/blu/2012_Q1/Text_Shnotes_AV/1x1/g22lp/?Target=mm/g22lp.tmpl" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days!</a> </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta/" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://twitter.com/#!/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1605-ces-2012-mwe-lab.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:26:01 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1605-ces-2012-mwe-lab.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1604-ces-2012-turtle-beach-the-sound-of-winning.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.turtlebeach.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Turtle Beach</a> has long been synonymous with gaming audio, and this year they have decided to make high-quality gaming headsets available to everyone, everywhere. They have added new headsets to their high-end wireless line, allowing people on any budget to afford a high-quality Turtle Beach wireless gaming headset. </p><p> </p><p>They have even branched out and created a new line of mobile gaming headsets for your iPad, iPhone, Android-based phone or tablet, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP or any other mobile device you are currently gaming on. Now, no matter where you are or how you're gaming, you can always experience the sound the way it was made to be heard. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Scott Ertz of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://f5live.tv" class="UpStreamLink">F5 Live</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1604-ces-2012-turtle-beach-the-sound-of-winning.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:18:21 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1604-ces-2012-turtle-beach-the-sound-of-winning.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1603-ces-2012-nexia-home-intelligence-automating-your-home.html <p>If you're a regular to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://f5live.tv" class="UpStreamLink">F5 Live</a>, or you have gone snooping around your local <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.radioshack.com" class="UpStreamLink">RadioShack</a> in the past year or so, you have probably encountered the Schlage Link line of home automation products. With things like door locks and cameras, all accessible from the Internet, it was a useful set of products. No more leaving a key under the mat, just unlock the door from your phone when the repair guy gets to the house. </p><p> </p><p>Well, Schlage has decided to up the ante and expand the product line, renaming it <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nexiahome.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Nexia Home Intelligence</a> and bringing on companies like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.pella.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Pella</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.trane.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Trane</a> to bring new features to the set, like window shades that can automatically open/close on a timer or from the web, or an air conditioner that can be remotely controlled, all through the Nexia website. </p><p> </p><p>We have a hands-on demo of the website, showing off the Pella window shades, remote-controlled cameras and more after the break. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Scott Ertz of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://f5live.tv" class="UpStreamLink">F5 Live</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1603-ces-2012-nexia-home-intelligence-automating-your-home.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:10:50 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1603-ces-2012-nexia-home-intelligence-automating-your-home.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1602-ces-2012-cambridge-audio-analog-for-a-digital-world.html <p>If you're not into professional audio, you may not be familiar with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Cambridge Audio</a>, but for those of us who are familiar with Cambridge Audio, this year's announcements were very exciting. From a compact digital to analog converter (DAC) that would have made our lives at CES much easier this year to a full home theater receiver with network streaming, Internet radio and, of course, a built-in DAC, Cambridge certainly came full-force to the convention. </p><p> </p><p>We got to see the upgrade to their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=320" class="UpStreamLink">DacMagic</a> product, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=872" class="UpStreamLink">DacMagic Plus</a>, a simple way to convert almost any source, digital or analog, to full 24-bit/384kHz audio through up-sampling. In addition, it has ground-fault noise reduction, meaning no more humming because of the things that are plugged in around it. We've all experienced plugging our computer into a stereo system or mixer and there is a constant hum on the speakers - not with this bad boy. All of this is housed in a box about the size of an average digital camcorder. This is a must-have for anyone running a recording studio or even a podcast/online radio/TV show. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Scott Ertz of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://f5live.tv" class="UpStreamLink">F5 Live</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1602-ces-2012-cambridge-audio-analog-for-a-digital-world.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:51:41 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1602-ces-2012-cambridge-audio-analog-for-a-digital-world.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1601-ces-2012-homegrid-forum-any-wire-anywhere.html <p>My interview with John Egan, who was representing the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.homegridforum.org/" class="UpStreamLink">HomeGrid Forum</a> shed some light on what's up and coming for G.hn technology. Just in case you're wondering what that is, G.hn is a home networking technology that uses existing (legacy) wiring in the house to transmit data with bandwidth of up to 1 gigabit per second, hence the tag line, "Any wire, anywhere." Some of the heavy hitters that participate in the HomeGrid Forum such as AT&T, British Telecom, Best Buy and Marvell Semiconductor understand there is good reason for adherence to this standard as it benefits both consumers and service providers. The consumer is afforded a choice in service provider and the service provider themselves have assurance that all their existing and potential customers have the opportunity to take advantage of the service provider's technology. Simply put, the standard uses rules and guidelines that helps prevent fragmentation of the market. When these products hit the market be sure to look for the HomeGrid Forum logo which reassures interoperability in your house. </p><p> </p><p>A definite plus with G.hn technology is that so long as the house has electrical outlets it can be taken advantage of. If you're reading this and you live in a mansion the question of range could come in to play but through the use of nodes, that act as repeaters, the data can travel long distances without any signal loss. Based on some estimates from service companies, not having to run any new wiring saves 4 man hours of installation time plus materials. This help make the use of G.hn technology easy, efficient and cost effective. More good news is that consumers can also expect prices for new technology to be comparable to the old technology that is currently in use. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jon Wurm of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.f5live.tv" class="UpStreamLink">F5 Live</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>We can expect to see full fledged products come to market around July and in the meantime, Mr. Egan gave us a hands on demonstration of some prototype technology that is in the works. Check it out after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1601-ces-2012-homegrid-forum-any-wire-anywhere.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:07:33 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1601-ces-2012-homegrid-forum-any-wire-anywhere.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1600-ces-2012-eco-alkalines-batteries-that-help-the-world.html <p>Amidst a sea of eco-friendly booths, a familiar sight grabbed our attention and made us start asking some questions about the packs of AA, AAA, C, D, and 9V sized batteries <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.leiproducts.com/eco-alkalines" class="UpStreamLink">Eco Alkalines</a> had on display and as it turns out, there is something special about them. </p><p> </p><p>Jessica Bell was nice enough to answer all my probing questions about their products but before we jump into the batteries I want to mention that their eco-friendliness actually starts with the brochures and packaging. I was surprised to learn that all the printing is done by using a soy-based ink and it's good to know they aren't afraid to think outside the packaging. </p><p> </p><p>As for their manufacturing process, they have achieved 88% efficiency which has helped them gain a "carbon neutral" certification. This is not a status that is easily achieved. They are also landfill safe so you don't have to feel guilty about being part of the 98% that does not recycle batteries properly. </p><p> </p><p>One of their most frequently asked questions is about the expected usage time and how it compares to other big name brands. As it turns out, life expectancy tests put Eco Alkalines's batteries ahead of Duracell and about 15 minutes behind Energizer. Not bad at all. As far as availability is concerned, you can buy their products online from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.amazon.com/Eco-Alkaline-AA-Batteries-Count/dp/B005QKDJ2A/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1327684785&sr=8-9" class="UpStreamLink">Amazon.com</a>, Best Buy and Walmart so long as you live in the U.S., Canada, Australia or Mexico. No need to worry about it costing you an arm to be environmentally friendly anymore. At an MSRP of $4.99, their batteries are competitively priced. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jon Wurm of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.f5live.tv" class="UpStreamLink">F5 Live</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Now that you're all charged up, go check out my interview with Jessica and Eco Alkalines after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1600-ces-2012-eco-alkalines-batteries-that-help-the-world.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:36:37 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1600-ces-2012-eco-alkalines-batteries-that-help-the-world.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1599-ces-2012-ionroad-safety-while-you-drive.html <p>I had the opportunity to speak with the guys from iOnRoad about their Android app and boy was I impressed. They have harnessed the power of a phone's camera, gyroscope and accelerometer to create a product that helps you drive better. All you have to do is put the phone in your windshield, like many people do already for their navigation apps, and it will begin watching the road to make sure you are staying in your lane, not speeding and giving yourself enough distance between you and the car in front of you. </p><p> </p><p>The first concern I had was quickly alleviated: iOnRoad can run in the background while you listen to music, have text messages read to you or even continue to use your navigator. When you inevitably get too close to another car, it will alert you and tell you the car in front of you is getting too close or that you no longer have enough stopping time if they were to stop suddenly. It also lets you know if the lane lines have shifted in its viewport, meaning you may be riding the line. This product is perfect for us being in Las Vegas where people don't quite drive the way you would expect, nor are there any rules about driving in a single lane at a time. </p><p> </p><p>While it was refreshing to see an application like this one start on a platform other than iOS, there is no way a company can ignore the size of the iSheeple flock, so the company is currently beta testing an iOS version of the application as well. The application, both on Android and iOS, works really well and truly is an innovative idea, so it is no wonder they won a CES 2012 Innovation Award. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Scott Ertz of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.f5live.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">F5 Live</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>To check out the interview and a demo of the Android and iOS versions of iOnRoad, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1599-ces-2012-ionroad-safety-while-you-drive.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:18:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1599-ces-2012-ionroad-safety-while-you-drive.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1598-digital-mobile-tv.html <p><h3>Siano's Digital Mobile TV Device</h3> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://siano-ms.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Siano</a> is a digital mobile television company that makes a product that allows a user to broadcast television programs on their phones or other mobile devices. Siano's device is small enough to fit in your pocket and plugs directly into an iPad or into a mobile device. Some of the channels on the Siano menu are free and some require a user to pay for them. The product is popular world-wide and is gathering steam in the United States. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1598-digital-mobile-tv.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:29:02 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1598-digital-mobile-tv.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1597-ion-icade-jr-ces-back-channel.html <p>Another product we saw on the Back Channel was the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/icadejr" class="UpStreamLink">Ion iCade Jr</a>. The little brother to the iCade, you slip in your <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/iphone" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a> and play games using the Bluetooth joystick. There are additional buttons on the back, so you can hold the iCade Jr. </p><p>The iCade jr will be out soon. </p><p> </p><p>For the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1597-ion-icade-jr-ces-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:25:27 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1597-ion-icade-jr-ces-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1596-ion-guitar-apprentice-ces-back-channel.html <p>Part of the Back Channel, we saw the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/guitarapprentice" class="UpStreamLink">Ion Guitar apprentice</a> - the world's first teaching device. It works with any guitar app, but they will have a guitar app for the device. We also saw the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/piano-apprentice" class="UpStreamLink">Piano Apprentice</a> - Plug your iPad into the keyboard. With the app, you can learn how to play piano Price: $99 </p><p> </p><p>Also out, is the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/drummaster" class="UpStreamLink">Drum Master</a>, and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/drumapprentice" class="UpStreamLink">Drum Apprentice</a>. $99 for the apprentice, $149 for the Master. </p><p> </p><p>For the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1596-ion-guitar-apprentice-ces-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:15:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1596-ion-guitar-apprentice-ces-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1595-pioneer-car-electronics-its-all-about-connectivity-live.html <p><h3>App Radio Now iOS and Android</h3> </p><p>With over 20 years of CES experience, Pioneer's Harry Krol's enthusiasm for the show and Pioneer products has been undiminished. For 2012, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car" class="UpStreamLink">Pioneer Car Electronics</a> is emphasizing connectivity through technologies like Bluetooth, HD Radio, in dash navigation systems, and connectivity to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/iphone" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a> or iPod. Selected applications are available on a new in-dash unit on "App Radio" - a much bigger multitouch-capable monitor that replicates an interface that is almost identical to how you interact on your phone. It includes "Find a Parking Spot" apps, and access to your entire media library that is already on your smartphone. App Radio 2, introduced at CES 2012, adds full Android support. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1595-pioneer-car-electronics-its-all-about-connectivity-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:05:32 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1595-pioneer-car-electronics-its-all-about-connectivity-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1594-savvy-cure-for-the-shopping-hangover.html <p><h3>Simple. Effective.</h3> </p><p>You take a picture of your receipt, if that item goes on sale you get an alert - so you can claim the better price with the retailer. </p><p>In 2010, over $20 Billion in price adjustments were left unclaimed - and retailers everywhere thank you for your inattention. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://savvy.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Savvy</a> (an app for iPhone or Android) gives you a way to recover money on your purchases, by letting you know that a price change has occurred and allowing you to claim that better price. Over 200 retailers are in the program. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1594-savvy-cure-for-the-shopping-hangover.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:09:11 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1594-savvy-cure-for-the-shopping-hangover.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1593-nvidia-tegra3-tablets-run-windows-8-quad-core-processors.html <p>We check out the new Tegra3 tablets by Nvidia at CES. Amazing little devices, these tablets run Quad-core processing using ARM processors. HD video at 1080p, multi-tasking ability and a lot more. </p><p> </p><p>With the new Windows 8 OS, these tablets look good. You can connect them up to a HDTV and do more from a tablet. Watch video on the TV, while you check out your Twitter on the tablet screen. </p><p> </p><p>The Tegra3 tablet will be out later this year. I might even be mixing down video come CES 2013 using this tablet. </p><p> </p><p> Interview by Jeffery Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p> Sponsored by </p><p> GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p> GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p> Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p> Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p> Watch the video after the break! </p><p> <br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1593-nvidia-tegra3-tablets-run-windows-8-quad-core-processors.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:02:32 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1593-nvidia-tegra3-tablets-run-windows-8-quad-core-processors.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1592-ford-apps-npr-news-roximity-stitcher-iheartradio-in-ford-sync.html <p>Ford Sync was also updated this year. Five new apps were introduced at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.com/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a>. They include: </p><p> </p><p>iHeartRadio - the ClearChannel station app, so you can get your local radio stations wherever you are </p><p>NPR News - Several NPR shows right at your fingertips </p><p>Roximity - Personalized, time-sensitive offers when in proximity to a place </p><p>Stitcher - Internet radio for mobile </p><p>Tune-In - Listen to your favorite radio stations </p><p>There is also an app called Sync Destinations, which the location-based service gives you better turn-by-turn directions. </p><p> </p><p>Sync is available on 2012 models of Mustang, Fusion, F150, and others. They are also working on an aftermarket solution to put Ford Sync in your older vehicle. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jeffery Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1592-ford-apps-npr-news-roximity-stitcher-iheartradio-in-ford-sync.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:58:04 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1592-ford-apps-npr-news-roximity-stitcher-iheartradio-in-ford-sync.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1591-my-ford-touch-improves-menus-updates-available-on-all-cars.html <p>While at the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ford.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Ford</a> Booth, we got to see the new updated My Ford Touch system. Back in November, they updated the software so consumers could move around the screen without having to look at the display. </p><p> </p><p>The four corner system gives you a proximity so you know where to press. One corner you will have navigation, another will see temperature settings. </p><p> </p><p>The in-car navigation system also has been improved. With additional 3D view, you can get an idea which direction you are heading </p><p> </p><p>Jeffrey Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> goes through the systems with Bridget on MyFordTouch. Best part is this update is available now. You can download and install, or you can head to your Ford dealer and they will install for free. </p><p> </p><p>For the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1591-my-ford-touch-improves-menus-updates-available-on-all-cars.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:52:33 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1591-my-ford-touch-improves-menus-updates-available-on-all-cars.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1590-roamz-unexpected-pleasant-surprises.html <p><h3>Personal Tour Guide</h3> </p><p>The joy of discovering interesting things around you is the secret appeal of this free iOS app. It's all a benefit of geographic awareness built into smartphones - and leverages the power of other social media channels that are active in the immediate area. You don't have to be following people or try to filter the madness of 200 million tweets per day. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.roamz.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Roamz</a> offers suggestions about what everyone nearby is buzzing about, as it monitors Foursquare, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter</a>, Facebook, and Instagram for traffic nearby. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1590-roamz-unexpected-pleasant-surprises.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:40:55 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1590-roamz-unexpected-pleasant-surprises.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1589-acoustic-research-airplay-wireless-audio-system.html <p>Jeremy from Vox International, representing Acoustic Research, dropped by the TPN studio at the Consumer Electronics Show to talk a little bit about the new AirPlay Wireless Audio System that they introduced at the show. As the name implies, the system is based on iTunes and it allows you to free your iTunes library from your computer or mobile device and stream the audio anywhere in your house. </p><p> </p><p>While there are a number of AirPlay devices on the market, Acoustic Research hopes to separate themselves from the group by, not only their famous name, but also with quality and pricing. Users will be able to tether multiple players together so that they can have them in separate rooms, creating a whole-house audio system. </p><p> </p><p>The box has 10w x 2 for audio power and will be available this April for $129.99. You can learn more from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.acoustic-research.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Acoustic Research</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1589-acoustic-research-airplay-wireless-audio-system.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:26:08 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1589-acoustic-research-airplay-wireless-audio-system.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1588-adventure-cameras-by-contour.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://contour.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Contour</a> came by the TPN.TV booth at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a> this year and showed some great action sports cameras; the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://contour.com/products/contour-roam" class="UpStreamLink">Contour Roam</a>, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://contour.com/products/contour-gps" class="UpStreamLink">Contour GPS</a> and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://contour.com/products/contour-plus" class="UpStreamLink">Contour Plus</a>. Theses cameras are great for filming while hiking, snow boarding, biking, skiing and other action sports. They all use a micro SD card up to 32 GB. You can get up to eight hours of video at 1080p and up to twelve hours at 780p. They all take removable lithium batteries which run for about three hours of video taping. They also adjust the white balance and the exposure to create crisp clear videos. These cameras are waterproof up to 1 meter. With the water proof case you can go down to 60 meters, great for scuba diving or snorkeling. All three cameras can connect by USB cable. Both the Contour Roam and the Contour GPS have an internal microphone only. </p><p> </p><p>The Contour Plus includes the internal microphone but it also has a mic cable out jack, this along with the ability to connect a HDMI cable adds live streaming capability. Now you can live stream your adventures directly to Ustream using the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://shell.cerevo.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Cerevo Live Shell</a>. Now instead of telling other people about your adventures, they can watch them as they are happening. You can control the camera on the Contour GPS and Contour Plus through the Contour Mobile App on the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/contour-camera/id415402125?mt=8" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a> or an <a target="NewWindow" href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.contour.connect" class="UpStreamLink">Android phone</a>. The Contour GPS and the Contour Plus both have GPS included so now you can map your adventures. The Contour Roam at $199 is the newest phone and should be available soon. The Contour GPS and the Contour Plus are available now and are $299 and $499 respectively. Not only does Contour offer great action cameras but they also have some great mounts, including ones that allow you to mount camera directly to your helmet, pole, roll bar, surfboard and many other objects. So if you are into adventure sports and filming, Contour has everything you need and want. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Don Baine, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://techpodcasts.tv/category/geek-news-central/the-gadget-professor/" class="UpStreamLink">The Gadget Professor</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1588-adventure-cameras-by-contour.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:06:16 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1588-adventure-cameras-by-contour.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1587-yurbuds-ear-buds-for-the-athlete.html <p>Most people like to listen to music while exercising. The first thing you learn when you start exercising is that your ears sweat and most headphones don't stay in sweaty ears. There is nothing more frustrating than having your ear buds constantly falling out, while exercising. </p><p> </p><p>The company <a target="NewWindow" href="http://yurbuds1.reachlocal.net/" class="UpStreamLink">Yurbuds</a> understands this frustration, they are athletes who make products for athletes. Their newest product is the Yurbuds Iron-man Series. The Iron-man Series Yurbuds are ear buds specifically designed for the athlete who carries an iPhone or iPod Touch. There is a three button control on the center Y which allows you move forward and backward through tracks, control the volume, and answer calls. On the other side of the Y is the microphone. What really makes the Yurbuds special are their proprietary twist and lock technology. Place the ear buds in your ear twist and lock them in place. Now no matter how much you sweat or it rains they will not come out. They are made of a medical grade silicon, so once they are locked into the ear they are very comfortable. They have a great sound quality, the speakers in the ear buds are tuned with the drivers and sound tunnel. The speakers in the ear buds are protected by their ergonomic design. You can remove the silicon cover and clean them with a little soap and water. </p><p> </p><p>There is a life time guarantee on the product for damage done by sweat or rain. The Iron-man Inspired earbuds cost $59.99 and are available through the Web site and various retailers including <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bestbuy.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Best Buy</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/home/index.jsp" class="UpStreamLink">Dick's Sporting Goods</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Apple</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.target.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Target</a>. Whether you are a world-class triathlete or a weekend runner, Yurbuds were made for you. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Don Baine, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://techpodcasts.tv/category/geek-news-central/the-gadget-professor/" class="UpStreamLink">The Gadget Professor</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1587-yurbuds-ear-buds-for-the-athlete.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:39:18 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1587-yurbuds-ear-buds-for-the-athlete.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1586-nero-kwik-media-media-manager-live.html <p>Todd and Don talk to Martin Stein Senior Vice President of Global Products at Nero about Nero Kwik Media at the TPN booth at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.com/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a>. Nero Kwik Media is a program that will sync all your media (pictures, videos, audio and music) across all the devices in your home. </p><p> </p><p>Kwik Media Features (<a target="NewWindow" href="http://kwikmedia.nero.com/enu/start/" class="UpStreamLink">from the website</a>): </p><p><ul><li>Move all the files your heart desires to and from your PC and mobile devices</li><li>Play back Blu-ray movies</li><li>View HD video projects on DVD and watch Hollywood Blu-ray movies on your laptop</li><li>Burn Audio CD's from MP3s</li><li>With just a few clicks, you can create a CD mix from your favorite playlists</li><li>Play back your favorite jams from your laptop and rip Audio CD's to add to your computer</li><li>Find and organize friends by faces</li><li>Easily organize photos of friends and family by faces</li><li>Browse and organize photos, music and videos in one place</li><li>Conveniently create projects to burn and share straight from your library</li><li>Make quick and easy edits of photos before sharing or adding to slideshows</li><li>Share videos on Youtube or myNero</li><li>Upload your photos, music and videos to social media websites with just a few clicks</li><li>Edit slideshows with effects</li><li>Add exciting, animated background themes to slideshows</li><li>Sync your music playlists as well as photo and video album contents from your PC to any mobile device with USB mass storage</li><li>For more information or to get your copy of Nero Kwik Media, go the website kwikmedia.nero.com</li></ul> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Don Baine, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/category/tgp/" class="UpStreamLink">The Gadget Professor</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1586-nero-kwik-media-media-manager-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:30:44 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1586-nero-kwik-media-media-manager-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1585-toshiba-glass-free-3d-tvs.html <p>Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Steve Lee of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://netcaststudio.com/wot-podcast-episodes/" class="UpStreamLink">Waves Of Tech</a> talk about seeing the 3D TV's at the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.toshiba.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Toshiba</a> booth at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.com/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a> 2012. The one that impressed them the most was Toshiba's 55inch 4k TV which will ship sometime in "early 2012" and cost somewhat less then $10,000. I personally don't know how much I would use the 3D on the set, but I would LOVE the 4K. Now to get more 4K content. Anyone have a Red camera I could borrow? </p><p> </p><p>For more information, go check out the Toshiba Website us.toshiba.com </p><p> </p><p>For the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1585-toshiba-glass-free-3d-tvs.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:16:42 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1585-toshiba-glass-free-3d-tvs.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1584-cobra-iradar-detector-and-smart-phone-app.html <p>Todd talks with Chris from Cobra about their new iRadar App and Radar Detector. The iRadar detector connects to your smartphone (iPhone or Android) via Bluetooth so that you get the alerts on your phone. The newest thing is they added the iRadar community to the app which allows you to see alerts from other users of the iRadar app so that you can be aware of those radar traps along your way. (Of course, nobody speeds… right?) </p><p> </p><p>The detectors are available now for around $130 at most retailers or at cobra.com and cobrairadar.com </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1584-cobra-iradar-detector-and-smart-phone-app.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:05:53 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1584-cobra-iradar-detector-and-smart-phone-app.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1583-sonys-new-cameras-with-the-oled-viewfinder.html <p>Todd talks with Al Dean from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sonystyle.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Sony</a> about the SLT A77V and A65 Cameras and their incredible OLED Viewfinder. </p><p> </p><p>When Todd walked up to it an looked into the viewfinder he said a few words that were not fit for video. But, he regained his composure and did the interview. </p><p> </p><p>The A65 and A77 cameras use a translucent mirror which means that the mirror does not have to move out of the way to make a shot. The A65 will shoot 10 frames per second (double what normal mirror viewfinder cameras can do) and the A77 can shoot 12 frames per second. Also, when shooting video, the mirror stays in place so the viewfinder works unlike most other DSLR type cameras. </p><p> </p><p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=SLTA65VK" class="UpStreamLink">A65</a> goes for $1000 with lens kit and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=SLTA77VQ" class="UpStreamLink">A77</a> goes for $1300 for the body only and $1999 with the lens kit. They are available in limited quantities now with general availability later this year. </p><p> </p><p>For more information go to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sony.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Sony.com</a> </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1583-sonys-new-cameras-with-the-oled-viewfinder.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:57:22 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1583-sonys-new-cameras-with-the-oled-viewfinder.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1582-canon-vixia-six-new-models-with-wifi-iphone-tethering.html <p>Video content creators, listen up. Canon has upgraded their VIXIA series to include some great new features. These cameras run high end - up to 24MB on AVCHD. They can also be switched to MP4 mode, so you don't have to convert a video before uploading to YouTube. </p><p> </p><p>Jeffrey Powers talks to Ben Thomas about the VIXIA R-32 and VIXIA HFM-52. These are two-of-six models upgraded to get you better images, and WiFi capability. </p><p> </p><p>The WiFi can also be tethered to an iPhone (via app), so you can push content up on various hosting platforms. </p><p> </p><p>The R-32 is the low end consumer model. They upgraded the stabilization to a four-mode system. You can turn on or off, and when you place on a tripod, it turns off automatically. </p><p> </p><p>The higher end HFM-32 has a LUX rating of 1.2 and a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second. This is great for low-light situations. </p><p> </p><p>Canon also makes a waterproof case for divers to go 100 meters below water. </p><p> </p><p>The R series starts at $349. The HFM-52 costs between $549-$749 </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jeffery Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1582-canon-vixia-six-new-models-with-wifi-iphone-tethering.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:44:35 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1582-canon-vixia-six-new-models-with-wifi-iphone-tethering.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1581-blue-microphones-tiki-mikey-and-spark-live.html <p>If you've listened to the Geek News Central podcast for a few years, you might have heard Todd talking about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bluemic.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Blue Microphones</a> as his mic supplier of choice. Here Todd and Don talk shop with Jon Maier. </p><p> </p><p>Blue Microphones returns to CES this year with three new mics, all in the portable space. The new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bluemic.com/mikey_digital/" class="UpStreamLink">Mikey Digital</a> is designed for the Apple's newer digital connector rather than the older analogue one, meaning that more digital processing can be done on the microphone itself. In particular, auto-level sensing can adjust the input gain depending on the loudness of the source. </p><p> </p><p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bluemic.com/tiki/" class="UpStreamLink">Tiki</a> is a brand new small USB device that's been in development for over a year. It plugs directly into the USB port on the side of a laptop and has intelligent signal processing so that extraneous noise, such as typing, is ignored. It's aimed at Skype and Google Talk users but it's still a high quality recording device, so if needed, the DSP can be turned off to record live music as naturally as possible. </p><p> </p><p>The studio-grade <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bluemic.com/spark_digital/" class="UpStreamLink">Spark Digital</a> is a USB and iPad version of their pro mike, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bluemic.com/spark/" class="UpStreamLink">Spark</a>, both of which have glorious retro looks. Sitting in a shock mount, it looks great. Utility-wise, the Spark Digital converts the iPad into a mobile studio. </p><p> </p><p>All the mics are expected to be available in the spring. Prices are $59 for Tiki, $99 for the Mikey Digital and $199 for the Spark Digital. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Don Baine, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/category/tgp/" class="UpStreamLink">The Gadget Professor</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1581-blue-microphones-tiki-mikey-and-spark-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:37:02 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1581-blue-microphones-tiki-mikey-and-spark-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1580-wiex-zboost-signal-boosters-for-cell-phones-live.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wi-ex.com/" class="UpStreamLink">zBoost</a> by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wi-ex.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Wi-Ex</a> is a range of signal extenders that will improve cell and mobile phone coverage in weak areas. Todd and Don discuss zBoost's latest products from Sharon Cuppett, VP of Wi-Ex (and they get a mention on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://zboostyourlife.wi-exblog.com/2012/01/11/ces-day1-in-pictures/" class="UpStreamLink">Wi-Ex's blog</a>). </p><p> </p><p>Wi-Ex launched two new products at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a>, the first being the zBoost 4G-V, a signal booster for 4G frequencies on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.verizonwireless.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Verizon</a>, the largest mobile carrier with over <a target="NewWindow" href="http://aboutus.verizonwireless.com/ataglance.html" class="UpStreamLink">100 million subscribers</a>. A whole 4G product line is under development, including dual- and tri-band boosters. Available in Q2 2012 for around $220. </p><p> </p><p>The second is an in-car booster, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wi-ex.com/YX240.aspx" class="UpStreamLink">zBoost zForce</a>, which comprises a cradle for the phone and a magnetized antenna for the outside of the vehicle. Powered from the cigarette adapter, the zForce can boost coverage by about 10x, eliminating dead spots and increasing range in rural areas. Retailing at only $99, it will be available shortly. </p><p> </p><p>(You'll have to watch the Blue Microphone interview to realize this, but in this video Sharon borrows Don's phone to demonstrate the zForce and then walks off with the phone at the end of the interview!) </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Don Baine, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/category/tgp/" class="UpStreamLink">The Gadget Professor</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1580-wiex-zboost-signal-boosters-for-cell-phones-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:17:26 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1580-wiex-zboost-signal-boosters-for-cell-phones-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1579-upnp-forumtechnology-standards-for-universal-plug-and-play-live.html <p><h3>How to get them all to play together? </h3> </p><p>Home automation, entertainment, mobile devices, routers, cable modems, security, and a whole range of devices are a part of the connected modern home. That's the mission of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.upnp.org/" class="UpStreamLink">Universal Plug and Play Forum</a>. It assumes IP networking, and then gets them all working together. A lot of it is behind the scenes, without the user being aware of any specific app, insuring that devices inter-operate. Over a thousand companies are part of the consortium. A number of other organizations (Such as DNLA) or devices or apps such as Skype, Xbox or <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.us.playstation.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Playstation</a> transparently opening correct ports and authorizing activities within your home network. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1579-upnp-forumtechnology-standards-for-universal-plug-and-play-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:48:05 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1579-upnp-forumtechnology-standards-for-universal-plug-and-play-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1578-toon-boom-animation-doodle-animation-on-the-ipad-live.html <p><h3>Animation App from the Pros</h3> </p><p>For the past 18 years, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://beta.toonboom.com/home-users" class="UpStreamLink">Toon Boom</a> has been the automation software behind much of the animation by Disney and famous animated series - including Sponge Bob and the Simpsons. Vector based graphics delivers a very high level of quality that is now available to consumers on mobile devices. With an entry price of $29 on the iPad, it's an introduction to animation tools that's affordable and fun. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1578-toon-boom-animation-doodle-animation-on-the-ipad-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:27:43 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1578-toon-boom-animation-doodle-animation-on-the-ipad-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1577-netgear-how-many-devices-are-on-your-router-live.html <p><h3>Double the Count in One Year</h3> </p><p>Connected devices - tablets, streaming video, smartphones,thermostats - are growing rapidly, with the average home deploying over seven devices on a home router - almost doubling over the past year. Netgear announced eight new products, optimized to serve all of these devices. Products such as the Netgear N-900 Router give better range, and the ability to give priority to certain types of traffic, such as gaming or VoIP. </p><p> </p><p>In the interview, we also discuss PowerLine Carrier as an alternative in the home. Netgear just announced a 500Mb/sec version, with a 1Gb system on the roadmap. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1577-netgear-how-many-devices-are-on-your-router-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:48:37 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1577-netgear-how-many-devices-are-on-your-router-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1576-ivee-the-talking-alarm-clock-that-listens.html <p>Ivee is a personal digital assistant - equipped with speech recognition circuitry that offers Natural Language Processing. By analyzing digitized portions of the voice signal as they are spoken, ivee determines the most probable word given the phonemes you spoke. </p><p> </p><p>That's the tech story. What that means is that all you have to do is ask the time, date, weather or temperature. Ivee can generate three different sleep sounds, and understand 35 commands. Price class $50 </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1576-ivee-the-talking-alarm-clock-that-listens.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:45:27 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1576-ivee-the-talking-alarm-clock-that-listens.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1575-im-watch-fashion-tech-jewelry-and-marketplace.html <p><h3>The world's first real smartwatch: With a Smart UI</h3> </p><p>Multi-tasking, easy to use and love: touch, drag, swipe or pinch. Get your intuitive interface in a complex world. </p><p> </p><p>Slick, thin and ergonomic, i'm Watch claims that the product is made to be part of you: phone, web, music, radio, organizer, photo, video, and whatever App you may come up with. While other personal items may have some of these applications covered, the I'm Watch is the only unit that combines them into a user interface that is consistent across all applications. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1575-im-watch-fashion-tech-jewelry-and-marketplace.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:43:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1575-im-watch-fashion-tech-jewelry-and-marketplace.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1574-armour-group-plc-q2-internet-radio.html <p>A novel unit out of the UK simplifies Internet Radio. </p><p> </p><p>The Q2 Internet Radio has one of the most interesting interface systems for selecting station presets and adjusting volume that we saw at CES2012: Simply flip the cube. The listener can pre-select stations or podcasts in the control interface online , and choose from five color schemes. Price class $110. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1574-armour-group-plc-q2-internet-radio.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:39:52 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1574-armour-group-plc-q2-internet-radio.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1573-4iconcepts-better-smartphone-typing-accuracy.html <p>All thumbs? Almost anyone can feel that way on the iPhone keypad. </p><p> </p><p>That's where <a target="NewWindow" href="http://4iconcepts.com/" class="UpStreamLink">iConcepts and their unique 4iThumbs2 invisible</a> keypad saves the day. It is a transparent plastic overlay for your glass screen that has built in ridges between the letters. You have the tactile feedback that you need to increase accuracy and speed while texting or emailing from your iPhone. </p><p> </p><p>It's easily removed and re-installed when needed - if your game of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.rovio.com/en/our-work/games/view/1/angry-birds" class="UpStreamLink">Angry Birds</a> needs to resume. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1573-4iconcepts-better-smartphone-typing-accuracy.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:36:43 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1573-4iconcepts-better-smartphone-typing-accuracy.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1572-vertix-wireless-helmet-communicator-for-motorcycles-skiers-and-drivers.html <p>Communications with your co-rider or with other bikes on the road is always a challenge. </p><p> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.vertix.com.sg/" class="UpStreamLink">Vertix Ltd</a> introduced a sophisticated system they project will reach the North American market for about half the retail price of conventional motorcycle communications gear at CES2012. </p><p> </p><p>The VERTIX Raptor-i provides convenient and uninterrupted mobile communication while on the move and features models for both full-face and open-face helmets. The EZ-Mount system also allows easy "attack angle" adjustments of your control unit for improved aerodynamics when you change bikes with different riding styles. The unit combines intercom, MP3 player, FM radio and features on the move charging that keeps the unit ready to go at all times. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1572-vertix-wireless-helmet-communicator-for-motorcycles-skiers-and-drivers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:09:00 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1572-vertix-wireless-helmet-communicator-for-motorcycles-skiers-and-drivers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1571-tylt-adding-style-and-design-to-the-everyday-wireless-world.html <p>No matter what technology is involved, consumers are still anxious about their battery levels - and mobile connectivity is "critical path" to almost everyone's business and personal lives. </p><p> </p><p>That results in a bag full of cables, backup battery packs- usually one for each system. Add in wall adapters and tangles and the opportunity for a more elegant solution is right in front of your eyes. </p><p> </p><p>Bringing Design to the world of power cables, Y adapters, power blocks and battery chargers captures the innovative approach that comes when products are Built to Tylt. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1571-tylt-adding-style-and-design-to-the-everyday-wireless-world.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:04:21 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1571-tylt-adding-style-and-design-to-the-everyday-wireless-world.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1570-privacystar-call-and-sms-blocking-for-android-and-blackberry.html <p>If you want to ensure that you are on the Election Year "Do Not Call" list, this is the app for you. </p><p> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://privacystar.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Privacy Star</a> allows you to block numbers from annoying pollsters and solicitors, and if they get really obnoxious, report them to the Federal Trade Commission. Similar calls from bill collectors including date, time and frequency are logged for action. </p><p> </p><p>There's also an optional Do Not Disturb mode, which forwards all non blocked incoming calls to voicemail with the option to send a custom text message acknowledging the call. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1570-privacystar-call-and-sms-blocking-for-android-and-blackberry.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:57:42 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1570-privacystar-call-and-sms-blocking-for-android-and-blackberry.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1569-itwin-an-infinite-capacity-thumb-drive.html <p>There is nothing more handy than having a USB stick - the ubiquitous "thumb drive" or "jump drive" with your critical documents. The problem is - the document hanging around for years on your desktop system is NOT on the thumb drive. You need it Right Now! ASAP! That's the problem that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.itwin.com/" class="UpStreamLink">iTwin</a> solves. </p><p> </p><p>You plug in one-half of iTwin into your online office computer, then drag-and-drop files into the iTwin window to share them. Take the other half of iTwin with you and you will have instant access to all of the shared files, from any other online computer. No configuration, no VPN token card, no login. </p><p> </p><p>Available for both Mac and PC, price class $100. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1569-itwin-an-infinite-capacity-thumb-drive.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:51:33 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1569-itwin-an-infinite-capacity-thumb-drive.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1568-keep-your-tablet-clear-with-the-lenspen-sidekick-live.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lenspen.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Lenspen</a> have a long history of products in the photography market and they've brought their expertise of lens cleaning to the mobile gadget space. Their client list reads like a who's who of the photography market with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nikon.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Nikon</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.canon.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Canon</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sony.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Sony</a> all producing OEM-branded version of Lenspen's lens cleaning tools. Todd and Don chat with Peter from Lenspen to get an update on the latest products. </p><p> </p><p>Last year, Lenspen introduced the first <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lenspen.com/?resultType=category&params=19&tpid=0&tpid=323" class="UpStreamLink">SideKick</a> and since then the product line has been expanded with new colors and new packaging. The SideKick is a matchbox-sized spring-loaded carbon pad that is wiped over the screen and completely removes fingerprints from tablet and smartphone screens. Using a carbon-based technology, the SideKick absorbs oils without any abrasion, leaving a perfectly cleaning screen. It then closes up to keep all the carbon inside. One cartridge will do 300-400 cleanings before needing to be replaced. The SideKick is available online and in retail stores from $14.99 for a single SideKick. Other package combinations are available. </p><p> </p><p>Lenspen also has specific cleaning products for LCD monitors and screens, such as the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lenspen.com/?resultType=category&params=29&tpid=0&tpid=323" class="UpStreamLink">Laptop-Pro</a>, that removes both dust and fingerprints. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Don Baine, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/category/tgp/" class="UpStreamLink">The Gadget Professor</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1568-keep-your-tablet-clear-with-the-lenspen-sidekick-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:46:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1568-keep-your-tablet-clear-with-the-lenspen-sidekick-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1567-ibike-powerhouse-for-your-iphone.html <p>For a long time now cyclists, at least serious ones, have mounted mini computers on their handlebars. The devices provide information on time, distance, average speed and even elevation and temperature. Now iBike is bringing us the ability to do all of this with our <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/iphone" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a> and eliminate that second device. </p><p> </p><p>The iBike Powerhouse provides a weather-proof case for your iPhone that can be easily mounted on your bike's handlebars and the accompanying app provides all of the data you are used to getting from a traditional cycling computer plus a whole lot of additional information such as a heart rate, training plans and more. </p><p> </p><p>The product and app are the creation of real cyclists and coaches, so the information provided by the app is what even professional riders want and need to know. Check out the interview below with the iBike representative, who has a side job coaching Olympic and professional riders, to get more information on the iBike Powerhouse, along with pricing and availability. You can also visit <a target="NewWindow" href="http://ibikesports.com/" class="UpStreamLink">iBikeSports</a> to check everything out. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1567-ibike-powerhouse-for-your-iphone.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:39:45 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1567-ibike-powerhouse-for-your-iphone.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1566-samsung-series-9-notebooks.html <p>If you are in the market for a new notebook computer then you may want to check out the latest offerings from Samsung with their Series 9, which was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas just recently. Samsung calls it the world's thinnest laptop, which is saying something given the MacBook Air and all of the new UltraBooks that were unveiled at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.com/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a>. </p><p> </p><p>The new Samsung Series 9 will come in both 13 inch and 15 inch versions. The new laptops are extremely thin and light and sport all-aluminum bodies. In addition, the Series 9 has a back-lit keyboard, a 128 GB or 256 GB SSD, an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor but a low-resolution 1600 x 900 screen. The Samsung Series 9 notebooks should be available sometime this spring for an as-yet-undisclosed price. You can get a look at the 15" version in the video posted below. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1566-samsung-series-9-notebooks.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:35:50 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1566-samsung-series-9-notebooks.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1565-kidz-gear-volume-limiting-headphones-live.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.com/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a> regular Jack Peterson talks with Todd and Don on the latest headphones for children from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gearforkidz.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Kidz Gear</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Kidz Gear produces headphones with smaller headbands and ear cups to fit the smaller heads of children. This year they've brought to the market new wired headphones that have a built-in volume limiter that prevents children's hearing becoming damaged through excessive sound levels. The headphones reduce the maximum sound level by about 20% into the 80-95 decibel range. </p><p> </p><p>The new headphones are compatible with the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/ipad/" class="UpStreamLink">iPad</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/ipod/" class="UpStreamLink">iPod</a> ranges and include an inline remote and mic control. They're available from the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://store.apple.com/us/product/H6625ZM/A" class="UpStreamLink">Apple Store</a> or direct from the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gearforkidz.com/shop2.html" class="UpStreamLink">Kidz Gear store</a> for $29.99. </p><p> </p><p>An additional new product in the same vein is a volume limit cable which can be added to already-purchased headphones to make them safer for children. Priced at only $9.99, there's currently a special price of $5.99 showing on-line. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Don Baine, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://techpodcasts.tv/category/geek-news-central/the-gadget-professor/" class="UpStreamLink">The Gadget Professor</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1565-kidz-gear-volume-limiting-headphones-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:31:14 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1565-kidz-gear-volume-limiting-headphones-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1564-polkast-making-your-computer-the-cloud-live.html <p>Cloud-based solutions for accessing the data on your computer off site are great, but they have their limitations. First, they are slow because everything has to upload to the cloud before you can access it off-site. Second, most cloud solutions have a limit on how much you can store on their sites. Third, they can get expensive if you have to store a lot. Finally, you have to depend on them to be up. </p><p> </p><p>What if you made your computer the cloud? That is the solution that Polkast came up with. You install the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.polkast.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Polkast server</a> on the computer you want to access the files from and then the Polkast app on your mobile devices, including your smartphone, tablets or laptop. You can then access the files on that computer from anywhere in the world as long as the server is running. To access files using Polkast, you have to sign in with a username and password. Everything is encrypted while going from PC to PC or mobile device. Unlike a cloud-based solution, there is no storage limitation and it is as fast as your local ISP. You can also share specific files with other people by email or through their Polkast account. The service is free for one computer and for multiple devices it is $49.95 per year. If you are looking for a way to access your home files on the road, but are wary of a cloud solution, this might be a solution for you. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Don Baine, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://techpodcasts.tv/category/geek-news-central/the-gadget-professor/" class="UpStreamLink">The Gadget Professor</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1564-polkast-making-your-computer-the-cloud-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:22:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1564-polkast-making-your-computer-the-cloud-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1563-parrot-introduces-cool-products-like-ar-drone-mark-2-live.html <p>There are some products that are shown at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a> that are just cool and everyone who is a kid at heart just wants, the AR. Drone by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.parrot.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Parrot</a> is one of those gadgets. This year at CES 2012 they introduced <a target="NewWindow" href="http://ardrone.parrot.com/parrot-ar-drone/usa/" class="UpStreamLink">AR. Drone Mark 2</a>. The Mark 2 (aka AR. Drone 2.0) is controlled by a smart phone or tablet. It has a one button launch. Once it is launched it will sit and hove till the next command. The AR. Drone Mark 2 can fly up to 150 feet in the air, or as far as WiFi will allow. AR. Drone Mark 2 has stabilization and pressure sensor technology built into it. On the front is an HD camera and a standard def camera on the bottom. You can stream and record the video back to the phone via WiFi. The video can then be uploaded to your favorite social site, including <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.youtube.com/" class="UpStreamLink">YouTube</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook</a>. </p><p> </p><p>It comes with two hulls: one for in-home use and one for outdoor use. It is built to take some crashes, but if something breaks you can get replacement parts online. The AR. Drone Mark 2 should be available in the second quarter of 2012 for about $299.00, according to Peter George of Parrot. </p><p> </p><p>Once you are finished playing with the AR. Drone Mark 2, you may want to relax with a little music and some quiet time; well, Parrot has you covered there too. They are introducing a pair of stereo cordless headsets that are noise canceling called the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.parrot.com/zik/usa" class="UpStreamLink">Parrot Zik</a>. They work over either Bluetooth or the included cord. They run on a rechargeable battery and give about 5 hours of listening pleasure. Once the battery runs down you can continue listening by connecting the cord. What makes the Parrot Zik headphones stand out besides the great style by French designer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.starck.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Philippe Starck</a> are the controls on the headphones. There is a touchpad on the headphone which allows you to skip back and forth through tracks by swiping right or left and control volume by swiping up and down. The headphones fold down flat to fit into a small carrying case. There is no price or launch date at this time, but they should be available sometime in 2012 at various retailers. All together Parrot introduced seven new products at CES 2012, including three additional products in the car environment and the asteroid marketplace. You can take a look at all of them at their website. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Don Baine, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://techpodcasts.tv/category/geek-news-central/the-gadget-professor/" class="UpStreamLink">The Gadget Professor</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1563-parrot-introduces-cool-products-like-ar-drone-mark-2-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:17:35 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1563-parrot-introduces-cool-products-like-ar-drone-mark-2-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1562-iluv-wins-with-new-travel-gadgets.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.i-luv.com/" class="UpStreamLink">iLuv</a> will be familiar to many with their extensive range of matching accessories for tablets, smartphones and MP3 players. At <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a> this year, iLuv won no less than 5 CES Innovations Honoree awards to add to their collection of accolades. Todd gets a review of their latest products from Peter of iLuv. </p><p> </p><p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.i-luv.com/product_detail.asp?idx=1653&keyword=DreamTraveler%99-%20Portable%20power%20strip%20and%20charger" class="UpStreamLink">DreamTraveler</a> is combined iPhone dock, USB charger and mains power strip squared aimed at those unfortunate souls who have to spend time in poorly equipped hotel rooms. It has two USB charging ports, three power outlets and an <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Apple</a> connector for charging iPhones, iPods and iPads. </p><p> </p><p>For the international traveller, iLuv has the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.i-luv.com/product_detail.asp?idx=1657&keyword=RockWall%99-%20Dual%20USB%20Wall%20Charger" class="UpStreamLink">RockWall</a>, a dual USB charger that comes with the right mains plugs for different countries round the world. </p><p> </p><p>Finally, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.i-luv.com/product_detail.asp?idx=1643&keyword=Mo%92Beats%20-%20Portable%20Stereo%20Bluetooth%20Speaker%20Stand" class="UpStreamLink">Mo'Beats</a> is a portable tablet or smartphone cradle with Bluetooth wireless speakers that has a built-in lithium-ion battery which will run for about 4 hours. </p><p> </p><p>All the products will be available in April or May. The Mo'Beats SRP is expected to be $89.99 but the website is currently showing $99.99. I think Peter gets his prices mixed up in the video as the RockWall is priced at $49.99 on the website and the DreamTraveler is $129.99. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1562-iluv-wins-with-new-travel-gadgets.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:05:18 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1562-iluv-wins-with-new-travel-gadgets.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1561-new-sony-google-tv-products.html <p>Sony was the first to market with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.google.com/tv/" class="UpStreamLink">Google TV</a> and, while the platform had a rocky start, Google is sticking with it and working hard to improve it. Sony is also sticking with it and at CES they showed off their latest Google TV products. The two big releases are a new version the Sony Google TV-enabled Blu-Ray player and a brand new Networked Media Player with built-in Google TV. There is also a new dual-sided remote control with a simplified user experience - one side has the basic buttons along with a touch pad for mouse-like control , while the reverse side features a QWERTY keyboard which is only active when it is facing up, eliminating those accidental clicks. </p><p> </p><p>The Blu-Ray player and networked media player are expected to be released sometime in the late spring or early summer. No pricing information is available as of this writing. You can check out the boxes and the really cool new remote control in the video below. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1561-new-sony-google-tv-products.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:02:02 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1561-new-sony-google-tv-products.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1560-iogear-introduces-hdmi-switch-with-2d-to-3d-conversion.html <p>According to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.iogear.com/" class="UpStreamLink">IOGear</a> about 70% of the people currently looking to buy new TVs are leaning towards 3D, but are scared off by the lack of available programming. That's why they have decided to produce what is the worlds first conversion box for making 2D content available as 3D, that also has up-converting features and an HDMI switch built-in. </p><p> </p><p>This new HDMI switch has 4 ports and it does a lot more than simple conversion. This as-yet-unnamed IOGear box allows the user to make adjustments to get the 3D picture looking right for their individual tastes. Since it has four HDMI inputs you can also up-convert your 2D DVD's as well. It also up-converts resolution types by turning 480 into 720 and 720 into 1080, which then converts to 3D, making all of your existing content available in 3D. The box is expected to be available in March for an MSRP of $199. That's about double a basic 4 port HDMI switch, but it contains functionality which can't be had all in one box until now, and it's all in one very small box. You can check it out in the video below. Now all it needs is a name. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1560-iogear-introduces-hdmi-switch-with-2d-to-3d-conversion.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:59:54 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1560-iogear-introduces-hdmi-switch-with-2d-to-3d-conversion.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1559-lg-styler-overview.html <p>If you are a businessman or women you know how important it is to have your cloths wrinkle free and smelling fresh. You also know how expensive dry cleaning can get. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lg.com/global/index.jsp" class="UpStreamLink">LG</a> may have an answer for you, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lg.com/global/commerciallaundry/eng/news/newsView.jsp?param=news_20110105&pageNo=1" class="UpStreamLink">LG Styler</a>. The LG Styler is about the size of a storage wardrobe. The clothes hang from a rack and steam is used to gently remove wrinkles and odors. There are no harsh chemicals involved. It takes about thirty-nine minutes to steam and dry a shirt. </p><p> </p><p>Right now the LG Styler is only available in S. Korea and Japan, but they hope to have it available in the U.S for around $2,000 by the end of the year. At this point LG is looking at selling the Styler not only to individuals, but also to high end hotels and other companies that cater to the business travelers. Wouldn't it be nice to get to a hotel room, unpack and place your shirts in the LG Styler and then in less then 40 minutes you are ready to go. Your cloths smell fresh and are wrinkle free. The LG Styler isn't supposed to replace dry cleaning, but it might keep your cloths ready to wear between dry cleanings. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1559-lg-styler-overview.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:30:25 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1559-lg-styler-overview.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1558-ford-focus-electric-at-100-mpge.html <p>Eric from Ford talked with Jeffrey about the Ford Focus Electric at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.com/" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a>. Items discussed included the internal battery system, the interactive charging system inside, strength of the vehicle, recycled material, and how these vehicles can be 100% made in the USA. </p><p> </p><p>Over 50% of the body is high-strength steel. The battery is around this steel, which will protect you and the battery in case of a crash. With the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/video-pod/ford-we-walk-through-fords-assembly-line-where-hybrid-electric-cars-are-assembled" class="UpStreamLink">new Ford assembly line</a> (a video Jeffrey recorded in December), a power train vehicle build can be switched at a moments notice. </p><p> </p><p>The best part is the Focus Electric will get you over 100 miles per charge. That, along with recycled bottles and rubber making the seats, floormats and gaskets around your car, this is a truely green vehicle for you. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by <a target="NewWindow" href="https://plus.google.com/109876467727174291780" class="UpStreamLink">Jeffrey Powers</a> of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1558-ford-focus-electric-at-100-mpge.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:25:47 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1558-ford-focus-electric-at-100-mpge.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1557-lg-pentouch-for-a-pc-and-tv.html <p>The new LG Pentouch technology connects to your TV and a computer to bring touch-screen technology to your flat screen TV. The Pentouch consists of the box for connecting a Windows PC to the Plasma TV, which comes along in the package. It all works on WiFi so there won't be any messy cables either. It's geared more towards a business than home user as it essentially turns the TV into a whiteboard, but there are a lot more features than just that. You can also edit Office documents and there are two pens included so that two people can work on the screen at the same time. </p><p> </p><p>There is no exact release date yet, although LG hopes to make it available in the early Spring. There is also no price point as of yet, although with a plasma TV included you probably shouldn't expect it to be too cheap. You can find out more by visiting LG and by watching the video below. </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1557-lg-pentouch-for-a-pc-and-tv.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:23:51 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1557-lg-pentouch-for-a-pc-and-tv.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1554-samsung-might-be-bringing-the-stylus-back.html <p>During <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/10-consumer-electronics-show-ces-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2012</a> at the Samsung booth there was a sea of familiar Galaxy devices but one that stood out in particular was the Galaxy Note. In an interview with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.laptopmag.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Laptop Magazine</a>, Samsung's product marketing manager, Ryan Bidan, said that the Galaxy Note isn't classified as a phone or tablet but has a category of it's own. It also takes advantage their "S Pen" stylus (pause for dramatic effect). </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We've been pretty clear with the Galaxy Note, that we're creating an innovative new category. And it's a new category around personalized communication. You're able to use the S Pen to really interact with your device in a much more analog way than we've been able to traditionally. It's about getting back to that really tactile and personal communication method. We think there's a huge amount of value in that.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Is Samsung on to something or should we continue to refine our motor control skill with our hands and defeat the stylus naturally? Read on after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1554-samsung-might-be-bringing-the-stylus-back.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:36:31 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1554-samsung-might-be-bringing-the-stylus-back.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1552-trikke-a-fun-electric-ride.html <p>If you live in the city or suburbs and are looking for a vehicle that you could ride to work and have fun doing it, then you may want to take a look at the Trikke. As the word indicates the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.trikke.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Trikke</a> is a three-wheeled electric vehicle. Because it has three wheels it is very stable and easy to ride. You simply turn the throttle and go. You can lean into the curves and the wheels never leave the ground. It folds up so you can easily fit it in the back of a car or carry it into the office. A Trikke weights between 35 and 48 pounds (with battery) depending on the model, so you are probably not going to want to carry it far. You can plug it into any outlet to recharge it. A battery takes about three hours to fully recharge. On a fully charged battery a Trikke will go from 10 to 24 miles depending on model and weight of the rider. You can reach speeds up to 17 miles per hour. </p><p> </p><p>Trikkes are available in different colors and models and the prices range from $1300 to $2200 depending on the model. If you are a skier a Trikke would be a great way to keep in shape for the skiing season. You use the same muscle and movements on a Trikke that you do for skiing and it is low impact. Easier to ride than a bike and a lot better on the bottom. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1552-trikke-a-fun-electric-ride.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:55:24 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1552-trikke-a-fun-electric-ride.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1551-the-mighty-dwarf-blueii-bluetooth-speaker.html <p>Today most of us travel with portable music devices, and in a lot cases that's now our smartphone or tablet. Those device don't always have very good external speakers, but most them do have Bluetooth capability. That same Bluetooth technology is now built into external speakers, which really helps to bring these new portable devices to life. </p><p> </p><p>The new BlueII Bluetooth speaker from Mighty Dwarf brings surface induction to the external speaker world. By using the surface the speaker is sitting on to amplify the sound Mighty Dwarf has added a whole new dimension to this external speaker. For those with a device that doesn't feature Bluetooth technology there is a model for you as well. </p><p> </p><p>The new BlueII will be available in March of this year and carries an MSRP of $120 for the Bluetooth model, and $100 for the standard version. There are also other versions already available in the $75 range. You can visit <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mightydwarf.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Mighty Dwarf</a> to find out more, and also check out the video demo posted below. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1551-the-mighty-dwarf-blueii-bluetooth-speaker.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:46:15 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1551-the-mighty-dwarf-blueii-bluetooth-speaker.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1550-take-control-of-your-car-with-mavia.html <p>Todd chats to Madison of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://mavizon.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Mavizon</a> about their new Mavia automotive product which keeps tabs on your vehicle in more ways than one. </p><p> </p><p>Mavia is a small box (see picture left) that plugs into your vehicle's ODB-II port - that's the connector used by technician's to check on the car when there's a problem. The Mavia combines readouts from this port with its own internal GPS receiver to provide location and technical information that is sent back to an online hub at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mymavia.com/" class="UpStreamLink">www.mymavia.com</a>. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://market.android.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Android</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/from-the-app-store/" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a> client apps can be downloaded too. </p><p> </p><p>The MyMavia hub will show data on the vehicle such as gas mileage and distance to next service, plus any diagnostic error codes. MyMavia can interpret some of the diagnostic codes and it enables the owner to consult other resources, online or otherwise, to find out more on what's wrong with the car. MyMavia incorporates location services too, showing where the vehicle is on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://maps.google.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Google Maps</a> and there are connections to social sites like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.foursquare.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Foursquare</a>. </p><p> </p><p>The Mavia is in a beta testing phase so pricing is not confirmed but is expected to be around $200. The device will be available from retail outlets later in the year and requires no special fitting; it's a self-install. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1550-take-control-of-your-car-with-mavia.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:29:21 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1550-take-control-of-your-car-with-mavia.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1549-careverge-takes-a-social-approach-to-health.html <p>The fast pace of modern Western life doesn't lend itself to a healthy lifestyle and many of us struggle to keep on top of the weight and exercise regularly, including myself. <a target="NewWindow" href="https://www.careverge.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Careverge</a> can help as a one-stop health and well-being site that brings together fitness, health and support in one place. Careverge's Henry de Phillips talks to Jamie Davies of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mediccast.com/blog/" class="UpStreamLink">MedicCast</a> and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nursingshow.com/blog/" class="UpStreamLink">Nursing Show</a> about what the site can offer. </p><p> </p><p>Careverge's approach is to create a social networking environment to encourage good health behaviours rather than to simply sell a product or a plan. The site brings networking, gaming and recommendations together so that within only a few moments of starting to use the site, the individual is given personalised suggestions on reading and possible activities. The focus of Careverge is to encourage people to health through fun while providing quality health information and support to reach their goals. </p><p> </p><p>Careverge is free to use for consumers. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jamie Davis of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://mediccast.com/" class="UpStreamLink">The Pod Medic</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1549-careverge-takes-a-social-approach-to-health.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:07:10 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1549-careverge-takes-a-social-approach-to-health.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1548-lifestation-web-managed-pill-box.html <p>From the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.com/" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2012</a> floor, Jamie Davis from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.promednetwork.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Promed Network</a> talks with David from LifeStation about their new web enabled pill box for people on daily medications. The pill box had compartments for up to 4 doses a day and once full holds a week's worth of pills. The pillbox doors flash when it's time for that dose and if after a time, the door isn't opened it starts beeping. If the person still doesn't take their meds, it sends and email, text and automated phone call to the patient and their care giver. In tests, the pill box got a medication compliance of up to 92% (which is very good) </p><p> </p><p>For more information go to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.medicationstation.com/" class="UpStreamLink">medicationstation.com</a> or <a target="NewWindow" href="http://lifestation.com/" class="UpStreamLink">lifestation.com</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jamie Davis of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://mediccast.com/" class="UpStreamLink">The Pod Medic</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1548-lifestation-web-managed-pill-box.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:56:53 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1548-lifestation-web-managed-pill-box.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1547-mercedes-benz-introduces-mbrace2.html <p>We talked to Robert at the Mercedes-Benz booth at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2012</a> about Mercedes-Benz's new mbrace2 technology. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/mbrace2" class="UpStreamLink">Mbrace2</a> is Mercedes-Benz's newest generation of connected car technology. It is fully loaded with Mercedes-Benz apps which are customized versions of popular apps including <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.google.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Google</a> Local Search, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.yelp.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Yelp</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.morningstar.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Morningstar Finance</a>, news and others. </p><p> </p><p>Safety of both the driver and those around them is very important to Mercedes-Benz, so each app is customized for the driving environment. For example on Yelp and Google Local Search data entry is disabled while driving. The driver can only access predetermine search terms such as banks, restaurants, hotel while driving. Moving up and down through choices is done through a knob that sits on the center console of the car. You can call or navigate to a location directly from mbrace. If you are using the news application while driving it will only show you the headlines and maybe a picture. However there is a one button push to send the full article to an email address. </p><p> </p><p>Everything is controlled through the center panel. All updates will be done through the cloud. As time goes on Mercedes-Benz hopes to integrate more of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System" class="UpStreamLink">GPS technology</a> available in the car with off-board tools that are on phones. Mercedes-Benz hopes to have mbrace available on all models starting in 2013. There will be a monthly subscription fee but the price has not been determined. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1547-mercedes-benz-introduces-mbrace2.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:41:52 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1547-mercedes-benz-introduces-mbrace2.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1546-mercedes-benz-helping-you-connect-to-your-world.html <p>Right now if you own a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/class/class-SL" class="UpStreamLink">SL class</a> from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/index" class="UpStreamLink">Mercedes-Benz</a> you can access data, make calls and play music on your phone directly through the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/mbrace/overview" class="UpStreamLink">mbrace system</a>. However if you have a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/family/class-C" class="UpStreamLink">C class</a> or a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/class/class-GLK" class="UpStreamLink">GLK</a> series car that option is not available to you. </p><p> </p><p>Mercedes-Benz is currently developing a concept that will allow customers with C class or GLK series owners to be able to integrate their smart phones or iPod Touches directly into their car. Once the device is plugged in the car will take over the info and become the infotainment system. You can then control the smart phone directly from the car, allowing for hands free-calling and access of supported applications on the smart phone through the car interface. All updates will be done through the smart phone so you will always be up to date. </p><p> </p><p>The system they are now developing for the C class and GLK series will allow those customers to get connected at a more reasonable price. They hope to have the system available for C class and GLK series cars by the 3rd quarter of 2013. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1546-mercedes-benz-helping-you-connect-to-your-world.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:22:51 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1546-mercedes-benz-helping-you-connect-to-your-world.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1545-recon-instruments-head-up-display-for-skiers.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.reconinstruments.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Recon Instruments</a> shows Todd their heads up display for skiers, snowboarders and alpine sport enthusiasts. The display will give you a "dashboard" type display inside of your goggles that tells you speed, altitude, distance traveled, height of your jump and a whole lot more. It even gives you GPS data and with the Android powered version will allow other apps. It will even give you caller ID for an incoming call so you can decide if it's worth stopping and answering the phone. It will, however, not let you text, make calls or answer calls while skiing. (And you thought driving while texting was a problem). The unit is installed in the goggles and is controlled by a bluetooth remote that can be worn just about anywhere on your body and is very tough. </p><p> </p><p>The android version is $399 and the Non-Android version is $299. </p><p> </p><p>For more information go to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.reconinstruments.com/" class="UpStreamLink">reconinstruments.com</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1545-recon-instruments-head-up-display-for-skiers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:57:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1545-recon-instruments-head-up-display-for-skiers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1544-the-kit-by-livio-radio.html <p>I have a 1998 <a target="NewWindow" href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=1998&make=Nissan&model=Sentra" class="UpStreamLink">Nissan Sentra</a> it has an Am-FM radio and a cassette deck, which is how I connect my <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/iphone" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a> to listen to music. It works for that purpose, however I can't legally make or take calls while I am driving. The car runs great so I am not in the market for a new car, however I would love to be able to make hands free calls in my car. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.livioradio.com/kit/" class="UpStreamLink">The Kit by Livio Radio</a> was made for someone like me. It was shown at CES 2012. The Kit will work with any car that has an FM radio and a 12 volt adapter. The device plugs into the 12 volt adapter and then works with your <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a> or <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/ipod/" class="UpStreamLink">iPod Touch</a> through <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bluetooth.com/Pages/Bluetooth-Home.aspx" class="UpStreamLink">Bluetooth</a>. With the Kit by Livio Radio you to make hands free calls with the integrated microphone. You can voice dial anyone in your iPhone address book. It also allows you to stream music from your favorite music application including iTunes through the award-winning car Internet application. The Kit is around $119.99 and is available through the Livio website. </p><p> </p><p>If you have an older model car and are looking to get connected, the Kit by Livio Radio maybe your answer if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch. It runs around $119.99 and is available through the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.livioradio.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Livio Raido</a> website. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1544-the-kit-by-livio-radio.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:45:16 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1544-the-kit-by-livio-radio.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1543-biscotti-tv-phone-with-google-video-chat.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.biscotti.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Biscotti's</a> TV phone is a small camera unit that sits on top of your big screen TV, connecting to the TV via HDMI and to the network via WiFi. Once connected up, owners can make high-definition video calls to other Biscotti owners and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.google.com/chat/video" class="UpStreamLink">Google Video Chat</a> users. And you will not believe how small the camera unit is. Todd chats to Matthew Shoemake to learn more. </p><p> </p><p>The TV Phone uses an HDMI pass-through technology, meaning that there's no need to change channels when receiving a call as the Biscotti notifies users via a pop-up message on screen. By using <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.google.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Google</a> Video Chat, the Biscotti TV Phone can connect to any device that has a Chat client, whether it's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.android.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Android</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a> or a PC. Connectivity with other video clients will be forthcoming, but no details just yet. </p><p> </p><p>The Biscotti TV Phone is <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.biscotti.com/buy/biscotti-tv-phone.html" class="UpStreamLink">available</a> for $199 and no monthly fees. Watch the video to get free shipping. (disclaimer - not sure how long this promotion will run after CES finishes) </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1543-biscotti-tv-phone-with-google-video-chat.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:39:28 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1543-biscotti-tv-phone-with-google-video-chat.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1542-speakers-in-your-clothes-by-verisonix.html <p>Speakers in your clothes, at first I thought why would anybody want to have speakers in their clothes, but the more I thought about the more I liked the idea. Okay, maybe we should step back for a minute, what are we talking about. We are talking about Electret-electrostatic Flexible Loudspeakers (EFL) from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.verisonix.com/" class="UpStreamLink">VeriSonix</a>. These are super thin speakers, about the same thinnest as a very thin piece of cardboard only flexible. Unlike regular speaker that have large cones, these speakers create sound by the use of positively charged membranes. They use only 10 percent of the power of normal speakers. The sound isn't great, it is like the sound you get from a pair of modestly priced headphones, but it's okay. </p><p> </p><p>VeriSonix sells the speakers to end customers. The end customer comes to VeriSonix and tells them how they want to use the speakers. VeraSonik then integrates the Electret speakers into the end customer's design. I could see these speakers being placed in many things, including pillows, backpacks, stuffed animals, backs of chairs just to name a few. VeriSonix is based in Taipei, Taiwan and has been around since 2010. Electret-electrostatic Flexible Speakers were developed by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.tw-teec.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Taiwan electrets electronics corporation</a> (TEEC). Have you ever heard these speakers, what did you think of the sound. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1542-speakers-in-your-clothes-by-verisonix.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:28:55 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1542-speakers-in-your-clothes-by-verisonix.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1541-allure-energy-proximity-energy-management.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.allure-energy.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Allure Energy's</a> patented <strong>Proximity Energy Management</strong> system is the advanced solution to energy management with today's active and somewhat unpredictable lifestyle. Older internet enabled thermostat systems allowed changing settings from smartphone apps - but the user still had to remember to manually intervene. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Allure Energy's system does the resets automatically, based on the reported position of the smartphone from GPS information to the system</strong>. Thus, the home is always at the proper temperature when occupants are away,but when they leave or return throughout the day, the energy is automatically adjusted for maximum energy efficiency. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1541-allure-energy-proximity-energy-management.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:21:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1541-allure-energy-proximity-energy-management.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1540-altair-semiconductor-design-for-lte-devices.html <p>Many of the devices that were featured at CES2012 involved chipsets designed and manufactured by Altair Semiconductor. Altair Semiconductor specializes in ultra-low power, small footprint and high performance LTE semiconductors. </p><p> </p><p>By incorporating Software Defined Radio (SDR) technologies, Altair Semiconductor chipsets can be tailored to a specific application requirement,enabling personalization of the device and service for the customer. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1540-altair-semiconductor-design-for-lte-devices.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:08:47 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1540-altair-semiconductor-design-for-lte-devices.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1538-ces-2012-tpn-studio-packout-back-channel.html <p>Studio Gear is headed to Fedex in the morning so that we can setup the Broadcast Studio at CES. Quick Update on our CES coverage and an overview of the gear pack-out. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1538-ces-2012-tpn-studio-packout-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:51:21 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1538-ces-2012-tpn-studio-packout-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1537-its-ces-time-back-channel.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Andy McCaskey</a> and Courtney Wallin are roaming the studio, powering down gear, and turning off the lights. Along with Andy "HeadHardHat" Smith of the RVNN.TV show "Geocaching World", we are all headed to Las Vegas for TPN coverage of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. Here's the backchannel of some of the prep! Andy takes off Friday, and Courtney and Andy (the other one) fly in on Saturday. Stay tuned ,and follow us on Twitter! </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1537-its-ces-time-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:50:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1537-its-ces-time-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1536-ces-2012-or-bust-back-channel.html <p>It is time to load up and head to Las Vegas for CES 2012. There is so much left to do, but watch and you'll see why and what's to come. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1536-ces-2012-or-bust-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:49:22 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1536-ces-2012-or-bust-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1535-why-ces-its-warmer-back-channel.html <p>Courtney Wallin shares one reason to join the TPN Team at CES 2012. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1535-why-ces-its-warmer-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:47:34 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1535-why-ces-its-warmer-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1534-geocaching-ces-wishlist-back-channel.html <p><h3>What's Most Attractive about CES for the Active Geocacher?</h3> </p><p>Andy 'HeadHardHat' Smith gives the low-down on the top ten product categories in this special edition of Geocaching World, as he prepares to head to the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1534-geocaching-ces-wishlist-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:46:35 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1534-geocaching-ces-wishlist-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1533-ces-the-beginning-back-channel.html <p>Steve and I cruised into Las Vegas early this afternoon at a snail's pace of 55MPH, RV trailer in tow. After getting the RV hooked up, we quickly hooked up with Todd, Jack, Andy, Courtney, and Andy over at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The plan was to get the show started: place the tables, hang the lights, run the cables, and so much more. Much of it was completed and Day 2 brings the joys of testing the audio, the video, and the entire setup. In two days, the Convention Center will be transformed into the epicenter of tech. CES 2012 will dominate the airwaves, the Internet, and people's conscience. Keep up with all the CES action at tpn.tv as we bring you everything from glamorous Las Vegas. </p><p> </p><p>-Steve (<a target="NewWindow" href="http://twitter.com/netcaststudio" class="UpStreamLink">@netcaststudio</a>) and Dave (<a target="NewWindow" href="http://twitter.com/daveandfirefly" class="UpStreamLink">@daveandfirefly</a>) </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1533-ces-the-beginning-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:44:49 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1533-ces-the-beginning-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1532-fired-up-ready-to-go-back-channel.html <p>Andy 'Head Hard Hat' Smith seems ready to head to his first CES and first trip to Las Vegas. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1532-fired-up-ready-to-go-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:40:28 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1532-fired-up-ready-to-go-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1531-wifi-compatible-sony-bloggie-live-with-live-streaming-from-qik.html <p>Monday, 9 am, Todd Cochrane and Jeffrey Powers head to Ceasar's Palace and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sony.com/store" class="UpStreamLink">Sony Lifestyle store</a> to talk about the newest version of the Sony Bloggie - The Bloggie Live. </p><p> </p><p>The Bloggie Live itself is an update of last years Bloggie Touch. With a big touchpanel and 1080p video (at 30fps), you can do video and stills on the camera with the 12 MP still image capture and 1080p /30 and 720p/60i. You can also do video and stills at the same time (but not while streaming). </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We keep the Bloggie very simple and easy to use. The large red button remains, your power button and photo button are the other two. It is fully PC and Mac compatible.</div> </p><p> </p><p>The fun comes in after you shoot. You can live stream into Qik (which needs to be set up ahead of time). People on Qik can send messages - you cannot respond, but you can see that information on the screen. </p><p> </p><p><h3>Play Memories Mobile Lets You Tether Your Bloggie</h3> </p><p>With a cellular signal, download the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/playmemories-mobile./id489191124?mt=8" class="UpStreamLink">Play Memories Mobile</a> (for iPhone or Android) and you can use your phone as a hot spot for your photos or video. </p><p> </p><p>The Bloggie Live is available on January 10th for $249. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> and Jeffrey Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1531-wifi-compatible-sony-bloggie-live-with-live-streaming-from-qik.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:38:16 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1531-wifi-compatible-sony-bloggie-live-with-live-streaming-from-qik.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1530-sony-bloggie-live-wifi-unboxing-ces-2012.html <p>Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central unboxes the Sony Bloggie Live with WiFi connectivity at the Sony Event on January 9th. The Bloggie Live is available today starting at $249. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1530-sony-bloggie-live-wifi-unboxing-ces-2012.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:33:56 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1530-sony-bloggie-live-wifi-unboxing-ces-2012.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1529-jeff-gets-head-shaved-at-ces-2012-schick-hydro-5.html <p>During the fun at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.com/" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2012</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Jeffrey Powers</a> stopped by the Schick booth, where barbers were on hand to take care of that stubble - on his head. The barbers were using the Schick Hydro 5 razor, with 3 vibration settings, for a smoother shave. </p><p> </p><p>Elliot from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.elliottandco.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Elliot & Co</a> was the barber who tended to Jeffrey's hair. During the event, he talked with Jeff about the Schick Hydro 5 razor. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jeffrey Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1529-jeff-gets-head-shaved-at-ces-2012-schick-hydro-5.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:27:20 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1529-jeff-gets-head-shaved-at-ces-2012-schick-hydro-5.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1527-entrance-to-ces-unveiled-back-channel.html <p>In this backchannel video, we look at the line coming into CES Unveiled. Jeffrey then enters into the hall and walks around CES Unveiled right before the masses enter. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1527-entrance-to-ces-unveiled-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:29:57 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1527-entrance-to-ces-unveiled-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1526-ces-unveiled-show-floor-back-channel.html <p>This backchannel video is a closer look into the show floor of CES unveiled. See interviews of Nast, Escort, LaCie, Marley and more. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1526-ces-unveiled-show-floor-back-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:29:03 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1526-ces-unveiled-show-floor-back-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1525-alcatellucent-emergency-response-vehicle-geeks-out.html <p>In this episode, Wayne from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal" class="UpStreamLink">Alcatel-Lucent</a> walks <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Jeffrey Powers</a> through their geeked-out SUV loaded with every item found in the public safety realm, along with E-node B. They downsized it and connected to the emergency band in order to access the internet. </p><p> </p><p>We walk through this SUV and geek out with all the cool items Alcatel-Lucent added. We also look at a special app that can be used for communication and information. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jeffrey Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1525-alcatellucent-emergency-response-vehicle-geeks-out.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:21:22 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1525-alcatellucent-emergency-response-vehicle-geeks-out.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1524-lacie-thunderbolt-at-ces-unveiled.html <p>Mike Mihalik from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lacie.com/" class="UpStreamLink">LaCie</a> shows off their new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/io/thunderbolt/thunderbolt-technology-developer.html" class="UpStreamLink">Thunderbolt</a>-connected hard drives for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/mac/" class="UpStreamLink">Apple Macs</a>, including the previously announced <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10549" class="UpStreamLink">Little Big Disk</a> and the new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10573" class="UpStreamLink">2big</a>, which has two internal 3.5" drives. Also announced was the eSata Dock, a docking station that connects legacy SATA devices via Thunderbolt. </p><p> </p><p>Thunderbolt offers seriously quick data transfer speeds with write speeds of 252 Mb/s and read speeds of 459 Mb/s shown in the video. </p><p> </p><p>The Little Big Disk is available now, but the 2big and eSata Dock units won't be available until later in the quarter, with pricing to be announced. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1524-lacie-thunderbolt-at-ces-unveiled.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:19:05 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1524-lacie-thunderbolt-at-ces-unveiled.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1523-castiv-iphone-ipad-tuner-mounts-for-musicians-castiv-sidekick-ces-2012.html <p>There are many smartphone-tablet holders out there. CastIV is one of them, but they look to add a little more than just a stand. </p><p> </p><p>Geared toward the musician, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.castiv.com/shop/guitar-sidekick-en" class="UpStreamLink">CastIV sidekick</a> allows you to put your iPhone or iPod within eye-shot so you can practice your tunes. Even a Korg guitar tuner fits well in the sidekick. Just place the belt on the strings, push together and clip with the mount. </p><p> </p><p>If you would rather have the iPod, Android device or iPhone on your microphone stand, well, they make an interchangeable clip so you can cuff it on the stand, put the device in place and start playing. </p><p> </p><p>For those iPad or other tablet owners out there, you can also get the Tab station - a mount for your iPad that connects to a tripod or microphone stand. </p><p> </p><p>The Guitar Sidekick and smart station are $24.99, with the Tab station for $34.99. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jeffrey Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1523-castiv-iphone-ipad-tuner-mounts-for-musicians-castiv-sidekick-ces-2012.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:14:01 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1523-castiv-iphone-ipad-tuner-mounts-for-musicians-castiv-sidekick-ces-2012.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1522-greenwave-reality-smart-home-services.html <p>Todd interviews Greg Memo from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.greenwavereality.com/" class="UpStreamLink">GreenWave Reality</a>, a global innovator in the emerging smart home services market including home monitoring and elderly care. On show is their home energy management solution that uses wireless (<a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.zigbee.org/" class="UpStreamLink">ZigBee</a>) plug-in devices to monitor and control power consumption. </p><p> </p><p>The system is not just limited to power management as other remote monitoring and control technologies such as lighting and video can be included. The complementary iPad app allows the homeowner to select individual rooms within the property and make adjustments if necessary - for example, a thermostat could be turned down or the timings changed to alter when the heat comes on. </p><p> </p><p>The overall solution won a CES 2012 Innovations Award, so congratulations to GreenWave. Available now, starting from $200. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1522-greenwave-reality-smart-home-services.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:06:29 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1522-greenwave-reality-smart-home-services.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1521-powerbag-the-new-way-to-charge-devices-on-the-go.html <p>Dan from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mypowerbag.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Powerbag</a> shows off the latest in geek fashion, a messenger bag that has a built-in battery and charging system. Up to four different devices can be charged in the bag at the same time. Included are a selection of charging tips, including the Apple connector and USB variants. The battery capacity should charge a smartphone several times, or a tablet once. </p><p> </p><p>Available now for $139 to $249 for a rolling bag with a bigger battery. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1521-powerbag-the-new-way-to-charge-devices-on-the-go.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:02:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1521-powerbag-the-new-way-to-charge-devices-on-the-go.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1520-roku-hardware-channel-update-ces-2012.html <p>I am a big fan of Roku. I currently have version one of the Roku 2 XS which I love and version 2 is even smaller. However both have the problem of being separate boxes which means more wires to run to the TV and another power cord to plug-in. Roku has an answer to this problem the Roku Streaming Stick. Ed from Roku showed off the product at CES 2012 </p><p> </p><p>The stick is a little larger then a regular USB stick and plugs directly into a HDMI port. It is Roku's answer to smart TV. It has the same chip and ram as the Roku 2 XS with the same great performance. It is based on the MHL standard. The one problem I see is that for this to work the TV has to be MHL capable, which I suspect many TVs especially with the lower price models are not. </p><p> </p><p>This may confuse consumers, Roku needs to make it clear which TVs this will work with or what to look for It will come with a motion control remote that has WiFi built-in. The remote control will have power and control out. The Roku Streaming Stick can also be controlled by the TV remote. </p><p> </p><p>The Roku currently has 400 plus channels. The channels are organized in the store by categories, including favorites, religion, sports, movies and more. Among the channels available in the Roku store are TPN.TV and the Blubrry Network. Roku is continuing to update the channel store, to improve its interface and usability. The Roku is currently in over 2 1/2 million households and is still growing. The Roku Streaming Stick should be available in fall of 2012 and run between $50 and $100 depending on model. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1520-roku-hardware-channel-update-ces-2012.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:00:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1520-roku-hardware-channel-update-ces-2012.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1519-energizer-isurge-travel-protection-ces-2012.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.energizer.com/charging/Pages/default.aspx" class="UpStreamLink">Energizer</a> introduced their newest iSurge Travel Charger at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2012</a>. The newest charger is specially made for micro USB powered device. It has a cable which allows you to plug-in a micro USB powered device. It has two USB ports which have 2.1 amp shared. If you plug-in one device it will use all 2.1 amps. If you plug both it will share the 2.1 amps. </p><p> </p><p>There are three surge protected outlet on the side. The plug rotates 180° which allows it work no matter how the outlet is set up. This new charger should be available later in 2012 and will run $59.99. </p><p> </p><p>Energizer has already released a charger which is specially made for the iPhone. It has a 30 pin connector at the top, that the iPhone plugs directly into. It also has the two USB ports and the three surge protected outlet on the side. It is also $59.99 and is available now. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1519-energizer-isurge-travel-protection-ces-2012.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:56:12 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1519-energizer-isurge-travel-protection-ces-2012.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1518-nest-thermostat-overview.html <p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nest.com/" class="UpStreamLink">nest</a> thermostat has received more than its fair share of press coverage recently, but that's because it's both smart, cool and well-designed. Todd chats with Kate from nest about this great new product. </p><p> </p><p>The nest thermostat is a smart thermostat that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nest.com/living-with-nest/" class="UpStreamLink">learns</a> from your habits and behaviors and adjusts itself to match them, turning the heat up when you want it and down when you are out of the home. It's exceptionally easy to use - you turn it up, you turn it down, that's it. The nest has several learning modes, including schedule learning and activity detection, which help it keep you comfortable but the energy costs down. </p><p> </p><p>The nest thermostat costs $249 but it's on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://store.nest.com/" class="UpStreamLink">back order</a> because it's been so popular. The thermostat comes with everything you need to install the devices yourself, including a screwdriver! </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1518-nest-thermostat-overview.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:35:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1518-nest-thermostat-overview.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1517-liftmasters-myq-the-connected-smart-garage-door-opener.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.liftmaster.com/consumerweb/" class="UpStreamLink">LiftMaster</a> is known for its range of garage door openers and this year, they're introducing their new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.liftmaster.com/consumerweb/products/IntroducingLiftMasterInternetGateway" class="UpStreamLink">MyQ</a> technology that will let home owners monitor and control their garage door from a smartphone or tablet anywhere in the world, including <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/iphone" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/ipad" class="UpStreamLink">iPad</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.blackberry.com/" class="UpStreamLink">BlackBerry</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.android.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Android</a> devices. </p><p> </p><p>Intended to be professionally installed, the cost is $350-$400 for a new door opener that incorporates MyQ technology and it's available now. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1517-liftmasters-myq-the-connected-smart-garage-door-opener.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:04:25 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1517-liftmasters-myq-the-connected-smart-garage-door-opener.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1516-j5create-mac-pc-wormhole.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.j5create.com/" class="UpStreamLink">J5Create</a> may be familiar to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/mac/" class="UpStreamLink">Apple Macintosh</a> users as they're designers of aesthetic Mac accessories, but their latest gadget will be of interest to those of us with a foot in the PC camp. Here Todd talks to John about their new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.j5create.com/juh320v2.htm" class="UpStreamLink">Wormhole Station</a>. </p><p> </p><p>The Wormhole Station combined with the Wormhole cable creates a keyboard and mouse switch which not only controls both a PC and a Mac from one mouse and keyboard but also moves files seamlessly from one computer to the other. Even cooler, you can set the configuration up so that moving the mouse cursor off one side of Mac screen transfers the cursor to the PC screen. It's a bit like having a dual monitor setup, only with two OSes! </p><p> </p><p>If you like the sound of this, it's available in both laptop and desktop configurations. Available now, the Wormhole Station will set you back $109.99 and the cable is $39.99. The CES folk like it so much, they gave the Wormhole Station an Innovation Honoree Award. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1516-j5create-mac-pc-wormhole.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:03:05 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1516-j5create-mac-pc-wormhole.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1515-invoxia-voip-desktop-iphone-dock.html <p>Todd talks with Eric from Invoxia about their latest office product, a stylish dock that converts iPhones and iPads into a VoIP desktop phone. Winner of a CES 2012 Showcase Engineering Award, it's really quite stunning. </p><p> </p><p>The NVX 610 can use Skype or a SIP telephony provider and control of the desktop phone is via an app on the iPhone which uses Bluetooth to communicate with the dock. The unit has built-in speakers, creating a hands-free phone and a music dock all in one. </p><p> </p><p>Available on-line now for $599. Cool but pricey. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1515-invoxia-voip-desktop-iphone-dock.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:01:21 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1515-invoxia-voip-desktop-iphone-dock.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1514-marvell-demos-a-new-olpc-tablet-ces-2012.html <p>At <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2012</a> <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.marvell.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Marvell</a> showed off the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://one.laptop.org/" class="UpStreamLink">OLPC</a> XO 3.0 Tablet. The tablet has an eight inch screen and is made for kids in the developing world. It has the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.arm.com/" class="UpStreamLink">ARM</a> based <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.marvell.com/application-processors/armada-600/armada-618.jsp" class="UpStreamLink">ARMADA PXA618 SOC processor</a>, and is built on the <a target="NewWindow" href="https://www.linux.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Linux</a> platform. It has a mini Wikipedia and other existing educational applications built right into the device. This is important since these devices are used in areas where wi-fi is often not available. The tablet can be charged by solar power, hand crank, and from any device that can produce 10-25 watts of DC power. The solar panel produces 4 watts of power by placing it in the sun for an hour. You then snap to the tablet and it will charge the tablet for up to two hours of usage. Like all OLPC products the OLPC tablet is easy to take apart and repair. </p><p> </p><p>Marvell builds the design. They work with Quantive manufacturing, who build the tablets based on orders from agencies like a Ministry of Education or an educational organization. Their goal is to have the unit price well below the $180.00 which is the cost of the OLPC computer. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1514-marvell-demos-a-new-olpc-tablet-ces-2012.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:55:32 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1514-marvell-demos-a-new-olpc-tablet-ces-2012.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1513-bittorrent-intros-new-services-ces-2012.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bittorrent.com/" class="UpStreamLink">BitTorrent</a> was original created to allow people to share large files over the Internet efficiently. In the last couple of years more and more people are sharing their digital media over the Internet with friends and family. Unfortunately because of the way things are currently setup they often have to compromise on quality. BitTorrent is attempting to solve this problem. They have a new software application called <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.getshareapp.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Share</a> which they introduced at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2012</a>. This program will allow people to share large media files with family and friends. There is no limit on file size, number of files or recipients. Each person will have to be authenticated either by email or connecting on Facebook. They will also have to run Share in the background. Share is less the 1 mg in size and takes up very little resources. The media file will be uploaded to each recipient who along with the cloud application will act as seeders. Once you reach a critical mass the cloud application will drop off. Share is currently still in Alpha and being tested. </p><p> </p><p>BitTorrent is also working on a live video streaming protocol which will allow people to share live streaming video without a hosting service. This is also currently in Alpha, you can participate in the test every Friday night at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://live.bittorrent.com/" class="UpStreamLink">BitTorrent Live</a>. BitTorrent also announced 4 partnerships with various companies in Europe and Asia, that would embed the Bittorent protocol directly in their devices. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1513-bittorrent-intros-new-services-ces-2012.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:49:55 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1513-bittorrent-intros-new-services-ces-2012.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1512-fisher-price-kidtough-dvr.html <p>Leave it to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.fisher-price.com/us/" class="UpStreamLink">Fisher Price</a> maker of great toys for kids and the kids in all of us to make a DVR that is kid friendly. That is what they were showing at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cesweb.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2012</a> the Kid-Tough DVR. </p><p> </p><p>The Kid-Tough DVR is made for 3-5 year olds. It is rugged and easy to use. There is a touch screen kids can use to scan through the available videos. When they are ready to play a video just tap on the screen and it will start playing. They can also fast forward or rewind through a video. To record a video you just place the DVR into its dock which sits between your cable box and the TV, set the record time and hit record. </p><p> </p><p>The Kid-Tough DVR will be available around June-July. It will be approximately $150.00 and include the DVR, headphones, docking station, a car charger and a case. If you have a small child and take a lot of car trips this is worth a look </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1512-fisher-price-kidtough-dvr.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:35:45 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1512-fisher-price-kidtough-dvr.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1511-sonys-new-google-tv.html <p>When the Google TV first came out I thought it was an interesting concept. However the one thing that I didn't like was the size of the remote. The idea of having a remote the size of a regular keyboard was not very appealing. Sony introduced a new generation of the Google TV at CES 2012. There are three versions, the one that is embedded within a TV, a Blu-Ray player with an integrated Google TV and a stand alone Google TV. Both the Blu-Ray player and the stand alone player have a smaller form factor than before. They all run Android 3.2 with Android Market well-integrated and is full HD capable. </p><p> </p><p>The thing that caught my eye the most was the remote control. It now looks like a real remote control instead of large keyboard. The front of the remote is set up like a traditional remote with a touchpad on it. On the back is a keyboard when you need it. The keyboard works only when it is facing up. So there is no chance of typing while you are trying to hit play or record. This is a great improvement on the first generation of Google TV. I can't wait to get a hold of one later this year. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1511-sonys-new-google-tv.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:30:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1511-sonys-new-google-tv.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1510-mylink-radio-by-chevy.html <p>Most people today especially teenagers and young adults want to be connected with their music and phones at all times, including when they are in their cars. Often though the cars that have infotainment systems are above the budget they can afford. If you are a fan of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.chevrolet.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Chevy</a> brand than you maybe in luck. </p><p> </p><p>In 2012 Chevy is introducing the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyLink" class="UpStreamLink">MyLink</a> Radio for two of their entry level vehicles the Chevy <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.chevrolet.com/spark-mini-car/" class="UpStreamLink">Spark</a> and the Chevy <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.chevrolet.com/sonic-small-cars/" class="UpStreamLink">Sonic</a>. The MyLink Radio comes with AM/FM and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.siriusxm.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SirusXM</a> installed. You can connect a Bluetooth enabled smartphone, a USB device or an iPod. Then the music plays directly though your car speakers and you can see what is playing by looking at the MyLink system instead of having to pick up your device. MyLink Radio will also come with the ability to launch <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.pandora.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Pandora</a> and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.stitcher.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Stitcher Radio</a> apps. </p><p> </p><p>The apps themselves will run and be updated through the phone. You can also make calls through the system either by using the touchpad on the screen or buttons on the steering wheel. It also pulls the information from your phone directly on to the device. There is also an option to view slideshows or watch movies through MyLink Radio. Because of safety issues this will only work in when the car is in park. </p><p> </p><p>The MyLink Radio is an optional feature and should be available in June for the Spark and in September for the Sonic. They are considering opening up the API for other developers. This will be a great option for those who want to be connected but can't afford those vehicle with the full infotainment systems. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1510-mylink-radio-by-chevy.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:15:44 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1510-mylink-radio-by-chevy.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1509-lethal-protection-gadget-positioning-device.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lethalprotection.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Lethal Protection</a> is the name of the company but it's not a clue as to the product. It's not a bullet-proof vest, it's not ferocious guard dog but what is it? Todd finds out what it is from Melissa of Lethal Protection. </p><p> </p><p>Winner of a CES Innovation Award, it's called the Life-Phorm Pro and it's an one-size-fits-all gadget positioning device. Only it's weird... very weird... but in a cool way. Think <a target="NewWindow" href="http://joby.com/gorillapod" class="UpStreamLink">GorillaPod</a> but scary and it's not just for cameras - tablets and smartphones fit on just as well. </p><p> </p><p>The flexible six legs allow <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.lethalprotection.com/gallery/" class="UpStreamLink">myriad</a> standing, gripping and hanging positions, all the while keeping your gear off the floor. The Pro version is made from aluminum and carbon fiber, weighing in at only 8oz. </p><p> </p><p>Lethal Protection is setting up manufacturing and production of the Life-Phorm Pro and it's expected to ship in April of this year. The Pro version will run $149 and the basic version will be $69. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1509-lethal-protection-gadget-positioning-device.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:12:50 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1509-lethal-protection-gadget-positioning-device.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1508-bellybean-functional-workplace.html <p>One of the biggest problem with laptops is that they get too hot to use on a lap. Many answers to this problem aren't very stylish and look rather dorky. Belly Bean is a stylish solution for this problem. It looks like a cross between a skate board and a surf board. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.beancospace.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Belly Bean</a> is made of hard-rock maple and on the back is <a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene-vinyl_acetate" class="UpStreamLink">EVA (Ethylene vinyl acetate)</a> foam, which prevents heat transfer. EVA foam is also used in diving and dry suits. </p><p> </p><p>Belly Bean is a functional workspace large enough for a 17 inch laptop with room left over. It is $49.00 and is available through the Belly Bean Web site. So now you can look great and be cool while you continue to work with a lap top on your lap. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1508-bellybean-functional-workplace.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:52:27 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1508-bellybean-functional-workplace.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1507-cadillac-user-experience-cue-showstoppers-at-ces-2012.html <p>While at CES Showstoppers, we stopped by Cadillac for the customer user experience (CUE). This is Cadillac's in-car NAV and computer system. The Cadillac CUE is a full infotainment and interface. It will start in the XTS and ATS, along with the SRX in 2013. </p><p> </p><p>This is Cadillac's "centerpiece" of future interiors. Along with the side dash, they remodeled the drivers dash. Capacity multi-touch display, haptic feedback (tactile feel to pushing a button) and other great advancements through the touch system. </p><p> </p><p>Another interesting change is where the glovebox is - under the button panel. All in a stylish interface. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jeffrey Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1507-cadillac-user-experience-cue-showstoppers-at-ces-2012.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:52:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1507-cadillac-user-experience-cue-showstoppers-at-ces-2012.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1506-ces-2012-tpn-slideshow.html <p>When we are not doing interviews we are taking pictures. Here is a compilation of pictures from CES 2012. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1506-ces-2012-tpn-slideshow.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:51:35 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1506-ces-2012-tpn-slideshow.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1505-gopano-turns-iphone-camera-into-360°-periscope-ces-unveiled.html <p>By now, we've seen a lot of lenses that you can attach to your iPhone to make them take better pictures. But this lens from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gopano.com/" class="UpStreamLink">GoPano</a> does something different: It makes some great 360° pictures and video without hassle. </p><p> </p><p>Simply attach the iPhone case, then attach the GoPano mount. Start your camera (or video) and you are recording in panoramic view. When you are done, upload it to the GoPano website and you can pan the video to see what's happening around you. Attach a microphone to your iPhone and people can get a new experience from your videos. </p><p> </p><p>GoPano starts at $79.95 and is for the iPhone 4 and 4s. They also have a lens attachment for other cameras if you want to get higher quality photos or video. You can then use the Video Warp software to process and publish video. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jeffrey Powers of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geekazine.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geekazine</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1505-gopano-turns-iphone-camera-into-360°-periscope-ces-unveiled.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:48:02 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1505-gopano-turns-iphone-camera-into-360°-periscope-ces-unveiled.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1504-hp-envy-14-spectre.html <p>Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas computer maker HP unveiled the Envy 14 Spectre, a new 14 inch laptop with some fairly impressive specs behind it. It comes with either a Core i5 or Core i7 processor, an option for a 128 GB or 256 GB SSD, 4 or 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, Mini DisplayPort, HD webcam, Gorilla Glass inside and out, and USB 3.0. Users also get a choice of Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate or Professional, but you will have to go with the 64-bit version, as this new notebook doesn't come in a 32-bit version. HP claims a nine hour battery life, but perhaps the nicest touch is the keyboard, which has individual LED's behind each key to make them easily visible in low, or even no, light conditions. </p><p> </p><p>Although I haven't seen the HP Envy 14 Spectre referred to as an "Ultrabook" that's the first word that comes to mind when I see it. The sleek, thin design and the lack of an optical drive all point to that category, which was the hot meme at CES 2012. There is more to this notebook than just the specs I listed above, but you will need to watch the video below to get all of the details. The Envy 14 Spectre will start at an MSRP of $1399. You can also visit <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/envy14-spectre/index.html#.Txi60PkZ-qx" class="UpStreamLink">HP</a> for more info. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1504-hp-envy-14-spectre.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:46:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1504-hp-envy-14-spectre.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1503-toshiba-introduces-a-usb-30-thumb-drive.html <p>Todd talked to Scott at the Toshiba booth about the new "SuperSpeed" USB 3.0 Thumb drives that will be available this spring. The drives are up to 10 times faster then USB 2.0 at 220mb/sec reading and 94mb/sec writing. </p><p> </p><p>They will be available in 32GB and 64GB sizes and will be $100 and $200 respectively. </p><p> </p><p>Scott also showed off Toshiba's new SD Cards with WiFi. The product will be called "FlashAir" and will be a 2 way WiFi enabled SD Card. Other WiFi cards have only been one way where you can pull photos from the card wirelessly. This new card will allow you to put files on the card from other devices as well as download from the card wirelessly. </p><p> </p><p>For more information check out <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.toshiba.com/" class="UpStreamLink">toshiba.com</a> </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1503-toshiba-introduces-a-usb-30-thumb-drive.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:30:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1503-toshiba-introduces-a-usb-30-thumb-drive.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1502-basis-wearable-health-monitoring.html <p>Todd talked to Jeff from Basis at the digital experience event at CES 2012 about their new product for health monitoring. </p><p> </p><p>Basis is coming this spring with a wrist wearable health monitoring system to help you keep track of your overall activity level. Different from the heart monitors you would wear for working out, this new system will track your heart rate, temperature, perspiration, sleep and activity level as you go about your daily life. It will take that information and upload it to Basis' cloud service and give you all the data along with some recommendations of things you need to do to get into better overall health. </p><p> </p><p>The device and service will be available in early 2012 for $199. This includes a lifetime membership to the cloud service. </p><p> </p><p>For more information, go to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mybasis.com/" class="UpStreamLink">www.mybasis.com</a> </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1502-basis-wearable-health-monitoring.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:20:51 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1502-basis-wearable-health-monitoring.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1501-zagg-hzo-waterproofing-for-electronics.html <p>Zagg's protective films are popular "first purchases" for new smartphone owners and at CES 2012, Zagg shows off their latest protection mechanism. Todd chats to Bill from Zagg to find out what it protects against. </p><p> </p><p>The adage is that water and electricity don't mix, and by extension, water and mobile devices don't mix well either. Zagg hopes to change that with a new nanotech-based coating, HZO, that repels water so effectively that a dunk in the drink will have no effect on the device. </p><p> </p><p>The HZO coating is applied during the manufacturing process so that every component is properly treated and waterproofed. There's no physical skin or cover as the water-repellency is at the molecular level. Almost any device can be waterproofed - smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, headphones, but it has to be done during manufacture, not by the end-user. </p><p> </p><p>Zagg is currently in negotiation with major OEMs so expect water-repellent devices to hit the market in 12-18 months and if you want to see an iPhone working underwater, then watch the video. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1501-zagg-hzo-waterproofing-for-electronics.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:12:54 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1501-zagg-hzo-waterproofing-for-electronics.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1500-gform-extreme-gadget-protection-100k-drop-test.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://g-form.com/" class="UpStreamLink">G-Form</a> is best know for its protective gear for high adrenaline sports but using this know-how, it's protecting something much more precious - your expensive tablet with its Extreme range of cases. If you think this is gimmick, these guys dropped an iPad in an Extreme Portfolio from a weather balloon at 100,000+ feet... and it <a target="NewWindow" href="http://g-form.com/ipad-survives" class="UpStreamLink">survived</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Todd talks to Rick Garrard to find out more about the high altitude drop and gets a demonstration of what happens when an 8 lb bowling ball lands on a packet of chocolate M&Ms covered with G-Form's Extreme protection. Mmm, chocolate. </p><p> </p><p>The Extreme cases and sleeves are <a target="NewWindow" href="http://g-form.com/product/" class="UpStreamLink">on-sale now</a>c from $34.95 upwards for the iPad and Kindle Fire (or 10" and 7" tablets). </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1500-gform-extreme-gadget-protection-100k-drop-test.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:48:26 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1500-gform-extreme-gadget-protection-100k-drop-test.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1499-aftershokz-headphones.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.aftershokz.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Aftershokz</a> Bone Conduction Headsets use the same technology that military Special Ops teams depend upon. Now consumers can be street legal - nothing in, on, or covering your ears. Direct vibrations are carried by the bones to the inner ear. In military and police applications, their ears are open in order to hear the movements of both their targets and other members of their unit. </p><p> </p><p>Aftershokz Headphones enable joggers, bike riders, skateboarders, hikers, and other athletes to safely listen to their portable music player while participating in their favorite activity. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1499-aftershokz-headphones.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:46:41 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1499-aftershokz-headphones.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1498-incarbite-tablet-mounting-system.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://incarbiteusa.com/" class="UpStreamLink">InCarBite</a> solves two problems: How to keep your iPad securely mounted in a vehicle, yet keeping it easily removable for use inside the house. InCarBite allows you to safely mount your iPad or Android tablet to the headrest support in the family mini-van. While it delivers a personal viewing experience to the backseat passenger on the road, the same unit un-snaps from the vehicle mount, and travels easily to the home for under-cabinet kitchen mounting. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1498-incarbite-tablet-mounting-system.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:44:12 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1498-incarbite-tablet-mounting-system.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1497-delorme-inreach-satellite-communicator.html <p><h3>GPS Plus Emergency Satellite Communicator</h3> </p><p>The Award-Winning <a target="NewWindow" href="http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10820&minisite=10020" class="UpStreamLink">DeLorme In-Reach</a> allows you to stay reliably connected wherever you go. You can end and receive text messages, even while out of cell phone range - letting your friends in basecamp or family know that you have crossed a phase line, milepost or difficult portion of your hiking or climbing route. You will get confirmation of message delivery. And most importantly, you can send Interactive 2-way SOS in a real emergency and communicate with responders to make sure that they understand the nature of your emergency. </p><p> </p><p>The system includes global coverage, and is in the $250 price class. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1497-delorme-inreach-satellite-communicator.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:21:39 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1497-delorme-inreach-satellite-communicator.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1496-maytag-clean-oven-in-an-hour.html <p>Maytag Induction technology transfers energy directly into any magnetic cookware, for faster, more energy-efficient cooking. It is a special treat for moms, culinary enthusiasts, chefs and just about anybody who loves to cook with fast results in a safe and convenient cooking environment. </p><p> </p><p>The cleanliness of electric cooking with the speed and control of gas. Plus, an exceptionally fast cleaning cycle keeps busy Moms happy! </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1496-maytag-clean-oven-in-an-hour.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:17:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1496-maytag-clean-oven-in-an-hour.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1495-connect-wireless-speaker-by-sharper-image.html <p>One thing <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sharperimage.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Shaper Image</a> has always been known for is it's ability to design in-home products that meet the consumer's demands and needs. One of those demands is to enjoy music while relaxing in the kitchen, the bathroom, the porch, or the bedroom without giving up that valuable counter space. </p><p> </p><p>Their latest Connect Wireless Speaker is no different. The Connect Wireless Speaker plugs directly in your AC outlet and provides quality audio production. The product allows you to listen to music via BlueTooth and also has a built-in microphone so that you don't miss those important incoming calls. The speaker also includes a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery with an estimated 3-4 hours life span. </p><p> </p><p>Don of Sharper Image expects the product to hit shelves in May-June 2012 with a price tag of $49.99, available at major retailers and Sharper Image <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sharperimage.com/si/company/retail-locations.jsp" class="UpStreamLink">stores around the nation</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Steve Lee of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://netcaststudio.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Waves of Tech</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1495-connect-wireless-speaker-by-sharper-image.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:15:06 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1495-connect-wireless-speaker-by-sharper-image.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1494-hengedocks-macbook-docking-stations.html <p>Steve came across a very interesting booth while combing the halls of CES 2012. If you struggle with a cluttered desks and have issues with cable management, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://hengedocks.com/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hengedocks</a> is the product for you! Clean up your work space, save space, increase productivity, and more with this product. </p><p> </p><p>Hengedocks has created a pretty slick docking station for your Mac Book Pros (13,15,17in) and Mac Book Airs (11, 13in). The docking station has spots for all your cables - USB, Firewire, Power, Video, and more. Simply place the Apple product into the docking station, touch the keyboard, and the unit it ready for use. You can use it on your work station or even set it up next to your HD TV or Smart TV. The docking stations are on the market now and range from $60-$75. </p><p> </p><p>Hengedocks also manufactures a product called Clique. It's a quick and easy way to combine your Apple keyboard with your Trackpad. Clique is selling for only $25! Check out the entire video and get a live demonstration of how Hengedocks works. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Steve Lee of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://netcastsudio.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Waves of Tech</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1494-hengedocks-macbook-docking-stations.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:08:25 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1494-hengedocks-macbook-docking-stations.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1493-paysaber-mobile-payment-processing.html <p>Small business owner? Credit processing does not have to be a pain. <a target="NewWindow" href="https://www.paysaber.com/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Paysaber</a> offers a complete point of sale solution with an encrypted credit card reader, barcode scanner and thermal printer: all in the palm of your hand. It is ready to work with any iOS device, and features encryption of every swipe and transmission to and from the credit processing gateway. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1493-paysaber-mobile-payment-processing.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:04:58 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1493-paysaber-mobile-payment-processing.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1492-hovercam-efficient-document-scanning.html <p>Past ten or fifteen pages, scanning a lengthy document on a flatbed scanner is a pain. Scanning a book without destroying the binding is just one of the features of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.thehovercam.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Hovercam</a> system. The included <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.thehovercam.com/html/download.html" class="UpStreamLink">HoverCam Flex software</a> makes managing scanned files and full screen presentations easy. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey and Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1492-hovercam-efficient-document-scanning.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:00:58 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1492-hovercam-efficient-document-scanning.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1491-intouch-remote-health-monitoring.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.intouchhealth.com/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">InTouch Health</a> along with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.verizon.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Verizon</a> had developed the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.intouchhealth.com/products_rpxpress.html" class="UpStreamLink">RP Express</a> and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.intouchhealth.com/products_rp-7_robots.html" class="UpStreamLink">RP 7 Mobile Robot</a> and other similar devices to allow doctors to access their patients from remote locations. The RP Express is a mobile device for an individual to carry in the field. The RP 7 Mobile Robot is made for hospitals or other medical facilities. Both devices allow you to plug in medical instruments including EKGs, Ultrasound equipment and other devices directly into the machine allowing doctors to take and read vital signs from anywhere in the world. The video and audio are in real time and work over the Verizon 4G network, or wifi. (I am not sure what happens if the 4G or wifi networks are not available, hopefully there is a solution to that problem.) The doctor can control the RP 7 Mobile Robot and the RP Express from any computer that has the control station installed on it. The RP 7 robot allows for 178 degree field of view. </p><p> </p><p>These devices are FDA cleared for connection to diagnostic medical devices on wifi. They are still going through the approval process for the 4G version. They hope to have those versions available for hospitals later this year. It is nice to know that now people in remote areas have a way to get access to the medical care, including the specialist that they need. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Jamie Davis of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://mediccast.com/" class="UpStreamLink">The Pod Medic</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1491-intouch-remote-health-monitoring.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:57:03 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1491-intouch-remote-health-monitoring.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1490-zagg-sparq-portable-power.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.zagg.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Zagg's</a> protective films are popular "first purchases" for new smartphone owners and but Zagg offer other products in the mobile working space. Todd chats to Nate from Zagg to about the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.zagg.com/accessories/zaggsparq.php" class="UpStreamLink">Zagg Sparq</a>, a portable rechargeable battery pack. </p><p> </p><p>The Sparq is mains charged, with two front-facing USB ports to recharge any portable device with a USB-type connector. The internal battery has sufficient capacity to recharge four times the average smartphone. Perfect for when you're on the road. </p><p> </p><p>Available now for $99.99 from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.zagg.com/accessories/zaggsparq.php" class="UpStreamLink">Zagg online</a> with free shipping. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1490-zagg-sparq-portable-power.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:49:20 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1490-zagg-sparq-portable-power.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1489-myditto-key.html <p>Do you put data on a USB stick and then do you tend to lose that USB stick? Do your kids store their homework on a USB stick and then lose it? I sure for most people the answer is yes to all of the above. Let's face it we've all done it; we've put data on a USB stick that we want to bring with us, then we put it down somewhere or leave it behind. That use to mean that not only was the USB stick was gone but all the data on it. No longer now the information on the USB stick can also be in the cloud. </p><p> </p><p>That is the idea behind <a target="NewWindow" href="http://next.my-ditto.com/key/" class="UpStreamLink">my-Ditto Key</a>. You register your my-Ditto Key with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://next.my-ditto.com/" class="UpStreamLink">my-Ditto</a> and then all the information on the key is copied to the cloud. Now if you lose your my-Ditto Key USB stick or leave it behind you still have access to your data anywhere in the world. You can store up to 100 GB of space in the cloud. It doesn't matter what type of data it is it can be music, videos, documents it's up to you. Simple and easy to use, but effective that is what my-Ditto key is all about. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1489-myditto-key.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:00:47 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1489-myditto-key.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1488-swingline-stackandshred.html <p>Do you have that box of papers next to you or maybe across the room, you know the one. It's the one full of papers you need to shred. You keep telling yourself you need to take care of it, but then somehow it never gets done. You tell yourself you are too busy or you have other things to do, but in reality you don't do it because you hate having to feed the paper in one at a time. </p><p> </p><p>Swingline to the rescue. Swingline has been making products for offices for over 80 years including shredder, stapler, punches, trimmers and sharpeners. Their latest products in the shredder line are hands free shredders called Stack-and-Shred. There are multiple lines and models both for home and office. These new shredders allow you to place a stack of papers into the shredder and then close the lid and the machine takes over from there. No more having to feed in one paper at a time. The home models are made to take 8×11 inch paper and have a separate feed for envelopes. Other models for business take larger size paper. There is an auto unjamming feature, so the machine will try to clear itself, before asking for help. </p><p> </p><p>These personal shredders are currently available at Office Max, Office Depot and Staples and run between $150.00 to $250 depending on size and models. So now you have no more excuses for not getting those papers shredded. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1488-swingline-stackandshred.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:53:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1488-swingline-stackandshred.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1487-efun-brings-the-apen-stylus-to-the-ipad.html <p>The iPad was purposely designed to be used without a stylus, but that doesn't stop some users from wanting one. It's especially handy for things like editing a document, writing notes, or for drawing apps. Now eFun has introduced one especially made for the iPad. The new stylus comes with a lot of options as well. You can not only write, draw, and edit, but you can do so in multiple colors and line weights. </p><p> </p><p>The stylus, which debuted last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is available now for $99 from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://apenusa.com/" class="UpStreamLink">APenUSA</a>. To see this cool new iPad pen in action you can check out the video posted below of a live demo from the CES show floor. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1487-efun-brings-the-apen-stylus-to-the-ipad.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:48:28 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1487-efun-brings-the-apen-stylus-to-the-ipad.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1486-kingston-hyperx-ssd.html <p>Kingston is known for their memory, but now they are branching out into the world of hard drives and, more specifically, solid state hard drives, or SSD's as they are commonly referred to. The HyperX is the top of the Kingston line when it comes to this technology. The SSD is a much-hyped technology that has remained a dream for most consumers because of their price-point, but they are starting to come down into the realm of the affordable, although still top-end, drives. The SSD provides much faster speed than the traditional HDD, plus they are much smaller in size, which is driving the new Ultrabook craze, which was also capturing the media at this year's CES. </p><p> </p><p>The new HyperX comes with an external drive bay that you can plug into your computer and software to clone you current drive to get you started without any down time. The new Kingston drive may still be out of reach for the average user, but that's okay, because they know it's for the enthusiast, who knows how to get inside a PC and change out hardware, clone drives, and use all of the hardware and tools that come along with a project such as this. </p><p> </p><p>Currently for the 120 GB version seen in the video below the price is coming in at a little over $200. To find out more be sure to check out the video and visit <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.kingston.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Kingston</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Todd Cochrane of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.geeknewscentral.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Geek News Central</a> for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">TechPodcast Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1486-kingston-hyperx-ssd.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:44:15 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1486-kingston-hyperx-ssd.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1485-ces-2012-preshow-hour-1.html <p>CES 2012 Preshow Hour 1 coverage with highlights from CES Unveiled </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1485-ces-2012-preshow-hour-1.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:39:31 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1485-ces-2012-preshow-hour-1.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1484-ces-2012-preshow-hour-2.html <p>CES 2012 Preshow Hour 2 coverage with highlights from CES Unveiled </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1484-ces-2012-preshow-hour-2.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:38:45 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1484-ces-2012-preshow-hour-2.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1483-ces-2012-preshow-hour-3.html <p>CES 2012 Preshow Hour 3 coverage with our own <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/5-jon-wurm.html" class="UpStreamLink">Jon Wurm</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/13-allante-sparks.html" class="UpStreamLink">Allante Sparks</a>, featuring highlights from CES Unveiled </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1483-ces-2012-preshow-hour-3.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:36:50 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1483-ces-2012-preshow-hour-3.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1482-ces-2012-preshow-hour-4.html <p>CES 2012 Preshow Hour 4 coverage with highlights from CES Unveiled </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1482-ces-2012-preshow-hour-4.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:35:12 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1482-ces-2012-preshow-hour-4.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1481-ces-2012-preshow-hour-5.html <p>CES 2012 Preshow Hour 5 coverage with highlights from CES Unveiled </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1481-ces-2012-preshow-hour-5.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:34:29 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1481-ces-2012-preshow-hour-5.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1480-ces-2012-preshow-sony-wifi-bloggie-reveal.html <p>CES 2012 Preshow where we reveal the new Sony WiFi Bloggie </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1480-ces-2012-preshow-sony-wifi-bloggie-reveal.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:31:59 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1480-ces-2012-preshow-sony-wifi-bloggie-reveal.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1479-polkast-personal-cloud-at-lightening-speed.html <p><h3>Why upload and download to the cloud when you can create a personal cloud for data anywhere?</h3> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.polkast.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Polkast</a> is a new P2P approach to file access that you control. Your files are stored on systems that you control, and it doesn't matter where the files are stored. With Polkast, you get anytime access to all of your files from any of your computers or mobile devices. </p><p> </p><p>And, on your local network, files transfer at 10x the speed of a traditional upload/download from an external cloud service. And Polkast indexes and enables you to search for files from your mobile device- then pull just the one you need. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1479-polkast-personal-cloud-at-lightening-speed.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:19:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1479-polkast-personal-cloud-at-lightening-speed.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1478-sococo-virtual-workspace-and-communications.html <p><h3>Social Communications and Workspace for Remote Teams</h3> </p><p>More and more organizations, particularly start-up companies are dispersed across a wide geography. Virtual organizations, with skilled team members around the world, are the heart of innovation in many areas. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sococo.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Sococo</a> provides an integrated tool set around the metaphor of a map of a virtual office - cubicles, offices, common areas, meeting rooms - and then introduces an avatar based mode of interaction between team members and the outside world. </p><p> </p><p>Sococo's main advantage is integration of such tools as online meetings, shared documents, VoIP telephony, presence indication and privacy - instead of a cobbled together mix of online tools, email, IM, VoIP, and desktop sharing. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1478-sococo-virtual-workspace-and-communications.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:09:16 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1478-sococo-virtual-workspace-and-communications.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1477-logitech-logitech-cube-presenter-mouse.html <p><h3>Innovation Award Winner: CES2012</h3> </p><p>A tiny grab and go mouse, that is also a presenter! At a $69.99 price point, it needs to be in the bag of every road warrior. It is a basic wireless mouse, but when you lift it from the desktop, you have the ability to advance or reverse slides that are being displayed on your laptop or projector screen. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1477-logitech-logitech-cube-presenter-mouse.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:49:46 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1477-logitech-logitech-cube-presenter-mouse.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1476-contour-action-video-for-extreme-sports.html <p><h3>More Affordable Version of Contour Sports Camera</h3> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://contour.com/products/contour-roam" class="UpStreamLink">Contour</a> has long been known for high performance sports and adventure video - but they were concentrated at the premium end of the marketplace. Not any longer! <b>The new ContourROAM has an MSRP under $200!</b> And, they've paid attention to ease of use, introducing one-step recording. Just slide the record switch, and you're instantly filming. Easy as that. It's the ideal camera for a fun, stress-free experience capturing your adventures anywhere life takes you. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1476-contour-action-video-for-extreme-sports.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:41:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1476-contour-action-video-for-extreme-sports.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1475-other-world-computing-power2u-acusb-wall-outlet.html <p><h3>The only UL-Listed in-wall solution for powering and recharging USB devices</h3> </p><p>Is your home infested with Wall Warts - the wall transformer power supplies that seem to multiply like rabbits in any home that has a tilt towards technology? The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/accessories/power_adapters/USB/in_wall_outlets" class="UpStreamLink">OWC wall outlet</a> is a solution to that problem -most assuredly wife approved, removing cords and clutter from countertop, desk, or dresser. You don't have to unplug the light to charge yourApple iPad ,iPhone, Android tablets and phones, tablet computers, cellphones, gaming systems (Nintendo, Sony PSP, etc.), Bluetooth headsets, digital cameras, or GPS devices which charge via standard USB plug. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1475-other-world-computing-power2u-acusb-wall-outlet.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:37:33 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1475-other-world-computing-power2u-acusb-wall-outlet.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1474-penclic-its-time-for-a-new-mouse.html <p><h3>It's Time to Leave the '80s Behind</h3> </p><p>This innovative Swedish design mimics a fountain pen,creating a natural working position, eliminating unnecessary "mousing around" in endless clicking. The mouse looks, feels and moves like a pen., with natural position of the forearm on the work surface. </p><p> </p><p>Penclic Mouse has 5-buttons and scroll wheel. The left click, right click and middle click are on the pen shaft's right side. On the pen shaft's left side the backward click and forward click for surfing are positioned. It is offered in wired and wireless (Bluetooth) versions. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1474-penclic-its-time-for-a-new-mouse.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:32:33 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1474-penclic-its-time-for-a-new-mouse.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1473-shodogg-fetch-toss-share-video.html <p><h3>Stream Your Favorite Videos from Smartphone to Computer</h3> </p><p>It's kind of like Apple's Airplay, but with multiplatform support for Android, game consoles, internet connected TV's, laptops, desktops and mobile devices. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://shodogg.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Shodogg</a> is a video delivery platform that allows any smartphone the ability to send any streaming media content to any screen whether it's a desktop, a tablet or an Internet enabled television. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Andy McCaskey of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1473-shodogg-fetch-toss-share-video.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:21:17 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1473-shodogg-fetch-toss-share-video.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1472-ionroad-android-copilot-app-monitors-traffic.html <p><h3>A Smart Phone Equals a Smarter Driver</h3> </p><p>This app from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ionroad.com/" class="UpStreamLink">iOnRoad</a> turns your Smartphone into a Personal Driving Assistant. This app (Android now, iOS to come) mounts in the center of your windshield and uses the built in video camera to look at the road ahead. It then computes the closing speed to vehicles or objects ahead and sounds a warning if things are moving too fast. </p><p> </p><p>What does this mean? It means that there are another pair of "eyes" on the road immediately in front of you. Collision warning, lane departure warning, and when you leave the car, a handy feature that allows you to locate your car when you come back after a flight. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1472-ionroad-android-copilot-app-monitors-traffic.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:58:50 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1472-ionroad-android-copilot-app-monitors-traffic.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1471-lil-wiz-amp-up-your-sounds-with-a-solid-speaker-system.html <p><h3>360 Degree Sound</h3> </p><p>This little gadget, called the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.littlewiz.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Lil' Wiz</a> lets you bring along big sound - turning almost any solid surface into an amazing sound system. You connect it to your sound source (computer, smartphone, music player or tablet), and then attach with the build in suction cup. Some of the models connect to your device via BlueTooth, and there are also options that include a reader of a micro-SD card- where you can put your playlist on the card and have no connection required. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1471-lil-wiz-amp-up-your-sounds-with-a-solid-speaker-system.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:53:22 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1471-lil-wiz-amp-up-your-sounds-with-a-solid-speaker-system.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1470-zipbuds-tangle-resistant-earbuds-with-style.html <p><h3>Easy Zip-To-Store Design</h3> </p><p>If you enjoy a daily fight with your smartphone or music player earbuds, skip this article. If you are like the rest of us, you will think <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.zipbuds.com/" class="UpStreamLink">ZipBuds</a> are pretty cool. Available in Black, Blue, and Pink - you can pick your color and be active in style. And without the rats nest of earbud wires. </p><p> </p><p>Interview by Courtney Wallin of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sdrnews.com/" class="UpStreamLink">SDRNews</a> for the TechPodcast Network. </p><p> </p><p>Sponsored by </p><p>GoDaddy.com get <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">25%</a> off 1 year 4GH Web Hosting use <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?isc=ces2" class="UpStreamLink">Promo Code CES2</a> </p><p>GoToMyPC access your computer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://bit.ly/zy8MDc" class="UpStreamLink">Free for 30 Days</a>! </p><p>Callisto.fm Real Time Media Analytics <a target="NewWindow" href="http://callisto.fm/beta" class="UpStreamLink">Beta Signup</a> </p><p> </p><p>Follow us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/techpodcasts" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter: Techpodcasts</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-podcasts-network-show/id407669311" class="UpStreamLink">TPN CES on iTunes</a> - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/feed/" class="UpStreamLink">TPN.TV RSS</a> </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1470-zipbuds-tangle-resistant-earbuds-with-style.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:20:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1470-zipbuds-tangle-resistant-earbuds-with-style.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1466-microsoft-ces-2012-keynote-liveblog.html <p>Join us at 6:30pm eastern for a liveblog from Microsoft's last CES keynote. Hit the break for the show! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1466-microsoft-ces-2012-keynote-liveblog.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:13:13 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1466-microsoft-ces-2012-keynote-liveblog.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1465-ces-2012-tenative-schedule.html <p>Greetings all. While most people have overdosed on technology over the holiday 2011 season, you haven't, and our insatiable thirst for keeping you plugged won't allow us to either. January 2012 means another <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/10-consumer-electronics-show-ces-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">CES</a> and this year we are coming in stronger than ever with plans to double our coverage from last year's show thanks to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/13-allante-sparks.html" class="UpStreamLink">Allante Sparks</a>, the newest member of our CES 2012 team. But wait, there's more. We are also combining our forces with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tpn.tv/" class="UpStreamLink">the Tech Podcast Network</a>, because we know that when it comes to this kind of thing, the concept of "too much" is irrelevant. </p><p> </p><p>Just like last year, we will be doing a live show almost evey night from various locations in Las Vegas such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.stratospherehotel.com/" class="UpStreamLink">The Stratosphere Hotel and Casio</a>. There will also be a wide variety of guests such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.laptopmag.com/l/geeks-geek.aspx" class="UpStreamLink">Avram Piltch, the online editorial director</a> for <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.laptopmag.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Laptop Magazine</a>, who you may know from The Piltch Point segment of Refreshing Technology. This will mark his first live, in-person appearance on the show! </p><p> </p><p>Here are the tenative times and dates for the live shows: </p><p> </p><p>Sunday, January 8th at 9PM ET/6PM PT </p><p>Monday, January 9th at 9PM ET/6PM PT </p><p>Tuesday, January 10th at 9PM ET/6PM PT </p><p>Wednesday, January 11th at 9PM ET/6PM PT </p><p>Thursday, January 12th at 9PM ET/6PM PT </p><p>Friday, January 13th at 9PM ET/6PM PT </p><p>Sunday, January 15th at 9PM ET/6PM PT </p><p> </p><p>Since we can't guarantee that anything in the schedule will happen as planned, be sure to find us on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/plughitzliveradio" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twitter.com/plughitzlive" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="https://plus.google.com/113641160471197434873/" class="UpStreamLink">Google+</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www,youtube.com/plughitzlive" class="UpStreamLink">YouTube</a> so you can stay plugged into the fast-paced world of CES 2012. Also, make sure to stay tuned into the TPN live stream for coverage right from the floor. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1465-ces-2012-tenative-schedule.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:09:08 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1465-ces-2012-tenative-schedule.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1463-sony-still-hopes-for-15-million-ps3-sales-this-year.html <p>Even after all of the destruction Sony has suffered this year, like their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1348-sony-prevents-lawsuits-now-and-in-the-future.html" class="UpStreamLink">PlayStation Network crashing</a>, including the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1376-hackers-come-at-sony-again-compromising-93000-accounts.html" class="UpStreamLink">second round of account comprises</a> and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1383-sonys-postvalentines-day-present-vita-due-out-february-22nd-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">delay of the Vita</a>, they are still ridiculously optimistic. Not only are they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1419-sony-playstation-home-is-cozier-when-you-watch-movies-with-friends.html" class="UpStreamLink">making improvements to the PlayStation Home</a>, they still feel confident in their PS3 sales. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Sony has said that despite it all and through everything, they are still right on track to push 15 million units across the globe for its fiscal year ending in March. Head of Sony Computer Entertainment Andrew House said that PS3 sales are actually ahead of what they've projected year-to-date. However, he was a little timid on commenting whether or not the Vita is going to meet initial estimates. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1463-sony-still-hopes-for-15-million-ps3-sales-this-year.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:20:56 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1463-sony-still-hopes-for-15-million-ps3-sales-this-year.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1462-bear-naps-in-nj-basement-woken-up-by-cable-guy.html <p>My home state always seems to have something weird and random in the news at least twice a year. Either that, or there's some new smell emanating from the state because we're downwind from New York. I'm talking about my Garden State, New Jersey. </p><p> </p><p>This week, something interesting came across my wire that certainly beats the pants off of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2007/10/flaming_squirrel_ignites_car_i.html" class="UpStreamLink">burning squirrel car story</a> we talked about a couple years ago. </p><p> </p><p>Courtesy of <i>The New York Post</i> and with special thanks to the great city of Hopatcong, NJ, I will simply quote The Post's article, which is also available in the source link below. I simply cannot do this story any better justice than the short, concise version provided by them. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">A cable TV repairman got quite a surprise when he walked into the basement of a New Jersey home. </p><p> </p><p>There was a 500-pound bear sound asleep on the floor. </p><p> </p><p>The bear had been spotted wandering in the neighborhood in Hopatcong earlier Wednesday. It's not clear how it got into the home. </p><p> </p><p>The bear ambled out of the house before state Fish and Game officials arrived. </p><p> </p><p>WNBC-TV in New York reports the officials fired a tranquilizer dart at the animal, which walked a few blocks to the Missouri Trail before it was knocked out. </p><p> </p><p>Officials plan to relocate the bear.</div> </p><p> </p><p>In a follow up, the bear has demanded that the next place it decides to crash at must have <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1459-cox-becomes-latest-cable-company-to-join-verizon-wireless.html" class="UpStreamLink">Verizon's potentially upgraded network</a>, or at least a nice fish spread. The bear has been reported to have not had high remarks on the large assortment of spray tan bottles, stating that they "taste like regret and shame." When asked why he decided to nap, he said that he was hiding his eyes from the possible burn they could suffer after hearing news that <i>Jersey Shore</i> would be returning to TV. </p><p> </p><p><i>Photo courtesy of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.westfield.ma.edu/personalpages/draker/edcom/final/webprojects/sp10/tripcoast/b2.html" class="UpStreamLink">Westfield, MA Educational System</a>.</i></p> Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:42:24 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1462-bear-naps-in-nj-basement-woken-up-by-cable-guy.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1461-are-too-many-gadgets-draining-our-batteries.html <p>Probably most people have asked themselves at certain times, when is enough, enough? We live in a world that is cannibalized by digital devices which brings along with them a world of connectivity to a torrent of streaming, real-time information. It could be like draining your battery from both poles. Consumers are bombarded by technology, that is essential for life in the civilized world, at an ever increasing pace. Also, consumers have to determine if they should invest their resources in upgrading technology on a continual basis. Does version x.xx of y device actually provide value that justifies upgrading from an existing device or does it merely offer a few more optimizations that produce marginal returns? Underwriters Laboratories conducted a study in search of an answer that culminated in a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://http//ul.com/global/eng/pages/corporate/aboutul/noteworthy/productmindset/download/" class="UpStreamLink">42 page report</a> so we'll just cover the results. </p><p> </p><p>The study revealed some findings that someone could infer from common sense as well as some that are less obvious and maybe a little surprising. Health and location of parts manufacturing were surprisingly notable. Over half, 55% of the 1200 consumers from 4 countries that participated in the study noted that where products are assembled isn't as concerning as where the parts are manufactured. This could have to do with both health and economic reasoning but consumers also seemed to be weary of an ever greater exposure to radio waves with the proliferation of WiFi devices. </p><p> </p><p>The analogy of draining our battery from both poles might be surprisingly true with regards to gadget fatigue, as the study concluded that the major problem is a combination of too much innovation and a lack of innovation all at once. "Speed to market" is something that is valued more here by consumers than in other countries and that doesn't change the fact that innovations in design, testing and manufacturing have significantly decreased product cycles. Also companies feel more pressure to compete, which can result in the annual churning out of products with a few tweaks or features that are represented as an entirely new innovative product, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1365-apple-iphone-4s-picking-up-where-2007-left-off.html" class="UpStreamLink">like what Apple does</a>. This refers back to the value proposition in the beginning: there has to be a balance between perceived value to the consumer and just being innovative with crap. As a tech savvy consumer yourself, do you ever feel drained keeping up with all your current and future potential devices?</p> Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:50:29 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1461-are-too-many-gadgets-draining-our-batteries.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1460-paypal-says-they-can-do-groupon-better.html <p>Paypal has decided to infiltrate the confined space of daily deals along with the likes of Groupon, Amazon, Living Social and thousands of other companies that barely register on the pie chart since an estimated 73% of the market is owned by Groupon and Living Social, according to Yipit. Living Social has managed to stay under the radar unlike Groupon who has been plastered with negative media about their business model, internal practices and lawsuits, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1394-groupon-looks-to-group-buy-its-way-out-of-termoil.html" class="UpStreamLink">not to mention a rather disappointing IPO</a>. Chances are that sometimes Groupon even questions the viability of daily deals but Paypal feels they can make a name in that space for two reasons: they already have 103 million users and they are more familiar with what their users like. </p><p> </p><p>More specifically, what Paypal wants to target are daily deals for the mobile space, not simply targeting deal placement on the geographical location of a city or zip code like Amazon. This is something that Groupon made a big deal about in their IPO roadshow: a targeted method to deliver deals based on current location. Users would be notified of a deal for a retailer when simply walking by their location. Groupon also made a big deal about being able to target deals based on consumers' personality and preferences. The live example they gave during their IPO presentation was notifying an adrenaline junkie of a deal for half-off a couple laps around a NASCAR track. Still, Paypal feels they know their customers better. According to President Scott Thompson, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The experience is going to be completely different than anyone else's, through and through. We'll only give you something that we think fits the category of unique and relevant. Everyone else is going to bombard you.</div> </p><p> </p><p>There are some other reasons why Paypal may want to enter this arena besides their "we know our customers better" reasoning. Find out more after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1460-paypal-says-they-can-do-groupon-better.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:06:44 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1460-paypal-says-they-can-do-groupon-better.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1459-cox-becomes-latest-cable-company-to-join-verizon-wireless.html <p>A few weeks ago, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1435-clearwire-loses-3-resellers.html" class="UpStreamLink">Verizon made some agreements</a> with cable providers to enhance their wireless network. Bright House, Comcast and Time Warner all had spectrum won in the post-analog television auctions, yet none of the companies had planned to build their own wireless networks. Together they licensed their spectrum to Verizon in exchange for reseller and branding agreements. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Cox Communications, not wanting to be left out, has joined the group in giving control of their owned spectrum to Verizon. The deal with Cox will allow Verizon to sell Cox service in their retail stores, and vice versa. This is an important move for Verizon, because they have decided to stop building out their own FiOS service. </p><p> </p><p>What does this partnership mean for Verizon and Cox customers? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1459-cox-becomes-latest-cable-company-to-join-verizon-wireless.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:40:39 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1459-cox-becomes-latest-cable-company-to-join-verizon-wireless.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1458-google-wallets-major-security-flaw.html <p>Google has recently launched their new Google Wallet platform - a way for people to pay for at retail stores simply by waving their phone at a device in the store. You can pay using a MasterCard, Google PrePaid card or store gift card, as well as using rewards cards. Obviously this technology requires special devices at stores as well as a phone with Near Field Communication (NFC) included. </p><p> </p><p>Security research firm ViaForensics released their review of the new Google Wallet platform for Android this week and the news, while not unexpected, is disturbing. It turns out that the software stores several pieces of user data in plain text on the phone. While credit card numbers and actual transactions are encrypted, data such as cardholder name and transaction history are not, allowing for the possibility of social engineering attacks. </p><p> </p><p>Social engineering, for those who do not know, is defined by Wikipedia as, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Social engineering is commonly understood to mean the art of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. While it is similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery or deception for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or computer system access; in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victims.</div> </p><p> </p><p>In other words, by having the right information, a person could gain access to your credit card account, and all of that information is stored on your phone. Hit the break to find out what information is stored on the device and why it is such a big deal. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1458-google-wallets-major-security-flaw.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:35:09 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1458-google-wallets-major-security-flaw.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1457-next-generation-vending-machines-are-one-step-closer-to-feeling-pain-when-you-kick-them.html <p>Vending machines are a technology that Japanese people have adopted like no other. We've seen vending machines that sell panties, crazy anime and novelty items as well as the traditional convenience store quality food and beverages that everyone in the U.S. has become accustomed to. We've also seen people from Japan dressed up as vending machines so it comes as no surprise that the next generation vending machine concept could be exporting from none other than Japan. </p><p> </p><p>The trifecta of companies working to usher in a new era of the unparalleled vending machine experiences is Intel, Okaya Electronics and Sanden who is a big vending machine manufacturer in Japan. All things considered there is a lot of technology built into the next generation vending machine concept. For example, I haven't run into a vending machine here in the U.S. that has a 65" transparent, 1080p, touch-screen display... in fact I haven't ever run into a TV or monitor that matches that criteria. The screen allows the customer to see products behind the user interface they will need to interact with. It will also be able to help identify your preferences based on anonymous recognition of your gender but it won't know anything about the individual. If there is no customer present, the machine can sense this and displays advertisements or a digital clock until approached. A representative for the concept vending machine put it this way, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">This vending machine uses the Intel SandyBridge Core. It features Audience Impression Metric, or AIM, and can do anonymous face recognition. So this machine can recognize whether customers are male or female, or old or young.</div> </p><p> </p><p>The real question is will this concept change the way we experience vending machines? Find out more after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1457-next-generation-vending-machines-are-one-step-closer-to-feeling-pain-when-you-kick-them.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:28:27 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1457-next-generation-vending-machines-are-one-step-closer-to-feeling-pain-when-you-kick-them.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1456-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-fastest-selling-cod-game.html <p>Here's some interesting news out of Activision this week. <i>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3</i> sold $1 billion in its first 16 days. That is one day LESS than it took <i>Avatar</i> to accomplish the same goal. In comparison to other games in the franchise, <i>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2</i> and <i>Call of Duty: Black Ops</i> each took 2 full months to reach this milestone. </p><p> </p><p>Obviously, Activision is pretty freaking excited about this. It proves to them that CoD has not yet become <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1033-guitars-are-no-longer-the-hero-activision-needs.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Guitar Hero</i></a>. Activision released a statement saying, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Call of Duty is now amongst that rarified group of sustained franchises like 'Star Wars,' 'Harry Potter,' 'Lord of the Rings' and the National Football League that attract or engage tens of millions of people every year or every new release.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Those are some pretty lofty claims and, as much as we all kind of expected a down-slide on the <i>Modern Warfare</i> series after the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/617-respawn-grows-again.html" class="UpStreamLink">Infinity Ward disaster</a>, well deserved for its sales. Any game that is able to outsell <i>Avatar</i> in dollars certainly does deserve to be considered a sustained franchise. Now, if Activision can keep the franchise from becoming <i>Guitar Hero</i> they will be in good shape. </p><p> </p><p>This isn't the only thing Activision is proud of right now. Hit the break to find out what else is going on and to read the full press release. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1456-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-fastest-selling-cod-game.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:17:37 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1456-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-fastest-selling-cod-game.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1455-internet-explorer-to-deprecate-itself.html <p>Microsoft has been on a worldwide campaign to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1067-microsoft-tired-of-internet-explorer-6-longevity.html" class="UpStreamLink">phase out Internet Explorer 6</a> because of its incredible age; it was released a decade ago. The Internet has changed a lot in the last decade, and the accidental longevity of IE6 has meant that web developers have had to contend with the limitations of the old browser. Because of this, Microsoft has been advertising and encouraging the upgrade to the most modern browser for your platform: IE8 for Windows XP or IE9 for Vista and better. Unfortunately, where there has been some progress made, it hasn't been great. In fact, as of writing, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ie6countdown.com/" class="UpStreamLink">8.3% of the world still uses IE6</a>. That is a frightening number. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft has finally decided to go a little militant on IE6 (and IE7) by adding Internet Explorer updates to the critical list on Windows Update. They have also retired the need for IE upgrades to be interacted with (such as hitting next 10 times before IE8 will install on XP). Over the next few months, any computer running Windows Update will automatically be upgraded to the most modern version of the browser for their computer. </p><p> </p><p>This leaves Apple's Safari as the only major browser to not automatically update itself in the background without any input from the user. This is a feature that all IT and software professionals have been wanting for ages now. Supporting antique browsers means tremendous amounts of work for both sides of the computer industry. IT has to worry about a decade worth of security flaws and holes that have remained open because users will not upgrade. Web developers have to go through major tricks to make older browsers still run more modern websites. Some sites, such as Google and WordPress, have dropped support for the old browsers entirely already, informing their customers that if they want to use the software, they need to upgrade. </p><p> </p><p>Of course, if you like running on the cutting edge of 20th Century technology, you do have the ability to opt-out of the upgrade, but we suspect very few people will do this. If you are still running IE6, it is probably because you don't know how to interact with a dialog box, so going into Windows Update scheduled settings and turning off automatic updates is probably not going to happen.</p> Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:43:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1455-internet-explorer-to-deprecate-itself.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1454-microsoft-gets-socl-with-new-social-learning-site.html <p>Back in July, Microsoft made a mistake and gave us an accidental look on their secret project, Socl.com, codenamed Tulalip. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1257-microsofts-probably-brilliant-accident.html" class="UpStreamLink">Their probably brilliant mistake</a> has turned into a full project as this week the company announced the launch of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.so.cl" class="UpStreamLink">So.cl</a> (socl.com redirects you to so.cl), which is a hybrid of social media meets project sharing meets learning network. The difference between this and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/767-wave-goodbye-to-google-wave.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google Wave</a> is that Microsoft has an idea of what they want to do and we're they're going with this new site. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1454-microsoft-gets-socl-with-new-social-learning-site.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:48:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1454-microsoft-gets-socl-with-new-social-learning-site.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1453-xbox-live-gets-select-media-partners-signed-on-shortly-after-dashboard-update.html <p>If you haven't heard by now, Xbox LIVE's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1446-xbox- lives-enhancements-and-downgrades.html" class="UpStreamLink">new dashboard update </a> was released last week. On the grand scale, the update was an overall pleasant one, however the lack of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1363-xbox- live-announces-its-video-lineup.html" class="UpStreamLink">new media partners</a> at rollout of the update left a bitter taste in the mouths of the masses. To be fair, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://majornelson.com/2011/10/05/xbox-360-teams-up-with-entertainment-leaders-to-transform-tv/" class="UpStreamLink">Major Nelson did report</a> that we'd see the video and live TV content during the holiday season and not specifically with the dashboard update, but it would've made more sense for Microsoft to release it all at the same time. </p><p> </p><p>At any rate, just a handful of days after the dashboard was refreshed, we now have more media partners signing on to LIVE. While we're still waiting on a couple, there's some nice additions waiting for your downloading pleasure. We dive into the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1453-xbox-live-gets-select-media-partners-signed-on-shortly-after-dashboard-update.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:53:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1453-xbox-live-gets-select-media-partners-signed-on-shortly-after-dashboard-update.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1452-clearwire-gets-some-help-from-sprint-for-future-and-existing-4g-networks.html <p>The past few weeks have been a little uncertain for Clearwire. From their possible <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1428-clearwire-might-skip-on-upcoming-debt-payment.html" class="UpStreamLink">skip on a huge debt</a> to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1435-clearwire-loses-3-resellers.html" class="UpStreamLink"> losing 3 resellers</a>, the industry was worried that it would lose a big player in the wireless game. Never fear, though, because Sprint is here to save the day. The company announced this week that there may be up to $1.6 billion in payments to Clearwire for their WiMax and future LTE services. </p><p> </p><p>These modified agreements were made in what seems to be Clear's last hour of life, but was also put together to meet Sprint's growing 4G needs, as it gives Sprint unlimited access to the network. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1452-clearwire-gets-some-help-from-sprint-for-future-and-existing-4g-networks.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:07:59 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1452-clearwire-gets-some-help-from-sprint-for-future-and-existing-4g-networks.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1451-onlive-goes-mobile-with-full-versions-of-games.html <p>It's been a while since OnLive has made headlines. We go back about a year ago, when we last spoke of OnLive and that they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/928-onlive-presents-microconsole-computer-for-your-gaming-enjoyment.html" class="UpStreamLink">launched a microconsole</a> for your <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/953-onlive-playpack-offers-monthly-subscription-for-unlimited-gaming.html" class="UpStreamLink">gaming enjoyment</a>. This week, OnLive has recognized the trend that people play games on smartphones and tablets. However, OnLive hasn't drank all of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1357-gamestop-to-sell-a-certified-gaming-tablet.html" class="UpStreamLink">GameStop Kool-Aid</a>, and won't limit the way or what games you play on the mobile platform. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1451-onlive-goes-mobile-with-full-versions-of-games.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:59:02 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1451-onlive-goes-mobile-with-full-versions-of-games.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1450-apple-fires-employee-for-facebook-rant-internal-policy-revealed.html <p>What happens when you work for the big Fruit company and you <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/mobiledia/2011/12/05/apple-fires-employee-over-facebook-rants/" class="UpStreamLink">go rant on Facebook about your iPhone, apps and other things Apple</a>? You get fired, of course. That's what happened to employee Samuel Crisp, one of Apple's beloved and adorned Geniuses. It turns out, even though his profile was set to private, one of his friends turned in his comments to Apple management. Apple termed the guy, stating that his comments violated the company's social media policy. </p><p> </p><p>We've talked about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1129-status-suspended-facebook-post-gets-teacher-in-trouble.html" class="UpStreamLink">firings over Facebook</a> in the past. However, those were a little bit different. This employee's profile was private, as were the comments. Just because one of his friends/co-workers could only think the things Sam was man enough to post and decided to rat him out doesn't mean he should be canned. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Samuel lost his appeal of the wrongful termination, so obviously the next thing that would happen would be that Apple's internal, private social media policy mysteriously was leaked online, and we have it after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1450-apple-fires-employee-for-facebook-rant-internal-policy-revealed.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:18:32 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1450-apple-fires-employee-for-facebook-rant-internal-policy-revealed.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1449-nintendo-3ds-sees-shallow-sales-in-us-and-europe.html <p>Until the defining question of "Will you Wii U," is answered after Nintendo's latest console, that was <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1207-e3-2011-nintendo-asks-will-you-wii-u.html" class="UpStreamLink">debuted this year at E3</a>, hits store shelves it will be up to the 3DS and remnant Wii console sales to keep all the yen Nintendo is burning up in losses from creating a financial black hole from which even Mario can't escape. </p><p> </p><p>You may remember back in August, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1282-nintendo-slashes-price-on-3ds-after-an-82-cut-in-sales-forecast.html" class="UpStreamLink">the 3DS price was slashed from $249.99 to $169.99</a> after Nintendo revisited their 2010 sales forecast and re-evaluated at a 82% decrease which put Nintendo at $257 million for this year. Even for a company like them, a number that low needs no translation as to what it could mean if the 3DS sales don't start spin-dashing in the opposite direction. The good news there is that Satoru Iwata expects to make it rain 3DS's in Japan with 4 million units sold by March 2012 and he recently said that the device had regained it's momentum in an interview with the Nikkei Business Daily. The bad news is that everywhere else in the world that matters, sales were about the same as those for a mediocre Mario game. </p><p> </p><p>This month Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo America, told Reuters that maintaining the momentum captured by the 3DS from Black Friday sales in the US was his main focus. From March through September, US sales had only made up 34% of all 3DS sales worldwide, just behind Europe at 37%. The major reason attributed to this is the slouching economy is both the US and Europe, but the Xbox 360 had record sales of 960,000 units for the week of Black Friday so that may not be entirely true. Lucky for them, Sony won't be getting their new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1383-sonys-postvalentines-day-present-vita-due-out-february-22nd-2012.html" class="UpStreamLink">PS Vita handheld</a> on store shelves until February 22nd, 2012 but if things aren't really happening for the 3DS by then, the only hope Nintendo has of seeing gold coin showers again is if they manage to find some star power.</p> Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:37:47 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1449-nintendo-3ds-sees-shallow-sales-in-us-and-europe.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1448-powershrink-technology-cuts-cpu-power-consumption-by-50.html <p>The PowerShrink technology from SuVolta comes as a breath of fresh air in a world that has been enamored by new mobile operating systems and applications while improvements in core technology seem to have been slowing down. PowerShrink looks to get the momentum rolling again by improving core technology that is specifically related to special transistors that perform voltage scaling for the CPU in a unique way and reducing leakage, which is a problem when chips can have over 1 billion transistors. </p><p> </p><p>The main focus for PowerShrink is 65nm technologies (1nm is one billionth of a meter) where independent testing by Fujitsu Semiconductor verified their claims of decreasing power consumption by 50% without impacting performance and reducing power lost from leakage by 5 times more than current leakage reduction technology. That's quite a thing since everyone stands to gain from improvements in hardware efficiency. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1448-powershrink-technology-cuts-cpu-power-consumption-by-50.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:03:00 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1448-powershrink-technology-cuts-cpu-power-consumption-by-50.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1447-attmobile-one-step-closer-to-failing.html <p>This week, the plot has thickened on the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger</a>. So far, the Department of Justice has <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1323-department-of-justice-blocks-attmobile-merger.html" class="UpStreamLink">filed suit to block the merger</a>, and the FCC said they would vote to prevent it after receiving <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1306-atts-real-reasons-for-wanting-tmobile.html" class="UpStreamLink">a document revealing their reasoning</a> for the merger. AT&T's response to the FCC was to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1424-attmobile-might-be-a-nogo.html" class="UpStreamLink">pull the FCC application</a>, citing a focus on the DoJ case. This has not worked out as expected. </p><p> </p><p>Because of the withdrawal, the DoJ has said they will file to postpone proceedings. Their reasoning? A lack of an application to the FCC. Since both agencies have to sign off on the merger, they feel there is no need to rush the proceedings if AT&T is currently not seeking approval from the FCC. The comments came about during hearings to determine whether or not U.S. District Court Judge Ellen S. Huvelle will reconsider a speedy trial. Both AT&T and T-Mobile USA have said that a speedy trial is essential or the merger will certainly fail. </p><p> </p><p>Legal teams from both companies have said that the FCC request was pulled to allow them to focus on a single application, while the DoJ says that removing their application to the FCC shows a lack of faith that the merger is viable. AT&T needs the speedy trial because there is a $4 billion timer ticking down to September of 2012, while T-Mobile needs a speedy trial because, at present, they are losing investor, customer and partner confidence. </p><p> </p><p>If the trial is delayed, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile USA's parent company, will be forced to consider canceling the merger, which means losing out on that $4 billion cancellation penalty against AT&T. In a time of financial difficulty, that could really hurt them, but it is possible that another 7 months of waiting for an answer could hurt them more.</p> Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:53:25 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1447-attmobile-one-step-closer-to-failing.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1446-xbox-lives-enhancements-and-downgrades.html <p>This has been a big week for Microsoft and its Xbox LIVE platform. We saw the launch of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1414-xbox-greets-you-for-the-holidays-with-live-updates.html" class="UpStreamLink">dashboard update</a> promised at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1192-e3-2011-the-xbox-360-really-does-equal-entertainment.html" class="UpStreamLink">E3 2011</a>, plus the beginning of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1363-xbox-live-announces-its-video-lineup.html" class="UpStreamLink">media enhancements</a> we have been waiting for. We got a surprise iOS app, called <a target="NewWindow" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-xbox-live/id480914036" class="UpStreamLink">My Xbox LIVE</a>, plus a Sony-esque User License alteration. </p><p> </p><p>Let's start with the bad - in a similar move to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1348-sony-prevents-lawsuits-now-and-in-the-future.html" class="UpStreamLink">the PlayStation Network, post hacking</a>, Microsoft has added a new clause to their Terms of Service, preventing lawsuits against the company based on events involving Xbox or Xbox LIVE. Obviously, this is a reaction to the Sony breach earlier this year, however, they have taken a different tact. Sony allowed for an opt-out on the new clause, while Microsoft has not. While this lack of an opt-out has created a lot of discontentment in the Xbox community, it is important to note that, to date, the Xbox community has never risen against Microsoft, even while dealing with the RRoD problem in the early days of the 360. </p><p> </p><p>To get the details on the iOS app and the dashboard and media enhancements, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1446-xbox-lives-enhancements-and-downgrades.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:52:59 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1446-xbox-lives-enhancements-and-downgrades.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1445-freecast-wants-to-give-you-a-whole-new-world-of-free-content.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://freecast.com/" class="UpStreamLink">FreeCast</a> is an online content provider and aggregate that takes an interactive approach to making all the free TV, radio, movie, YouTube and cable content out in the world available in one place, at no cost to the user. They have thousands of channels for Internet-based TV content from some big networks like USA, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC, AMC and more. They can also stream multi-player games and radio stations to your computer, TV (with WiFi) tablet and smartphone users thanks to their Android and iOS apps. Their own FreeCast Network focuses on production of original content through user-created channels that can be about practically anything, adding some unique content on top of the 1.5 million new videos they integrate into their service everyday. </p><p> </p><p>All of this has been integrated in an effort to achieve the lofty goal of becoming the largest open collection of media channel links on the Internet. IMDB made a similar claim a long time ago but FreeCast seems to be moving forward quickly with their free and unlimited approach. </p><p> </p><p>Since FreeCast does not charge its users and only focuses on the integration of free content, they have been able to put together some interesting partnerships with paid subscription-based services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Samsung and more. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;"><ul><li>Free My Jukebox Software – Create Your Own Home Jukebox of 1000′s Songs! (Value $99.00)</li><li>Free 1 Month Trial Amazon Prime Unlimited Streaming and Home Delivery New Release Movies</li><li>Free 1 Month Trial Netflix Unlimited Streaming of New Release Movies</li><li>Free Online Games Membership – Unlimited FREE Play Games</li><li>Free Adult Movies Membership and Starter VOD Minutes. (Must Be 18+ Years of Age)</li><li>Free Daily Promotion Play for Chance to Win Top of the Line Samsung High Definition Home Entertainment & Personal Electronic Makeover or $50,000.00 Cash!</li></ul></div> </p><p> </p><p>FreeCast also has something in mind for Facebook users, find out what after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1445-freecast-wants-to-give-you-a-whole-new-world-of-free-content.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:05:58 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1445-freecast-wants-to-give-you-a-whole-new-world-of-free-content.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1444-hp-sends-webos-to-the-web.html <p>HP's most recent CEO Meg Whitman kept her promise when saying <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1432-hps-whitman-will-decide-weboss-future-within-2-weeks.html" class="UpStreamLink">we would know webOS's fate within 2 weeks</a>. In fact, there was only a week between this promise and the official decision, handed down yesterday. HP has decided to open source webOS. According to Whitman, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable. By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.</div> </p><p> </p><p>In addition to webOS itself, ENYO, the development platform for webOS will also be headed to the community in the coming weeks, as well as the remaining components. </p><p> </p><p>This could either save or destroy the platform. Hit the break for my take on the future, the reasons for the decision and a letter from Whitman to employees. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1444-hp-sends-webos-to-the-web.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:14:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1444-hp-sends-webos-to-the-web.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1443-rims-most-recent-marketing-blunder.html <p>Early last year, Research in Motion purchased <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/577-new-rim-for-your-ride-in-the-near-future.html" class="UpStreamLink">QNX</a>, a developer of operating systems. RIM started the seemingly long and complex transition of their products from the aging BlackBerry OS to the new QNX-powered operating system. The first device to run on this platform was the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/989-ces-2011-blackberry-makes-a-power-play-with-playbook.html" class="UpStreamLink">BlackBerry PlayBook</a>, announced at this year's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/ces2011.php" class="UpStreamLink">Consumer Electronics Show</a>. Ever since the launch of the device, running the most innovative BlackBerry OS since the original, everyone wanted to know when the new OS would hit phones. </p><p> </p><p>Well, that day is around the corner, but it isn't going quite the way they expected it to go. Like RIM's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/997-blackberry-is-looking-for-some-special-jobs.html" class="UpStreamLink">hiring portal mistake</a>, no one thought to do research on the new product's name - originally dubbed BBX. Well, as it runs out, BBX is a name that is already trademarked, and it didn't take long for the trademark holder, Basis International, to notice and file suit. Basis sued in October and an initial ruling was handed down this week. </p><p> </p><p>To find out the ruling and where RIM goes from here, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1443-rims-most-recent-marketing-blunder.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Dec 2011 14:42:14 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1443-rims-most-recent-marketing-blunder.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1442-super-mario-3d-land-review.html <p>Mario has been jumping on our television screens and killing evil woodland creatures for over 25 years now. You would think we would get tired of the same formula of: beautiful princess running a peaceful kingdom of mushroom people in diapers, an evil dragon... turtle... thing decides to kidnap the princess just because he wants to, princess calls out to the four foot tall neighborhood plumber to come to her rescue, he defeats the evil fire-breathing bastard and saves the princess all for one single kiss. Well, apparently, we are not tired of this formula, because Nintendo seems to find a way to make each and every experience fresh and sometimes revolutionary. </p><p> </p><p>Nintendo's newest installment to the Super Mario franchise has arrived. <i>Super Mario 3D Land</i> jumps, flutters and fireballs its way into our 3DS consoles and our hearts with stunning graphics, familiar nostalgic gameplay and powers, and level designs that will keep you questioning how good you really are at gaming. </p><p> </p><p>For more of my thoughts on the game, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1442-super-mario-3d-land-review.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:27:09 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1442-super-mario-3d-land-review.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1441-console-game-developers-say-press-subscribe-to-continue.html <p>Any hardcore gamer can guess what this is about. Subscription-based gaming is the norm for most social games that aren't free to play and companies like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1378-zynga-thinks-it-would-do-better-with-facebook-as-just-friends.html" class="UpStreamLink">Zynga</a> have not only enjoyed a more stable and predictable cash flow but they've been chipping away at the console gaming market at a steady pace. For the past few years console game developers have been trying to avoid getting pwned by bad economic conditions and the threat of shrinking market share, so naturally they have been gravitating toward the same subscription-based model in an effort to have more security for their revenue streams than <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1376-hackers-come-at-sony-again-compromising-93000-accounts.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sony had for the PSN back in October</a>. According to THQ's CEO Brian Farrell, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The big win there is you have a consumer base that pays you the subscription fee each month ongoing. That's a very different revenue model for a video game company, when you have this monthly subscription revenue rather than a one-time purchase.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Read on to find out why subscription-based gaming is gaining more momentum after the recent Reuters Global Media Summit. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1441-console-game-developers-say-press-subscribe-to-continue.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Dec 2011 16:25:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1441-console-game-developers-say-press-subscribe-to-continue.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1440-spotify-welcomes-developers-with-apps-and-an-open-platform.html <p>Just a few short months after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1259-spotify-here-at-last.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify launched in the US</a>, it was already running into a couple of hiccups, outside of getting enough subscribers to the service. Independent and smaller music label talent were both pulling their songs out of the service, claiming that the artists were not making enough off of each song play. To respond, Spotify has tried to make amends with the affected artists. </p><p> </p><p>Outside of that realm, however, the new streaming company has tried to make a name by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1336-spotify-drops-in-on-ford-syncs-up-some-mad-beats.html" class="UpStreamLink">teaming up with other companies</a> to show off cool demos and even <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1408-spotify-spotted-on-windows-phone-7.html" class="UpStreamLink">appearing on our beloved WinPho 7</a>. </p><p> </p><p>So what's next for Spotify? This week, the company announced that it will start to open its music-laden arms to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=pPPa6vu276Q&offerid=166833.10000511&subid=0&type=4" class="UpStreamLink">developers</a>, asking them to create apps and other things to distance Spotify from the pack of other new music streaming companies out there, like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1417-google-music-service-is-not-music-to-amazon-and-apples-ears.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google Music</a>. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1440-spotify-welcomes-developers-with-apps-and-an-open-platform.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Dec 2011 13:44:09 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1440-spotify-welcomes-developers-with-apps-and-an-open-platform.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1439-nintendo-uses-its-strong-black-friday-to-push-through-to-the-new-year.html <p>A <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1282-nintendo-slashes-price-on-3ds-after-an-82-cut-in-sales-forecast.html" class="UpStreamLink">failed product launch</a> quickly followed by a price drop of that same product are two reasons a company has to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1303-nintendo-says-sorry-for-the-early-price-drop-on-the-3ds.html" class="UpStreamLink">apologize</a> for a potential upcoming disaster. Ask Sony for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="UpStreamLink">other reasons</a> a company could fail. For Nintendo, however, things weren't looking so good after the 3DS fiasco. Many analysts of the gaming industry were predicting the tragic end of an iconic company if the holiday season wasn't a success for them. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Nintendo responded to the call. We have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1439-nintendo-uses-its-strong-black-friday-to-push-through-to-the-new-year.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Dec 2011 13:20:33 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1439-nintendo-uses-its-strong-black-friday-to-push-through-to-the-new-year.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1438-toyota-and-yamaha-bring-the-future-into-the-past-with-ebike-collaboration.html <p>Looking forward into the future, Toyota and Yamaha understand that urban areas will become much more densely populated over the next decade and that population requires reliable and economical transportation capabilities. There are only so many cars that can fit on the road and the forward looking approach Toyota and Yamaha have taken is to focus on small electric vehicles such as bikes and scooters that could play a big role in personal transportation in the future. </p><p> </p><p>The EC-Miu three-wheeler, called the "electric commuter" and PAS-WITH e-bike concepts appeared at the Tokyo Motor show this year and one of the obvious benefits is the "cool" factor built into its futuristic design. It also runs on electricity, which is a plus for those who would like hold their noses up at Prius owners every time they drive by. The best part of this conceptual technology is actually under the hood, so to speak. The collaborative relationship that Toyota and Yamaha are leveraging involves Toyota's Smart Grid technology which was developed through a partnership with Microsoft. </p><p> </p><p>Read on after the break to find out what makes it so cool and to see a video of the technology in action. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1438-toyota-and-yamaha-bring-the-future-into-the-past-with-ebike-collaboration.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:44:15 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1438-toyota-and-yamaha-bring-the-future-into-the-past-with-ebike-collaboration.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1437-foot-path-steps-in-it.html <p>Well, it turns out not everyone was so jazzed about the new technology from Path Intelligence, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1423-tracking-customer-behavior-in-the-real-world.html" class="UpStreamLink">Foot Path</a>, that allows retailers to anonymously track a cell phone's journey through a retail environment. To recap last week's report, The malls, owned and operated by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.forestcity.net" class="UpStreamLink">Forest City</a>, Promenade Temecula in Temecula, California and Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, Virginia, were trying out the new technology to survey shoppers behaviors in a way more accurate and anonymous than the old "give us your email and we'll send you a coupon" method. </p><p> </p><p>As expected, people have taken offense to the concept of being tracked and after concerns were raised by US Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Forest City has decided to halt their testing of the equipment, at least temporarily. Schumer said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">A shopper's personal cell phone should not be used by a third party as a tracking device by retailers who are seeking to determine holiday shopping patterns. Personal cell phones are just that—personal. If retailers want to tap into your phone to see what your shopping patterns are, they can ask you for your permission to do so.</div> </p><p> </p><p>To find out exactly what caused all of this and how the parties involved have responded, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1437-foot-path-steps-in-it.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:27:57 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1437-foot-path-steps-in-it.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1436-cisco-cius-tablet-is-slated-for-larger-models-next-year.html <p>With all the news about new tablets constantly bombarding us, it's no surprise that Cisco's own tablet, the Cius, would get lost in the clutter of white noise and dessert treats that are iOS and Android devices. The Cius is also running with Android but Cisco's unique experience is largely ingrained on a deeper level that breeds some interesting and exciting usability in what I would designate a hardcore enterprise tablet. RIM and HP should take note. </p><p> </p><p>Cisco's goal with the Cius is to "Redefine the way you work," by allowing employees to stay connected, reduce costs and increase productivity. Staying connected involves ubiquitous connectivity over Ethernet (With Cius docking station), 802.11 WiFi, 3G/4G and Bluetooth. Increasing productivity, refers to their <a target="NewWindow" href="https://marketplace.cisco.com/apphq" class="UpStreamLink">AppHQ</a> store which is a Cisco suite of apps that are tested to be sound and are secured from end to end. Cisco collaborative applications like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cisco.com/web/products/quad/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Quad</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cisco.com/web/products/voice/jabber.html" class="UpStreamLink">Jabber</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10409/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">WebEx Meeting Center</a> offer one touch functionality because they are not bolt-ons to the Android system, they are ingrained much more deeply. Something else worth nothing about AppHQ is that businesses can develop their own apps and create their own app suites within AppHQ, essentially allowing them to have a personal sub-app store within AppHQ. These applications are also subject to scrutiny by Cicso to ensure integrity and security, so they seem to be taking the whole security thing seriously. Another highlight of their product, that goes in-line with productivity and connectivity, is their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11295/Products_Sub_Category_Home.html" class="UpStreamLink">Virtual Experience Infrastructure</a>. To find out what VEI means for you and what Cisco has in store for the Cius, read on after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1436-cisco-cius-tablet-is-slated-for-larger-models-next-year.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Dec 2011 07:52:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1436-cisco-cius-tablet-is-slated-for-larger-models-next-year.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1435-clearwire-loses-3-resellers.html <p>When Sprint first announced a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1362-sprints-4g-technological-evolution.html" class="UpStreamLink">shift to LTE</a>, we all knew it was a bad sign for Clearwire and their Clear mobile broadband network. Clear, a joint venture with Sprint, Bright House Networks, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, receives almost all of its 9.54 million subscribers through reseller agreements, mostly through Sprint. Well, that business model won't be viable much longer. </p><p> </p><p>In addition to Sprint's transition to LightSquared's LTE network, the other 3 major investors have also announced a transition away from the network. Bright House Networks, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, who all purchased spectrum in the 2006 auctions, have pledged to lease that spectrum to Verizon Wireless in exchange for reseller agreements. Comcast, who currently offers Xfinity Internet2Go via Clear, will be moving that bundled service to Verizon Wireless, closing up its Clear partnership. </p><p> </p><p>What does this mean for users of the resellers' technology? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1435-clearwire-loses-3-resellers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 03 Dec 2011 22:21:01 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1435-clearwire-loses-3-resellers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1434-windows-8-public-beta-could-be-out-as-soon-as-february.html <p>Microsoft's recent <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1342-microsofts-buildwindows-conference-delivers-windows-8-preview.html" class="UpStreamLink">//build/windows Conference</a> let us have a real good look at what <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1373-ballmer-shows-off-more-windows-8-at-dell-world.html" class="UpStreamLink">makes Windows 8 the next best operating system</a>. The Developer Preview has been out for a little while now and engineers have been able to come up with some cool, innovative ways to interact with the new OS. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft has an upcoming developer event on December 6th, and has informed us that we should see Windows 8 hit public beta sometime around February of next year. Following that, we may even see the RTM (release-to-manufacturing) version arriving somewhere in June. Fun fact: Dec 6 also marks the date where we should see the new Xbox dashboard, coming off the heels of their recent <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1414-xbox-greets-you-for-the-holidays-with-live-updates.html" class="UpStreamLink">holiday updates</a>. </p><p> </p><p>The announcement of Windows 8 moving so quickly is good news for anyone wanting a decent Windows tablet that isn't the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1400-hp-commemorates-staying-in-hardware-with-the-slate-2.html" class="UpStreamLink">Slate 2</a>. Microsoft needs to make a dent in the tablet market as soon as possible if they want to try and compete moving into 2012. However, it's also great for Windows 7 users who upgraded to the OS when it first launched and need an upgrade option. </p><p> </p><p>We have no word right now on the features we'd see in the beta but we were told that the feature list has not been set yet. Also keep in mind that the Developer Preview is changing every week and that we will see additions in the beta that we may not have seen at all in the Preview. </p><p> </p><p>At any rate, this is exciting news as Microsoft gets geared up for CES and the new year.</p> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:58:57 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1434-windows-8-public-beta-could-be-out-as-soon-as-february.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1433-call-of-duty-elite-passwords-not-totally-secure.html <p>I tend to think the best of people, and I am often disappointed. For example, we all remember the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1165-details-on-the-playstation-networks-welcome-back-program.html" class="UpStreamLink">PlayStation Network outage</a> earlier this year, combined with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1182-sony-hacked-again-this-time-for-movies.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sony Pictures being hacked</a>. We can all assume that the industry has learned their lesson and has protected their user data better, especially for newly designed and launched services, right? Well, if you think that, you will be as disappointed as I am. </p><p> </p><p>Activision's newly launched <i>Call of Duty: Elite</i> service has proven that they are not as secure as one would think, based on the past 12 months. When requesting password help, instead of answering your secret question and being prompted to change your password, you are sent your password. That's right, Activision is storing password in the clear, or through some sort of reversible encryption, which provides for a much easier and interesting target for hackers. </p><p> </p><p>What does this mean for <i>Call of Duty: Elite</i>? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1433-call-of-duty-elite-passwords-not-totally-secure.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:47:06 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1433-call-of-duty-elite-passwords-not-totally-secure.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1432-hps-whitman-will-decide-weboss-future-within-2-weeks.html <p>It is always a little bitter-sweet to write one of these articles. As a person who owns 3 webOS devices, including a launch Palm Pre, plus a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://developer.palm.com/appredirect/?packageid=com.plughitz.live" class="UpStreamLink">PLuGHiTz Live! app</a>, the future of the OS is very interesting to me. Since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/618-hp-purchases-palm-for-12-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">HP first purchased Palm</a> for $1.2 billion, the road has been rocky for webOS, with several rumors that HP might retire the platform. When the hardware division was closed and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1326-hps-touchpad-firesale-will-return-after-this-brief-restocking-period.html" class="UpStreamLink">the fire sale started</a>, it looked like the end. Then, HP <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1353-hp-replaces-ceo-after-2-months-of-disaster.html" class="UpStreamLink">fired their CEO</a> and things looked brighter. Now, that CEO has a decision to make, and she says she will make it soon. </p><p> </p><p>In fact, HP CEO Meg Whitman has said that the decision will be made within 2 weeks as to what the future of Palm/HP's highly reviewed and poorly sold platform, and the devices that will or will not run it. The decision is a difficult one; she has to weigh the initial cost of $1.2 billion against the sales of devices and, of course, the possibly value of selling the platform. There have been plenty of rumors of interest from outside, including Facebook and Amazon, both of whom want hardware but don't want to offer Android on said devices. We know that HP will release Windows 8 tablets after that platform goes live, but HP wouldn't be the first company to offer multiple platforms. Samsung currently offers phones with Android, Windows Phone 7 and their own proprietary OS. </p><p> </p><p>So, the constant stream of rumors and conjecture are almost at an end. No matter which way it goes, I think everyone will be happy to be able to stop talking about it.</p> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:31:00 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1432-hps-whitman-will-decide-weboss-future-within-2-weeks.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1431-gamepro-closing-its-doors.html <p>It is the end of a gaming era. <i>GamePro</i> magazine, which went into publication in 1989, will officially shut down its website at noon on Monday, December 5. One final physical magazine will be published and released after the closing of the website. </p><p> </p><p><i>GamePro</i> started publishing the physical magazine in 1989 and went digital in 1996. Like all niche physical publications, <i>GamePro</i> has struggled to maintain relevance and readership in an increasingly digital world. A few concept changes over the years, including writers going from handles to real names and the most recent, going from monthly publication to quarterly in July of this year. </p><p> </p><p>While the site and magazine may be going away, <i>GamePro</i> is not entirely dead. Hit the break to find out where <i>GamePro</i> is headed next. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1431-gamepro-closing-its-doors.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:01:10 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1431-gamepro-closing-its-doors.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1430-facebook-ipo-might-not-be-the-smartest-thing-after-groupons-failure.html <p>It's like we're living the dot-com bust over again and the addage that history repeats itself really is true. Months before some analysts started to doubt the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1394-groupon-looks-to-group-buy-its-way-out-of-termoil.html" class="UpStreamLink">Groupon IPO</a>, we predicted its demise right on our show. As it would turn out, we were right. Groupon's IPO for $10 billion, initially, worked like a champ, however investors have dumped almost all of their stock just as fast as they bought it up. Shares fell from just over $31 to half of that at $16 at the time of this writing. The stock has even seen a low of just under $15, bringing the company's valuation to under $10 billion and leaving no hope for them in the future, or any other Internet company for that matter. Investors are now afraid of the Internet yet again and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/inc-well/The-Beginning-of-the-End-for-Groupon-133687353.html" class="UpStreamLink">financial industry is in shock</a> as if they have no clue why this didn't work. At least Groupon is one of the few companies with a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/566-twitter-still-trying-to-figure-out-that-business-model-thingy.html" class="UpStreamLink">business model</a>. </p><p> </p><p>With all of that being said, now would be a bad time for another company to try and start an IPO, right? Zynga would be wise to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1247-investors-might-bet-the-farm-on-zynga-ipo.html" class="UpStreamLink">stay out of that mix</a> for the time being, so it only makes sense that Facebook thinks now's the perfect time to shoot for a $100 billion valuation and $10 billion in an IPO, and that's not a typo. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1430-facebook-ipo-might-not-be-the-smartest-thing-after-groupons-failure.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:36:31 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1430-facebook-ipo-might-not-be-the-smartest-thing-after-groupons-failure.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1429-microsoft-signs-nda-with-yahoo-to-help-financially-with-buyout.html <p>Well, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1398-google-might-buy-yahoo-but-microsoft-might-get-there-first.html" class="UpStreamLink">Microsoft got there first</a>. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That is the mentality of Microsoft as, after rumors of them possibly purchasing Yahoo from under Google's nose, have come to fruition. The company has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Yahoo. Along with Microsoft are other investors like Silver Lake and TPG Capital who all believe that the success of Yahoo lies within a new, better management team. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft is looking to tap into Yahoo's 81.2 million unique news readers and by signing the NDA, they will be able to dive into Yahoo's financials a little more. However, all of these investors are not interested in a full buyout. Instead, bidders are looking to buy a minority stake in the company. Microsoft's goal is to help finance a bid and not buy them outright, according to sources closer to the matter. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1429-microsoft-signs-nda-with-yahoo-to-help-financially-with-buyout.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:42:28 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1429-microsoft-signs-nda-with-yahoo-to-help-financially-with-buyout.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1428-clearwire-might-skip-on-upcoming-debt-payment.html <p>Clearwire has been in a little bit of financial trouble as of late. Aside from Sprint deciding that they would be moving to LTE in the future of their 4G deployment, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1362-sprints-4g-technological-evolution.html" class="UpStreamLink">leaving Clear behind after 2012</a>. This week, we're adding more fuel to the fire, as Clearwire is thinking about not paying a huge debt that is due in about two weeks. </p><p> </p><p>In September, the company had $698 million in cash and short-term investments, so it should be able to afford to pay the $237 million it owes on December 1st. The problem is that the company has to raise a lot more money in order to stay in business in a year's time. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1428-clearwire-might-skip-on-upcoming-debt-payment.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:26:11 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1428-clearwire-might-skip-on-upcoming-debt-payment.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1427-windows-phone-app-marketplace-reaches-40000-apps.html <p>It's time to show love to the WinPho 7. The Windows Phone app marketplace is now loaded with more than 40,000 different apps. The All About Windows Phone website uses a tracking system that can identify trends and project figures. The system currently shows that about 165 apps are added to the Marketplace each day, would should give us more than 50,000 apps in January. </p><p> </p><p>In the past three months, we've seen 11,000 apps added to the store and around 5,000 of them were submitted in the past 30 days. For the Marketplace in general, the numbers show that the WinPho platform is really starting to gain attention off the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1413-huge-windows-phone-event-in-nyc-brings-us-4-small-devices-and-one-giant-winpho.html" class="UpStreamLink">heels of their giant Windows Phone event</a>. 10,000 of the recently added applications are from new and different publishers. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1427-windows-phone-app-marketplace-reaches-40000-apps.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:52:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1427-windows-phone-app-marketplace-reaches-40000-apps.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1426-more-google-shutdowns.html <p>The latest round of shutdowns at Google has been announced and it is, once again, a number of products most people have never heard of or assumed were already gone. We'll start with our favorite Google disaster: <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/767-wave-goodbye-to-google-wave.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google Wave</a>. The product was announced at Google I/O in 2009, but no one was ever as excited about Wave as Google was. The social collaboration system, which allowed email, text messages and real-time document editing, was never the hit Google assumed it would be and inevitably was closed for development. Jan 31, 2012 will see Wave go read-only with full shutdown April 30. </p><p> </p><p>Knol was billed as a replacement for Wikipedia in 2007, allowing experts in the field to maintain the data. Unfortunately, no one ever knew the product existed and it suffered the standard Google fate. The service will be retailed through April 2012, allowing users to get their data out, or migrate it to WordPress. The system will be shut down completely October 1. </p><p> </p><p>That's not all that's going away. Hit the break for the rest of the list. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1426-more-google-shutdowns.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:43:00 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1426-more-google-shutdowns.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1425-chinese-student-builds-an-ipad-sort-of.html <p>Apple seems to hold a strange place in the hearts of the people of China. From selling <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1184-a-kidney-for-an-ipad.html" class="UpStreamLink">kidneys</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1235-virginity-is-better-than-a-kidney.html" class="UpStreamLink"> virginity</a>, to counterfeiting <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1268-chinese-counterfeiting-of-apple-products-is-so-last-macworld-apple-stores-are-next.html" class="UpStreamLink">entire stores</a>, they sure do show their attachment to the company and its products. What do you do if your girlfriend wants an iPad, but you are not a virgin and need to keep both of your kidneys? Build it yourself, of course. </p><p> </p><p>That is exactly what Wei Xinlong, a senior at the Art & Design Department at Northeast Normal University did. Well, kind of. Using a touchscreen and battery he purchased and parts from an old laptop, Wei built an entirely touchscreen device that "one can read, download, watch movies, play games by just touching the screen." The casing, all hand-cut, is adorned with rhinestones and has the Apple logo on the front. Unlike an iPad, though, it can be used for useful things because it runs Windows. It even has all of the ports you would expect on a device, like VGA and USB. The best part? It only cost him $125 to build. </p><p> </p><p>It seems to me this thing is like the perfect gift - less expensive than an iPad, running Windows and has connectivity, plus it was built by someone she loves. It doesn't get much better than that. Head over to the source article at the bottom to see some more pictures of the device.</p> Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:35:20 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1425-chinese-student-builds-an-ipad-sort-of.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1424-attmobile-might-be-a-nogo.html <p>It has been a long, hard battle for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T/T-Mobile USA merger</a> so far. They have faced a public who is reluctant to have only 1 GSM carrier left in the country, a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1323-department-of-justice-blocks-attmobile-merger.html" class="UpStreamLink">Department of Justice lawsuit</a> looking to prevent it and a leaked document revealing <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1306-atts-real-reasons-for-wanting-tmobile.html" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T's real reason for wanting T-Mobile USA</a>. Recently, the FCC got involved in the issues when the chairman recommended to his board that they disallow the merger. </p><p> </p><p>AT&T's reaction was not quite what was expected but not terribly surprising. AT&T withdrew their bid for FCC approval completely. Now, this might seem to indicate that perhaps they feel they have failed, but I don't think that is what is happening here. With a major DoJ case coming up, their legal team needs to focus all of their attention there, not let it get spread across fighting two big battles. The easiest way to do that is to eliminate one of the problems. Done. </p><p> </p><p>That's not their only reason for delaying the FCC. Hit the break to find out what else is going on. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1424-attmobile-might-be-a-nogo.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:02:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1424-attmobile-might-be-a-nogo.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1423-tracking-customer-behavior-in-the-real-world.html <p>We all know the Internet changed the way retailers interact with their customers. Most importantly, it gave retailers the ability to learn about how their customers shopped to help target marketing or even determine product mix. Brick and mortar retail, however, has never really had this luxury. Sure, they have tried "give us your email and we'll send you a coupon" promotions to help track behavior, as well as in-store credit cards to keep track of purchase trends, but nothing is quite like the good old cookie. That is until now. </p><p> </p><p>A company out of Portsmouth, England, named Path Intelligence, has developed a new way to track people in physical retail almost the same way as online, only they don't use cookies; they use your wireless phone. No personal information is able to be recorded, of course, but just like a digital cookie, it is able to follow the anonymous you through the store to see where you go and what you look at. It can even be used in a full mall to see what types of stores customers are spending a lot of time in and which stores are being skipped all together. </p><p> </p><p>Right now the technology is being tested for US consumption in 2 US malls. Hit the break to find out where and why the management believes the data is important. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1423-tracking-customer-behavior-in-the-real-world.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Nov 2011 12:43:14 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1423-tracking-customer-behavior-in-the-real-world.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1421-best-buy-stays-in-the-red-with-premier-silver-customers-this-black-friday.html <p>In preparation for this year's Black Friday, the supposedly 'epic' deals that are synonymous with that weekend and is what starts the retail golden quarter, happened prematurely. Some big name companies such as Walmart, Target, hhgregg, Amazon and Best Buy kicked things off early this year in an effort to gobble up few more percentage points of the golden quarter pie. This isn't at all surprising when retailers in general are combating declining revenues and in some cases losses but it is a little surprising when a lack of follow through on the retailer's part makes good deals go sour. </p><p> </p><p>Best Buy has been fighting losses that date back over 5 straight quarters in stores that have been operating for more than 14 months and was one of the retailers to reach out to select customers with exclusive pre-Black Friday deals. The specific customers in this case were their Premier Silver customers who qualify for that distinction by spending over $2,500 per year with the company and also being a Rewards Zone member. On November 21st, the Premier Silver customers were supposed to be able to take advantage of special offers related to laptops, TVs and videogames through Best Buy's website but many were digitally denied by some technical issues that prevented them from completing their orders. Oops. Read some negative customer feedback after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1421-best-buy-stays-in-the-red-with-premier-silver-customers-this-black-friday.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:11:07 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1421-best-buy-stays-in-the-red-with-premier-silver-customers-this-black-friday.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1420-search-different-with-volunia.html <p>Massimo Marchiori is an Italian mathematician who played in big role in what Google currently uses as their page rank system. Back in 1996 he presented his Hyper Search algorithm at a conference that was attended by Larry Page and well, the rest is history, until now. Marchiori has plans to create his own search engine that is not intended to be "better" than Google but "different" and really useful to people. </p><p> </p><p>If you have received an e-mail from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://launch.volunia.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Volunia</a> with an offer to become a "power user" and participate in some preliminary testing then you would know because the video linked in the e-mail consists of Marchiori sitting on a park bench with a magical white board that seems to have something in common with Ghost Writer. He's not able to give away much information but he is able to say that this is something new, exciting and different. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">It's not just Google plus 10 percent. It's a different perspective. It's a new radical view of what a search engine of the future could be.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Check out the video for yourself after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1420-search-different-with-volunia.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Nov 2011 17:42:45 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1420-search-different-with-volunia.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1419-sony-playstation-home-is-cozier-when-you-watch-movies-with-friends.html <p>There isn't much to say about PlayStation Home that hasn't been said before. For most, it's just a big space that feels like you're the only one in it. The movie theater seems to only play "C" movies and the slushies at the ice rink are luke warm at best. After three redesigns, it appeared that Sony was really just missing the mark. However, the PlayStation Home may have some life still left in it, or it at least will go down kicking and screaming. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1419-sony-playstation-home-is-cozier-when-you-watch-movies-with-friends.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Nov 2011 14:46:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1419-sony-playstation-home-is-cozier-when-you-watch-movies-with-friends.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1418-samsung-galaxy-tab-gets-an-n-for-new-germans-celebrate.html <p>Back in August, Apple and Samsung got into a heated debate about the originality of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The injunction Apple asked for was upheld in September during the patent litigation hearings in Germany. So, in Germany, you were unable to purchase a Galaxy Tab. That is, until this week. </p><p> </p><p>Samsung has slightly altered the Galaxy Tab to make it just different enough to allow it to be sold in Germany. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1418-samsung-galaxy-tab-gets-an-n-for-new-germans-celebrate.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:36:29 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1418-samsung-galaxy-tab-gets-an-n-for-new-germans-celebrate.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1417-google-music-service-is-not-music-to-amazon-and-apples-ears.html <p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="https://music.google.com/music/listen#start_pl" class="UpStreamLink">Google Music Beta</a> is now up and running to the delight of Google and it's partners, EMI Group, Universal Music and Sony Music. It's not certain that actual users will welcome the service with open arms yet but we can be sure that it won't be so warmly welcomed by Amazon, Apple and Microsoft who now have to deal with another contender in the $6.8 billion dollar online music industry. </p><p> </p><p>The concept of Google Music is nothing terribly original, everyone is familiar with Zune, iTunes and the Amazon Music Store already and Google is trying to tie Google Music into the social aspect of users lives to change the way recommendations are made and how users purchase music according to Google's director of content partnerships, Zahava Levine. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Recommendations from friends are the single most important way that people discover new music. And we think that this social feature has the potential to really transform purchasing behavior.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Find out what role Google+ and Android devices will play in the success of Google Music after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1417-google-music-service-is-not-music-to-amazon-and-apples-ears.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Nov 2011 10:00:25 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1417-google-music-service-is-not-music-to-amazon-and-apples-ears.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1416-apple-names-new-chairman-and-director.html <p>For about a week or so, since the discovery that the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1365-apple-iphone-4s-picking-up-where-2007-left-off.html" class="UpStreamLink">latest iPhone</a> had more problems than the Apple team knew about, the Cupertino camp has been relatively quiet. With the iPhone announcement event being a little lackluster after the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1310-steve-jobs-resigns-as-ceo-of-apple.html" class="UpStreamLink">untimely resignation</a> of Steve Jobs, a lot of people were left wondering what else could go wrong for Apple. There were some holes that needed to be patched or filled and it seemed that they had no idea who was going to step in. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Apple did state that they have decided on a new Director of Apple and a new non-executive Chairman of the Board. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1416-apple-names-new-chairman-and-director.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Nov 2011 09:41:43 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1416-apple-names-new-chairman-and-director.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1415-samsung-makes-microsoft-surface-available-to-consumersfinally.html <p>At the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/ces2011.php" class="UpStreamLink">International Consumer Electronics Show </a>in Las Vegas this year, the staff at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/radio/index.php" class="UpStreamLink">PLuGHiTz Live! Radio</a> was able to see Microsoft show off their new Microsoft Surface 2.0 technology which yielded major improvements over Surface 1.0. Their trademarked PixelSense technology allows the LCD display to recognize over 50 points of contact at once and the demonstration at the Microsoft Keynote ended with 20 fingers simultaneously bombarding the Samsung SUR40 LCD screen for about 30 seconds with seemingly no lag or response and rendering issues. They also made the announcement that Surface 2.0 would be available sometime late in 2011 which we had completely forgotten about until the recent announcement for the pre-order that is now open to 23 countries including the U.S. and Canada. </p><p> </p><p>If you're a little curious as to the hardware involved: </p><p> </p><p>4" thin </p><p>40" LCD screen with 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution </p><p>AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series GPU with DirectX 11 support </p><p>AMD Athlon II X2 Dual-Core Processor 2.9GHz </p><p>Windows 7 Professional OS </p><p> </p><p>Never had a chance to see it in action? Check if your country is one of the 23 able to pre-order and how much you might expect to spend per unit after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1415-samsung-makes-microsoft-surface-available-to-consumersfinally.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:25:17 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1415-samsung-makes-microsoft-surface-available-to-consumersfinally.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1414-xbox-greets-you-for-the-holidays-with-live-updates.html <p>We knew that the dashboard updates that rolled out <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1346-dashboard-updates-and-live-tv-for-xbox-360.html" class="UpStreamLink">just a couple of months ago</a> were only the beginning. In October, Xbox announced their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1363-xbox-live-announces-its-video-lineup.html" class="UpStreamLink">new video lineup</a>, complete with content for just about everyone. So with the beta for the new dashboard update wrapping up, there had to be more features announced right around the corner. </p><p> </p><p>For us, it's right after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1414-xbox-greets-you-for-the-holidays-with-live-updates.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:19:54 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1414-xbox-greets-you-for-the-holidays-with-live-updates.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1413-huge-windows-phone-event-in-nyc-brings-us-4-small-devices-and-one-giant-winpho.html <p>Microsoft had a huge Windows Phone 7 event this week. It was enormous in both size of the event and size of one of the device they showed off, which puts the 4.3" screens to shame. The Microsoft team constructed and displayed a six-story model of a Windows Phone, smack in the middle of NYC's Herald Square for their launch event of four new phones. </p><p> </p><p>The giant WinPho was also used as a stage, in which the tiles opened up to display performers such as the Far East Movement and showcased over 8 hours of live entertainment. Oh yeah, and all of the tiles on the Windows Phone were dynamic LED screens, and they changed and updated as the event went on into the evening. </p><p> </p><p>Aside from the fun, as mentioned this was all for a launch of four new devices. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1413-huge-windows-phone-event-in-nyc-brings-us-4-small-devices-and-one-giant-winpho.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:57:53 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1413-huge-windows-phone-event-in-nyc-brings-us-4-small-devices-and-one-giant-winpho.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1412-adobe-closes-mobile-flash-development.html <p>It has been a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/576-adobe-scared-of-apple-because-their-products-dont-flash.html" class="UpStreamLink">hard fought war</a> between <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/625-adobe-sarcasm-101-now-available-on-apples-audacity.html" class="UpStreamLink">Adobe and Apple</a>, leading Adobe to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1337-apple-wins-adobe-concedes-defeat-in-the-flash-mob-war.html" class="UpStreamLink">throw in the towel</a>. They have even gone farther than conceding to Apple, they have conceded to mobile, closing up shop on their Flash Player for mobile project. </p><p> </p><p>Adobe won't let this set them back, however. They have committed to contributing to the HTLM5 standard and will continue to promote its AIR platform, allowing developers to build an app once and allow it to live natively on multiple OS platforms. This raises the question, however, if you are going to continue to deliver Flash to mobile devices to power AIR, why would you drop the browser support? </p><p> </p><p>The answer is simple, and follows the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1412-adobe-closes-mobile-flash-development.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:03:01 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1412-adobe-closes-mobile-flash-development.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1411-us-air-force-wants-a-floral-disruptor-to-eliminate-pesky-weeds.html <p>It's not uncommon for the U.S. Air Force to contract out businesses for the development of technologies through their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.afsbirsttr.com/Portal.aspx" class="UpStreamLink">Air Force Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Technology Transfer</a> portal. However, there is one project titled "Floral Disruptor - Directed Energy Weed Abatement and Prevention Tool" that is particularly odd in about every single way. Yes indeed, 'Directed Energy' implies a technology similar to sound or energy weapons and all for the purpose of keeping the yard neat and trim, like the military traditionally likes things. The Air Force outlines the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sbir/solicitations/sbir20121/af121.htm" class="UpStreamLink">objective for the device</a> as follows. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">OBJECTIVE: Develop a device that uses directed energy technology to prevent and abate unwanted plants (weeds) in areas that require control or defoliation. The purpose of this system will be the removal of unwanted plants and keep seeds from germinating.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Maybe, touching down on an unkempt runway after a successful bombing run puts a damper on victory or maybe the government doesn't want to spend millions a year and waste their time keeping the yard in shape anymore. Either way, read on after the break to see the actual document and learn more, it won't be disappointing. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1411-us-air-force-wants-a-floral-disruptor-to-eliminate-pesky-weeds.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:00:24 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1411-us-air-force-wants-a-floral-disruptor-to-eliminate-pesky-weeds.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1410-free-your-hands-with-eyeasteroids-from-tobii.html <p>Tobii is a company that offers eye tracking software and hardware solutions that can be applied to a wide variety of industries like surgery, assessment and diagnostics, consumer computer, law enforcement, automotive and, most importantly, gaming. While all of those other industries are relevant I just can't get past the fact that their eye control technology combines two things I greatly enjoy, playing videogames and not moving. Don't get me wrong, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1401-kinects-one-year-anniversary-comes-complete-with-commercial-sdk-announcement.html" class="UpStreamLink">Kinect</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1204-e3-2011-sonys-moving-in-on-kinect.html" class="UpStreamLink">PlayStation Move</a> are just fine and offer enhanced gaming experiences but sometimes my hands need to stay out of the equation to keep me comfortable. Thankfully, this is also a philosophy that Tobii has taken to heart. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">When playing the eye-controlled Tobii EyeAsteroids, your hands literally become superfluous. It is guaranteed to provide an entirely new experience that differs radically from traditional controls, dance pads and gesture-controlled games, where you need to actively do something to make things happen.</div> </p><p> </p><p>I can't think of a better way to introduce this new gaming control technology into the world than creating your own Eye Asteroids arcade console based on the classic <i>Asteroids</i> arcade game and that's exactly what they did. I could describe it but you should just check out the video after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1410-free-your-hands-with-eyeasteroids-from-tobii.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Nov 2011 07:52:54 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1410-free-your-hands-with-eyeasteroids-from-tobii.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1409-apples-app-store-has-a-security-flaw.html <p>It was just before the summer earlier this year that we finally saw the Apple lovers of the world admit that their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1162-mac-users-finally-admit-they-get-viruses-too.html" class="UpStreamLink">computers can get viruses, too</a>. The same could not be said for their iOS mobile devices, though, as Apple's closed platform has led to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1313-androids-security-problems-get-worse-apple-avoids-attacks.html" class="UpStreamLink">no security breaches or attacks</a>. </p><p> </p><p>That is, until now. The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1365-apple-iphone-4s-picking-up-where-2007-left-off.html" class="UpStreamLink">shiny, circa 2007 iPhone 4S</a> has already run into several <a target="NewWindow" href="http://blog.laptopmag.com/apple-confirms-iphone-4sios-5-battery-issue-promises-fix" class="UpStreamLink">battery issues that they have not addressed yet</a>. Now, they run into even bigger problems. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1409-apples-app-store-has-a-security-flaw.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:21:08 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1409-apples-app-store-has-a-security-flaw.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1408-spotify-spotted-on-windows-phone-7.html <p>It's not just Ford that is going to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1336-spotify-drops-in-on-ford-syncs-up-some-mad-beats.html" class="UpStreamLink">enjoy some tunes on the go</a>. Windows Phone 7 is finally getting some streaming music love that is not just the Zune Marketplace. This week, after all of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1259-spotify-here-at-last.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify talk and hype</a>, if you swing over to the App Marketplace, you can download Spotify Mobile and get streaming. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1408-spotify-spotted-on-windows-phone-7.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Nov 2011 21:39:31 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1408-spotify-spotted-on-windows-phone-7.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1407-hp-touchpads-on-sale-for-developers-updated.html <p><b>Update:</b> From the Developer Program post, "We currently have more requests for coupons than we have devices and will not be accepting any further requests." </p><p> </p><p>Ever since the HP firesale of the TouchPad, the $99 and $149 pricepoints have set the tablet world abuzz and people have been scrambling to try and get their hands on as many as possible. Regardless of HP's decision to now <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1390-hps-future-a-little-less-confusing.html" class="UpStreamLink">keep their PC business</a> after deciding to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1353-hp-replaces-ceo-after-2-months-of-disaster.html" class="UpStreamLink">spin it off not too long ago</a>, the company promised a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1326-hps-touchpad-firesale-will-return-after-this-brief-restocking-period.html" class="UpStreamLink">second round of TouchPads</a>, likely clearing out their component inventory in their factories. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart and Best Buy got their hands on almost all of the initial secondary run and scooped them up, forcing you to buy a PC if you wanted a TouchPad. </p><p> </p><p>While that might be a route you may want to take, some of us just want the tablet, and until now, you were out of luck. This week, developers get a little bit of a break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1407-hp-touchpads-on-sale-for-developers-updated.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Nov 2011 21:28:09 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1407-hp-touchpads-on-sale-for-developers-updated.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1406-mobile-phone-games-are-cutting-into-other-handhelds-sales.html <p>Smartphone gaming is not a new concept. If you don't at least have <i>Angry Birds Lite</i> front and center on your device, then you are one of the few who practically does no mobile gaming (if you are, don't feel bad, I'm part of the 1% as well). What's interesting is how the landscape of mobile gaming has shifted from 2009 until now. Flurry Analytics and the NDP Group have released some statistics that show a dramatic increases in smartphone game sales for the iOS and Android platforms and corresponding decreases in Nintendo DS and Sony PSP game sales. </p><p> </p><p>Even just 2 years ago in 2009 the Nintendo DS was a monster in the mobile gaming industry drinking in 70% of total mobile game sales. The PSP was clinging to 11% of the market and iOS/Android owned the other 19%. The projections for the end of 2011 tell a much different story. iOS/Android are starting to look more like Pacman on the pie chart as they consume the DS's 36% and the PSP's measly 6% to attain 58% of mobile game sales with a nice little cherry on top. iOS/Android are expected to round out 2011 with $1.9 billion in sales and the PSP/DS are expected to bring in around $1.4 billion. Read on after the break to find out if iOS/Android games will turn DS and PSP games into power pellets that will be swallowed up with the rest of the market. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1406-mobile-phone-games-are-cutting-into-other-handhelds-sales.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Nov 2011 09:47:43 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1406-mobile-phone-games-are-cutting-into-other-handhelds-sales.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1405-att-aims-to-implement-3g4g-in-your-next-ride.html <p>When AT&T is not focusing on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1334-att-wants-to-spend-39-billion-on-insignificance.html" class="UpStreamLink">eliminating T-Mobile</a> or <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1286-att-cappin-foos-data.html" class="UpStreamLink">capping your data</a>, they are working to position themselves in emerging markets with high growth potential. In this case, they are transitioning their communication services into the third fastest-growing mobile device, your car. Audi is already experimenting with its implementation in their 2012 A7 and Glenn Lurie, President of AT&T's Emerging Devices division is working with Ford, Nissan and BMW to see their technology roll out with these car manufacturers in three to four years. </p><p> </p><p>Vlad Sejnoha, the CTO of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.nuance.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Nuance</a>, a company who has developed speech recognition software for many auto manufacturers, gives his take on how the technology will be implemented. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Apps will reside on a built-in computer…a local computer, powerful, with a lot of memory, and it will include communication capability so it can connect to a server at any point. That server might include some data, some natural language processing, and the user will just simply be aware they are talking to the system. It can select media from the entertainment system, switch radio channels, you can ask for the nearest gas station. It will allow drivers to respond to their SMS texts that can be read outloud using synthetic voice. And a lot of these guys will also make it possible to connect to your smartphone for an app or music. But they won’t rely on the phone for the wireless connection.</div> </p><p> </p><p>The real question is, why would you pay extra for something your smartphone can already do with it's own 3G/4G connection that you are already paying for? Audi gives their take on that after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1405-att-aims-to-implement-3g4g-in-your-next-ride.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Nov 2011 06:35:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1405-att-aims-to-implement-3g4g-in-your-next-ride.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1404-sony-cuts-up-tv-division-into-three-pieces.html <p>Guess what happens when a division of your brand loses money eight years in a row? You split it up, of course! That's exactly what is happening with Sony's TV division, furthering their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1376-hackers-come-at-sony-again-compromising-93000-accounts.html" class="UpStreamLink">bad year</a> that just <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1274-insurance-might-not-cover-sony-breach.html" class="UpStreamLink">keeps getting worse</a>. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1404-sony-cuts-up-tv-division-into-three-pieces.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:39:01 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1404-sony-cuts-up-tv-division-into-three-pieces.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1403-gamestop-dips-its-toes-into-android-tablets-for-the-holidays.html <p>At the end of September, Tony Bartel, president of GameStop, announced they would try to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1357-gamestop-to-sell-a-certified-gaming-tablet.html" class="UpStreamLink">market a "GameStop-certified gaming platform"</a> that involved tablet devices. As we inch closer into the holiday season, GameStop has announced that 200 of their U.S. stores will be sporting a variety of Samsumg, Acer and Asusteck Computer Inc. Android tablets. According to GameStop's CEO, J. Pauls Raines, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Customers have been telling us that they like to game on multiple devices. We believe there is a gaming opportunity on tablets.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Along with the tablets, GameStop is offering a package of 7 games that will be included with the purchase of the device. They also have a specially designed controller that you can pick up for an additional $39. The purpose of the controller is to allow gamers to play 4 of the 7 games from across the room, assuming that you can send the video to your TV, or that the tablets are about 27". You'll also be able to access the Android Marketplace and GameStop's own mobile app store, Kongregate Arcade. How much will one of these tablets set you back and will all that in-store credit you've racked up do you any good? Find out after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1403-gamestop-dips-its-toes-into-android-tablets-for-the-holidays.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:27:52 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1403-gamestop-dips-its-toes-into-android-tablets-for-the-holidays.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1402-nook-ereader-gone-tablet.html <p>It looks like Barnes & Noble didn't want to take the chance of getting burned by the Amazon Kindle Fire this holiday season. Some internal documents surfaced that revealed a November 15th release date for the their new Nook Tablet device. From the image it is nearly impossible to tell the Nook Color apart from it's younger brother but according to Barnes & Noble, the differences are mainly on the inside. </p><p> </p><p>- 8.1- x 5- x 0.48-inches </p><p>- 7" color VividView IPS with 1024x600 resolution </p><p>- 16GB of flash storage </p><p>- 1G of RAM </p><p>- SD card slot </p><p>- 802.11b/g/n WiFi </p><p>- 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see if you can tell the Nook Tablet and Nook Color apart and to find out how much you can expect to drop for this device come November 15th. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1402-nook-ereader-gone-tablet.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 Nov 2011 07:45:44 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1402-nook-ereader-gone-tablet.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1401-kinects-one-year-anniversary-comes-complete-with-commercial-sdk-announcement.html <p>This week marked a year since the Kinect took effect on the Xbox 360 and made a world-changing impact on gaming and life itself. Since the Kinect entered the market before the holidays last year and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/952-kinect-sells-25m-in-25-days-beats-move-and-ipad.html" class="UpStreamLink">set records across the globe</a>, we've seen <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1193-e3-2011-more-kinect-games-than-your-body-can-handle.html" class="UpStreamLink">tons of new games at E3</a> and more and more <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1196-e3-2011-microsoft-kinects-us-to-our-consoles.html" class="UpStreamLink">creative ways to use Kinect</a>. </p><p> </p><p>What we've also seen is professional and amateur developer teams alike come up with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/913-developer-hacks-kinect-microsoft-says-pics-or-it-didnt-happen.html" class="UpStreamLink">so many different ways to "hack"</a> and use the Kinect that Microsoft decided to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/930-microsoft-decided-kinect-is-open-and-therefore-not-hacked.html" class="UpStreamLink">embrace the community</a> and come up with fun things like <i>Kinect Fun Labs</i>. </p><p> </p><p>However, there's been some interesting things brewing up on the Microsoft side as well and in 2012, we will see the fruits of their labor. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1401-kinects-one-year-anniversary-comes-complete-with-commercial-sdk-announcement.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:40:03 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1401-kinects-one-year-anniversary-comes-complete-with-commercial-sdk-announcement.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1400-hp-commemorates-staying-in-hardware-with-the-slate-2.html <p>It's been a rough ride for HP with the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1399-another-hp-exec-bites-the-dust-shortly-after-turnaround-plan-was-announced.html" class="UpStreamLink">game of executive musical chairs</a> that has continued even after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1390-hps-future-a-little-less-confusing.html" class="UpStreamLink">HP announced it would stay involved in the hardware business</a>. So with some of the confusion out of the way, they have decided to drop another Windows 7 tablet in our laps, the Slate 2. </p><p> </p><p>The Slate 2 seems to be scaled up for enterprise applications and scaled down for everything else. The Atom Z670 single core 1.5Ghz processor is a less powerful than it's predecessor, the Slate 500, and is still limited to x86 operating systems and processors. The Slate 2 will also be sporting 32GB of storage and an 8.9" screen. Kyle Thornton, category manager for emerging products at HP, has talked about other perks that we can expect to see like easy integration into infrastructure and security and management features. The tablet can be traced if stolen with Computrace Pro, administrators can remotely access the device and remotely wipe it if the need should arise. Admins can even roll out a standard software image across hundreds of tables if they like. Find out more about the Slate 2 after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1400-hp-commemorates-staying-in-hardware-with-the-slate-2.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 05 Nov 2011 17:38:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1400-hp-commemorates-staying-in-hardware-with-the-slate-2.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1399-another-hp-exec-bites-the-dust-shortly-after-turnaround-plan-was-announced.html <p>Sure, as of last week, HP <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1390-hps-future-a-little-less-confusing.html" class="UpStreamLink">might be looking a little brighter</a> than a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1326-hps-touchpad-firesale-will-return-after-this-brief-restocking-period.html" class="UpStreamLink">few months ago</a>. Their destructive leader, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1353-hp-replaces-ceo-after-2-months-of-disaster.html" class="UpStreamLink">Leo Apotheker</a>, has been thrown out and replaced by former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. After a few weeks of uncertainty, she was able to regain some control and she may even bring HP back from the brink of total disaster. </p><p> </p><p>However, for about a month now, top level execs have been fleeing the company. First, HP's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1386-hps-cto-shane-robison-leaving-the-company.html" class="UpStreamLink">CTO Shane Robison</a> took off, shortly followed by his understudy, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1388-hp-loses-another-exec-who-quickly-touches-down-in-nokia-world.html" class="UpStreamLink">VP of Worldwide Developer Relations, Richard Kerris</a>. These departures happened before Whitman announced her plan to spin around 180 degrees and take HP back to what they know. </p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, whether this exec got that memo or if he's tired of all the crazy decisions as of late, another one bites the dust. More details on who and why are after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1399-another-hp-exec-bites-the-dust-shortly-after-turnaround-plan-was-announced.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:37:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1399-another-hp-exec-bites-the-dust-shortly-after-turnaround-plan-was-announced.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1398-google-might-buy-yahoo-but-microsoft-might-get-there-first.html <p>When <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1229-hulu-for-sale.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu went up for sale</a>, it seemed that Yahoo, among other companies, was at the top of the running list to acquire the video streaming service. However, we learned a couple of weeks ago that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1372-hulu-no-longer-up-for-sale.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu was backing out of its proposed sale</a>, partly due to Disney not agreeing with anyone. Yahoo pulled out shortly before the end of the sale, citing controversial and internal problems within the company. </p><p> </p><p>This week, after rumors were flying for several days, we have learned that Yahoo has been shopping around for possible buyers. Not only that, we discovered that Google has contacted several private equity firms in order to aid them in the purchase of Yahoo. </p><p> </p><p>Will Google be able to take out one of its top competitors with this move? What happens now? Details are after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1398-google-might-buy-yahoo-but-microsoft-might-get-there-first.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:21:51 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1398-google-might-buy-yahoo-but-microsoft-might-get-there-first.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1397-sony-buys-out-ericsson-to-take-full-control-of-the-mobile-phone-company.html <p>Sony looks like they might be doing something right here for once. This week, they will be acquiring full ownership of Sony Ericsson, removing Swedish company L.M. Ericsson Telephone from the picture. This will allow Sony to further their mission to put more music, games and videos on their devices. </p><p> </p><p>This move will cost Sony $1.46 billion in exchange for the 50% share that Ericsson currently has. This also involved a patent and licensing agreement between the two companies, where Sony will now be in control of five important patents from Ericsson. </p><p> </p><p>The acquisition will be another page in the "patent war" chapter of the book of mobile devices as of late. We talk about that after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1397-sony-buys-out-ericsson-to-take-full-control-of-the-mobile-phone-company.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:20:31 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1397-sony-buys-out-ericsson-to-take-full-control-of-the-mobile-phone-company.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1396-samsung-takes-top-spot-beating-out-apple-as-1-smartphone-manufacturer.html <p>Samsung's last quarter produced results so successful that it has allowed them to beat out Apple for the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. This adds a new level of interest into their legal issues, among them the distribution of the Galaxy Tab in Germany and other places. </p><p> </p><p>Here's the numbers that gave Samsung the much-deserved top spot. Reports are in that last quarter, Samsung shipped 27.8 million devices, which makes up 23.8% of the smartphone market. Apple came in second last quarter, shipping only 17.1 million, which is 14.6% of the market. In third was Nokia, who stayed in third place, but that should change once numbers come in about their recently launched Lumia. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1396-samsung-takes-top-spot-beating-out-apple-as-1-smartphone-manufacturer.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:52:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1396-samsung-takes-top-spot-beating-out-apple-as-1-smartphone-manufacturer.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1395-augmented-reality-looks-to-keep-your-eyes-on-the-road-.html <p>Last week we discussed Microsoft <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1384-microsoft-investigates-new-touchscreen-surfaces-such-as-your-body.html" class="UpStreamLink">expiramenting with augmented reality</a> in an effort to create ad hoc surfaces to interact with touchscreens that work in conjunction with mobile devices. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://mvs.net/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Making Virtual Solid</a> is another company that is familiar with the concept of AR and they want to trick out your windshield with some GPS navigation. </p><p> </p><p>Their goal is for the system to be simple and affordable. Current navigation systems are loaded with icons and symbols that take the drivers attention off of the road and focus it on deciphering the screen. Not to mention they are rarely placed at eye level on or around the windshield. Anyone who remembers fiddling around with suction cup mounts will understand why. Today, practically every smartphone has navigation built-in and if they aren't in your pants they are usually hanging around the center console where the cup holders and car charger plugs in. </p><p> </p><p>The "Virtual Cable" that appears on your windshield to guide you is MVS's version of "follow the yellow brick road," except in this case it's a simple red line. The line can be projected onto the windshield from any built in or external navigation system and is easily seen in daylight and at night. MVS is constantly making improvements to the line with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mvs.net/technology.html#true3d" class="UpStreamLink">True-3D Technology</a> and is focused on staying cost effective. If they keep this up it might actually start making it into some vehicles but while we wait to see it in real life, enjoy their demo video. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1395-augmented-reality-looks-to-keep-your-eyes-on-the-road-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:58:19 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1395-augmented-reality-looks-to-keep-your-eyes-on-the-road-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1394-groupon-looks-to-group-buy-its-way-out-of-termoil.html <p>This week Groupon kicked off their roadshow in hopes of winning over investors for a successful IPO (initial public offering) which they need to help smooth out the turbulent waters they've been sailing through. So far they've been battling a plethora of negative publicity in the media, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1338-sales-team-ganges-up-on-groupon.html" class="UpStreamLink">class action lawsuits</a> and now they're pushing for a successful IPO at a time when the markets are in bad shape. </p><p> </p><p>The presentation focuses on the untapped potential there is in local markets, how Groupon will take advantage and the financial rewards for the company in the future. CEO Andrew Mason asserted that their new platform's potential is in the trillions of dollars and that it provides consumers with twice the buying power and increased profits for merchants. </p><p> </p><p>The driving force behind those claims is their "Triforce: The Foundation of Groupon" (yes, it is an intentional <i>The Legend of Zelda</i> reference). The basis for which is their proprietary Smart Deals system which they refer to as "the deal factory." Smart Deals is how they get the right deals in front of the correct consumers and how they tailor the type of deals in accordance to the preferences of their merchants' customers. They also claim this allows them to drive up conversion rates which translates into happier customers and increased loyalty. The Smart Deals system is fed by their lead optimizer which fuels the sales team to keep the deal factory growing. The final part of the trifecta is a new service called Groupon Now. It focuses on allowing Groupon users to get real time Groupon deals from merchants on their mobile devices as they are out and about in a particular area. Mason summarizes all this as follows, Daily Deals (customer acquisition), Groupon rewards (loyalty and retention) and Groupon Now (yield management). </p><p> </p><p>Their CFO, Jason Child, tried to communicate a bright financial future despite some difficult circumstances surrounding them in the present. Find out more and watch a video of their roadshow presentation after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1394-groupon-looks-to-group-buy-its-way-out-of-termoil.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:14:44 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1394-groupon-looks-to-group-buy-its-way-out-of-termoil.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1393-in-living-color-returns-to-fox.html <p>Sketch comedy shows come and go, but it isn't often that one goes and comes back. FOX has decided to follow the lead of the other networks and movie studios and reboot a previously cancelled series: <In Living Color</i>. This series, unlike, say <i>Knight Rider</i>, launched a large number of careers, including Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, and David Alan Grier. </p><p> </p><p>The new version of the series, like the original will be produced by Keenan Ivory Wayans, the creator of the original series, and will feature unknown, young comedians. It will also, presumably, be controversial. The original series was full of groundbreaking comedy and things never before seen on television. Over time, as the series became more popular, the censors cracked down on the content more and finally cost the show its edge and therefore its viewership. </p><p> </p><p>FOX is a lot more comfortable with being edgy since the 90s, with series like <i>The Simpsons</i> and <Family Guy</i> / <i>American Dad</i> being among the top-rated shows on the network. Hopefully this will prevent the rebooted series from the same fate as its predecessor. We can look forward to two 30-minute specials airing this spring as a test for the market to see if the show will come back in the Fall or mid-season. </p><p> </p><p>Are you looking forward to seeing new <i>In Living Color</i>, or should the networks leave past series in the past? Let us know in the coments section.</p> Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:27:47 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1393-in-living-color-returns-to-fox.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1392-amped-wireless-gives-us-longrange-wifi.html <p>Anyone who has ever worked in an office building can understand the problem of weak signal in the corners of the building. In our offices, we have great reception in the development office, but if you need to use it in a conference room, you have to hope someone has an open connection somewhere near. Now, Amped Wireless (not <a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amp'd_Mobile" class="UpStreamLink">Amp'd Mobile</a>) is coming to our rescue with its professional line of access points and repeaters, offering WiFi access up to 1.5 miles from the base. </p><p> </p><p>The </a>600mW Pro-Smart Repeater SR600EX</a> runs only $179.99 and claims a full 1.5 mile range. Considering that some standard Linksys and Netgear repeaters run in the same price range, I am a little concerned about the possibilities of this device. The company does offer a range increase guarantee, so if you try it and it is no better than what you have now, they will refund your money. </p><p>It seems like, for under $200, it is worth a shot if you are in the same boat that we are. </p><p> </p><p>If you give it a shot, let us know in the comments. Also, to read the full press release, hit the break. To read more about the product, hit the source link. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1392-amped-wireless-gives-us-longrange-wifi.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:09:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1392-amped-wireless-gives-us-longrange-wifi.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1391-google-reader-updates-cause-protests.html <p>It turns out <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1382-google-readers-makeover.html" class="UpStreamLink">I'm not the only one concerned</a> about Google Reader's "upgrades." In fact, it seems almost everyone dislikes the discontinuation of the internal sharing options. We'll start with the one that is more funny than anything else: a protest in Washington. </p><p> </p><p>There is a group upset about the changes; they call themselves The Sharebros. They define themselves as "person(s) whom one is following and followed by on Google Reader (as formally recognized by a Google Reader founder)," and they are the most dedicated Google product userbase I have ever seen. They have created their own online language, including <a target="NewWindow" href="http://googlereaderlexicon.wikispaces.com/A+Glossary+of+Hashtags+and+Abbreviations" class="UpStreamLink">hashtags</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://googlereaderlexicon.wikispaces.com/A+Treasury+of+Pictograms" class="UpStreamLink">pictograms</a>. </p><p> </p><p>A group of 15 or so Sharebros members got together to protest at Google's offices in Washington about the impending changes to Google Reader. The group came up with some clever, amusing signs and put their interests out in front of people. What they had on their side, however, was an adorable little girl who was holding the best sign ever. </p><p> </p><p>They aren't the only ones upset about the changes. Hit the break to find out why Iranians are upset about the change and to see the signs from The Sharebros. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1391-google-reader-updates-cause-protests.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:53:08 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1391-google-reader-updates-cause-protests.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1390-hps-future-a-little-less-confusing.html <p>I have a theory: HP and Netflix are actually the same company. Let me explain. Netflix has had some problems lately. First, they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1254-netflix-raises-prices-again-this-time-angers-customers.html" class="UpStreamLink">raised prices</a>, then announced that they would <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1368-netflix-to-remain-whole-another-change-in-direction.html" class="UpStreamLink">spin off DVDs to a new company</a>. A lot of backlash and the company undid some of its decisions. Reversing direction, however, did not prevent a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1389-800000-customers-leave-netflix-for-possibly-greener-pastures.html" class="UpStreamLink">loss of customers</a>. </p><p> </p><p>HP has been in a very similar boat. First, they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1326-hps-touchpad-firesale-will-return-after-this-brief-restocking-period.html" class="UpStreamLink">announced intentions to spin-off their hardware division</a>, as well as discontinuing webOS hardware. After a lot of backlash from customers and investors, they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1353-hp-replaces-ceo-after-2-months-of-disaster.html" class="UpStreamLink">replaced their CEO</a>, but new CEO Meg Whitman said she would stay the course. This week, HP announced that they had decided not to spin-off their hardware division, claiming it to be too expensive to accomplish. This reversal, however, might be too little too late for consumers who are concerned about the longevity of the company. </p><p> </p><p>What are the plans for the hardware division and webOS? Find out after the break, along with an interview with Todd Bradley, HP's Personal Systems Group Executive Vice President and the full press release. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1390-hps-future-a-little-less-confusing.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:10:42 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1390-hps-future-a-little-less-confusing.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1389-800000-customers-leave-netflix-for-possibly-greener-pastures.html <p>Ever since Netflix's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1254-netflix-raises-prices-again-this-time-angers-customers.html" class="UpStreamLink">confusing and frustrating, yet understandable and needed price hike</a> (and brand restructuring), the company hasn't been doing as well as they have in the past. Aside from the thousands of negative comments on their Facebook page, clambering for Netflix to go back to their old price structure, they realized that after all is said and done, you shouldn't just increase your prices by 60% without at least telling your millions of subscribers why. Because of that, their idea of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1368-netflix-to-remain-whole-another-change-in-direction.html" class="UpStreamLink">Quikster and separating DVDs by mail from their Internet streaming service</a> quickly fell through and Reed Hastings pretty much said that they were just kidding this whole time. What a bunch of goofballs over there at Netflix, right? </p><p> </p><p>Still, customers didn't find Hastings' comedic timing to their liking and complained more about how dumb of an idea splitting up the companies was to begin with. What happened next lies after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1389-800000-customers-leave-netflix-for-possibly-greener-pastures.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:37:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1389-800000-customers-leave-netflix-for-possibly-greener-pastures.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1388-hp-loses-another-exec-who-quickly-touches-down-in-nokia-world.html <p>This piece of news is a public service announcement. To every company not named HP, if you ever wanted an idea of how to further implode your company, keep reading. This week, after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1386-hps-cto-shane-robison-leaving-the-company.html" class="UpStreamLink">CTO Shane Robison hit the dusty trail</a> in search of greener pastures, we thought that it would be the last bad thing we'd see out of HP. Well, something else happened that isn't helping them out one bit. </p><p> </p><p>What happened and what's next for HP? We have the scoop after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1388-hp-loses-another-exec-who-quickly-touches-down-in-nokia-world.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:10:08 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1388-hp-loses-another-exec-who-quickly-touches-down-in-nokia-world.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1387-canada-causes-200000-tmobile-bill.html <p>Data roaming charges are a bitch. Florida resident and T-Mobile user, Celina Aarons, realized this after receiving a phone call from the telecom company about her data roaming and that she owed them $201,005.44. This is proof that data should be turned off when roaming on a <s><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="UpStreamLink">4G</a></s> 3G network that has a spotty network comparable to Swiss cheese. </p><p> </p><p>Aarons' bill typically runs around $175 per month, so $200,000 seems to be a little bit on the high side. So high, in fact, that she claimed she was "freaking out" when they let her know of such an overage. There has to be a reason to such a high bill, though, right? </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1387-canada-causes-200000-tmobile-bill.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:51:30 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1387-canada-causes-200000-tmobile-bill.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1386-hps-cto-shane-robison-leaving-the-company.html <p>This has not been a good time at all for HP. First, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1326-hps-touchpad-firesale-will-return-after-this-brief-restocking-period.html" class="UpStreamLink">their TouchPad disaster</a> caused the CEO, Leo Apotheker, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1353-hp-replaces-ceo-after-2-months-of-disaster.html" class="UpStreamLink">to be replaced</a>. The new exec, eBay's former CEO, Meg Whitman, said she was going to stay the course and continue HP's plans to restructure and sell-off it's computer business. </p><p> </p><p>This week, more bad news for HP. Their Chief Technical Officer, Shane Robison, has left the building. Robison, who also served on the HP executive council, will be leaving the company on November 1st after serving for over 11 years. However, his position will not be filled once his desk clears out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1386-hps-cto-shane-robison-leaving-the-company.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:17:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1386-hps-cto-shane-robison-leaving-the-company.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1385-sonys-3d-display-on-sale-november-13th.html <p>Four months ago at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/e32011.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3 2011</a>, Sony, while trying to recover from its <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="UpStreamLink">breach bonanza</a>, gave us a peek at their upcoming <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1203-e3-2011-sony-still-believes-strongly-in-3d-with-new-glasses-and-a-3d-bundle.html" class="UpStreamLink">24" 3DTV that could display two different images, simultaneously</a>. We learned that we would see this TV sometime around the holidays and it would sell for $499, but that was it. </p><p> </p><p>This week, however, Sony let us in on their plan for this really cool game room TV. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1385-sonys-3d-display-on-sale-november-13th.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:44:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1385-sonys-3d-display-on-sale-november-13th.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1384-microsoft-investigates-new-touchscreen-surfaces-such-as-your-body.html <p>The future is looking bright for people looking for an excuse to touch themselves and other ad hoc surfaces with purpose, literally. Chris Harrison of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and Microsoft researchers Hrvoje Benko and Andrew Wilson have been focusing their efforts on creating OmniTouch technology that expands touchscreen surfaces beyond the normal array of touchscreen devices like the phones and tablets that we have all become so accustomed to. They realized that the average human hand has more surface area than most touchscreen phones and that there were a lot of usable surfaces already existing in the real world, like your hand, coffee tables and notepads, that could be put to better use. According to Benko, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We wanted to capitalize on the tremendous surface area the real world provides. The surface area of one hand alone exceeds that of typical smart phones. Tables are an order of magnitude larger than a tablet computer.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Find out how this is possible after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1384-microsoft-investigates-new-touchscreen-surfaces-such-as-your-body.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:39:47 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1384-microsoft-investigates-new-touchscreen-surfaces-such-as-your-body.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1383-sonys-postvalentines-day-present-vita-due-out-february-22nd-2012.html <p>The PS Vita first came to our attention in January of this year when it became known that Sony was working on its next generation portable (NGP) device that hopefully wouldn't not be a PSP re-hash... again. We got a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1027-sony-to-bring-nextgeneration-portability-to-your-pants.html" class="UpStreamLink">glimpse of what we could expect the hardware to be</a> but were left in the dark as to whether Sony would actually improve the device besides beefing up the hardware or not. </p><p> </p><p>Five months later, at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/e32011.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3 2011</a>, the Vita came to light and everyone's speculation was surprisingly put to rest by a very good Sony keynote. This is something they desperately needed after extensive <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="UpStreamLink">PSN outages in April that went unresolved until May 14th</a> after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1015-hotz-in-hot-water-with-sony-but-microsoft-cools-him-down.html" class="UpStreamLink">Geo Hotz</a> <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1032-pirates-come-at-sonys-kevin-butler-and-sink-his-battleship.html" class="UpStreamLink">tweeted a major PSN security flaw</a>. Their keynote was also an extension of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1165-details-on-the-playstation-networks-welcome-back-program.html" class="UpStreamLink">Welcome Back</a> for Sony's handheld gaming devices that had been floundering for years. The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1206-e3-2011-living-la-vita-playstation.html" class="UpStreamLink">key changes</a> that will give the Vita a fighting chance are the addition of a new Android-like operating system that has replaced the old XCrossMediaBar, the PSN functionality that is incorporated with Vita and addition of touch-controls, which were demonstrated through an <i>Uncharted: Golden Abyss</i> demo. </p><p> </p><p>Sadly, a few months after the great news, Sony broke some bad news to the U.S. and Europe about when they could get these devices in their pants. Hit the break to find out more. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1383-sonys-postvalentines-day-present-vita-due-out-february-22nd-2012.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:26:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1383-sonys-postvalentines-day-present-vita-due-out-february-22nd-2012.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1382-google-readers-makeover.html <p>Over the past few months, Google has been incredibly active. The company has had <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1251-google-bids-with-constantly-crazy-math-skills.html" class="UpStreamLink">comical auction bids</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1321-google-does-a-little-project-downsizing.html" class="UpStreamLink"> several rounds</a> of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1371-googles-second-round-of-shutdowns.html" class="UpStreamLink">product closures</a>, as well as a visual redesign of current products and launches of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1245-google-adds-to-its-offerings.html" class="UpStreamLink">new products</a>. This has all been since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1123-googles-employment-transition.html" class="UpStreamLink">co-founder Larry Page's return</a> to the company in an attempt to make Google profitable and relevant again. </p><p> </p><p>The latest Google product to fall victim to the redesigned interface is Google Reader. This one won't just be a refresh to make it look like the rest of Google - there will be a lot of features removed, and some new ones added. On the list of things going is: friends, Reader sharing and favoriting (starring). You also will not be able to share subscriptions with friends (partially because friends are going away). All of these features will be replaced by integrations of the Google + brands; the +1 button and Google+ social networking. </p><p> </p><p>How does Google plan to handle the inevitable objections? Hit the break ot find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1382-google-readers-makeover.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:45:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1382-google-readers-makeover.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1381-samsung-and-hitachi-are-getting-out-of-hard-drives.html <p>We all know that the era of hard drives is coming to an end, replaced by the quicker, more power-efficient <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/945-super-talent-raiddrive-for-usb-30.html" class="UpStreamLink">solid state drives</a>. Between a technology shift and a number of conspiracies and scandals, Samsung and Hitachi have decided to close up shop on their hard drive businesses and sell them off to the competition. </p><p> </p><p>The problem here is that the competition is few and far between. In fact, as of right now, there are only 4 companies manufacturing hard drives: Hitachi, Samsung, Western Digital and Seagate. Because of this, Western Digital has agreed to purchase Hitachi's business for $4.3 billion and Seagate will pickup Samsung's business for $1.375 billion. Clearly the, now, big 2 believe there is still enough of a market to shell out a combined $5.675 billion to lock-in the industry. </p><p> </p><p>Why would they spend the money instead of just letting these guys fail? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1381-samsung-and-hitachi-are-getting-out-of-hard-drives.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:37:41 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1381-samsung-and-hitachi-are-getting-out-of-hard-drives.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1380-hdtv-is-so-last-macworld.html <p>Isn't your new HDTV exciting? All of those 1920 pixels of amazingness makes watching television and movies fun again, right? Well, I have some news for you that you should NOT tell to your TV. The ITU Study Group on Broadcasting Service has announced that thye have come to an agreement on most of the specs on what Ultra High Definition Television (UHDTV) will be. </p><p> </p><p>In case you haven't been following the UHDTV discussions, UHDTV is the equivalent of a 33 megapixel photo. When compared to current HDTV, which is the equivalent of a 2 megapixel photo, the picture will have more than 16 times the precision. The added pixels will make for higher clarity, for sure, but will also make the possibility of high-quality glasses-free 3D video a reality, since 3D requires more pixels than standard video. It should also allow for wider viewing angles. </p><p> </p><p>When can we expect to see this in action and when will it be widely accepted? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1380-hdtv-is-so-last-macworld.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:18:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1380-hdtv-is-so-last-macworld.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1379-bizarro-siri-released-for-bizarro-iphone-iris-for-android.html <p>I would imagine that by now everyone has heard about Apple's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1365-apple-iphone-4s-picking-up-where-2007-left-off.html" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone 4s</a>, and its acquired voice command software, Siri. Siri has been such a hit that Android developer Dextra has released a new app for Android entitled Iris. The company obviously has a great sense of humor because the name is an anagram, which stands for Intelligent Rival Imitation of Siri and is, itself, Siri spelled backwards. </p><p> </p><p>All of the fun being poked at Apple aside, the software itself is a lot more fun than Siri. While Iris may not be as productive, she certainly can hold a conversation like no other artificial intelligence, Smarter Child included. Rather than trying to schedule an alarm when you say something, Iris will respond with appropriate conversational responses. For example, "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck" results in "A woodchuck could chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck obviously." Even her response to "Who are you" is met with a joke about Siri. </p><p> </p><p>Sure, using voice to do calculations between cities and such is fun, it is definitely not the productive, useful system that Siri is. If you have an Android phone and enjoyed interacting with Smarter Child and his friends on AIM, <a target="NewWindow" href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dexetra.iris&feature=search_result" class="UpStreamLink">give this app a try</a>. If you're looking for something to be productive, however, you might want to look elsewhere. </p><p> </p><p>If you do try it out, let us know your favorite conversation in the comments section.</p> Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:15:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1379-bizarro-siri-released-for-bizarro-iphone-iris-for-android.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1378-zynga-thinks-it-would-do-better-with-facebook-as-just-friends.html <p>From their announcement of a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1247-investors-might-bet-the-farm-on-zynga-ipo.html" class="UpStreamLink">possible IPO</a> a couple of months ago to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/759-google-makes-facebook-angry-by-taking-zynga-on-a-date.html" class="UpStreamLink">looking for a new suitor</a>, Zynga has been trying to expand from being just the "Facebook game company." This week, the company decided to officially say that it will be transitioning into a self-sustained machine that will no longer be tied as strongly to Facebook as it was before. Instead, Zynga will start to sell its line of games straight to online or mobile platform users. </p><p> </p><p>With an IPO that could make the company worth $20 billion, Zynga is looking to directly impact the 230+ million monthly users who play their games on Facebook. We have more on Zynga's "it's not you, it's me" attitude after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1378-zynga-thinks-it-would-do-better-with-facebook-as-just-friends.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Oct 2011 16:51:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1378-zynga-thinks-it-would-do-better-with-facebook-as-just-friends.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1377-get-kinected-etronikaly-with-fiscal-responsibility-.html <p>Given the prolonged economic downtown the U.S. has been experiencing since 2007 it comes as a surprise to me that a Lithuanian company called <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.etronika.lt/en/" class="UpStreamLink">Etronika</a> not only seems to have their mind on their money and their money on their mind but also wants to make money fun, like Monopoly, by associating it with Kinect for the Xbox 360. </p><p> </p><p>At <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ctia.org/" class="UpStreamLink">CTIA, the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications</a>, this week, Etronika showed off their new Kinect banking application by demoing that it can do all the things you would expect a banking application to do: like transfer money between accounts, view statements for credit/debit cards on file, pay bills, monitor exchange rates and the like. They also showed that you can transfer information from your Xbox 360 to your smartphone with the flick of a wrist... pretty cool. Check out the attached video to see for yourself how Etronika might have single handedly solved the U.S. financial crisis. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1377-get-kinected-etronikaly-with-fiscal-responsibility-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Oct 2011 13:42:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1377-get-kinected-etronikaly-with-fiscal-responsibility-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1376-hackers-come-at-sony-again-compromising-93000-accounts.html <p>With the PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment networks <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="UpStreamLink">falling victim to some nasty outages</a> caused by DDoS attacks on their lacking infrastructure in April this year, Sony took it upon themselves to completely revamp their systems and gain back the trust of those who had their accounts compromised, which included encrypted billing information. It cost them millions in legal battles and lost revenue along with the cost of revamping their infrastructure only to have it happen all over again 5 months later and this time they don't have E3 right around the corner to smooth things out. </p><p> </p><p>On the 12th of October Sony announced that its networks had once again been breached. The damage doesn't seem to have gone as deep as the previous attacks as there didn't seem to be any outages. The attacks affected 60,000 Sony Entertainment Network and PlayStation Network accounts, as well as 33,000 Sony Online Entertainment accounts, resulting in 93,000 really unhappy users. Sony detected the attack after a huge amount of username and password matches were initiated against Sony's database. </p><p> </p><p>Sony's Philip Reitinger, the chief information security officer, said that the accounts that were breached have been locked and that users billing information shouldn't have been compromised but it is possible unauthorized purchases had been made. They are also sending out emails to owners of the compromised accounts requiring them to verify before access is granted. Everyone on the PSN and SEN will also be required to reset their passwords, for which Sony suggests you use a strong one. At the moment, it doesn't seem like there will be any other reprieves for users. Sony did seem to act quickly when implementing damage control, which is its own reward, compared to the attacks in April so maybe that'll be good enough.</p> Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:37:00 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1376-hackers-come-at-sony-again-compromising-93000-accounts.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1375-qr-codes-make-their-first-cameo-appearance-on-hsn.html <p>By now consumers have been inundated with a barcode-esque technology known as QR codes in golf magazines, t-shirts, Facebook profiles, Best Buy store shelves, everywhere online and now on TV thanks to a 4 day experiment being conducted by the Home Shopping Network. What would prompt such a successful enterprise to shove an 8-bit monarch butterfly patterned square in the bottom-right corner of their HD broadcasts? According to Jill Braff, the VP of digital commerce, there is a trend that continues to grow in favor of their customers making purchases from mobile browsers instead of calling in to place orders. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">They are watching us on TV and using a mobile device as a faster, more convenient means of checkout. We thought about what if we married the two — what if we allowed people to scan a QR code during a product demonstration, which would bring them directly to that product page on the mobile device?</div> </p><p> </p><p>In their current state, QR codes certainly stand out but not necessarily in a good way according to Matt McKenna, the founder of Red Fish Media. Customization has become a key factor in determining QR codes success as a marketing technology. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">They don't have to be ugly and generic anymore — they can be cool. I can't allow my customers to put a black-and-white bar code that looks like digital noise on something that someone's spending millions of dollars on to look beautiful.</div> </p><p> </p><p>A report from comScore said that in June of this year 6.2% of mobile users actually scanned a QR code and that the audience was limited to mostly young males, which doesn't leave much room for anything outside of videogames and gadgets. Andrew Grill, the CEO of PeopleBrowser, explains his reasoning for why usage rates are so low after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1375-qr-codes-make-their-first-cameo-appearance-on-hsn.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Oct 2011 07:55:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1375-qr-codes-make-their-first-cameo-appearance-on-hsn.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1374-microsoft-talks-lte-and-dualcore-windows-phones.html <p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1365-apple-iphone-4s-picking-up-where-2007-left-off.html" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone 4s was released this week</a>, however the specs didn't completely blow us away. Where is the phone with the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1356-nvidia-has-a-fivecore-quadcore-named-kalel.html" class="UpStreamLink">kal-el processor</a>? Well, while we won't see the five-core proc for Microsoft just yet, the company did lay out its plans to release dual-core and LTE Windows Phone 7 devices. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the LTE and dual-core goodness, follow us after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1374-microsoft-talks-lte-and-dualcore-windows-phones.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Oct 2011 02:12:21 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1374-microsoft-talks-lte-and-dualcore-windows-phones.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1373-ballmer-shows-off-more-windows-8-at-dell-world.html <p>If you haven't heard by now, there's this really great new product coming out soon called Windows 8. It pretty much will unify the tablet, PC and smartphone and make them all one big happy family that talk to each other every day (don't forget about the Xbox 360, too). </p><p> </p><p>Just last month at Microsoft's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1342-microsofts-buildwindows-conference-delivers-windows-8-preview.html" class="UpStreamLink">//build/windows Conference</a>, we were given the Windows 8 Preview for developers to get a sneak peek to start building some new applications. Quickly recapping, we were given a glimpse into some new features, a new Metro user interface and many other things that really make Windows 8 one of, if not the only platform, to develop on in the future. </p><p> </p><p>However, the preview also left us with more questions than answers. Good news for my curious ones: Dell World 2011 was this week and Steve Ballmer himself was able to show off a couple of new, cool things that we can get excited about and look forward to. </p><p> </p><p>We have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1373-ballmer-shows-off-more-windows-8-at-dell-world.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Oct 2011 01:41:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1373-ballmer-shows-off-more-windows-8-at-dell-world.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1372-hulu-no-longer-up-for-sale.html <p>It's been a while since we heard anything about potential buyers or even any rumors coming from the announcement of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1229-hulu-for-sale.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu putting itself up for sale</a>. Well, after several interested buyers not being able to work through negotiations of a sale with part-owner Disney, the Hulu collective of News Corp, Comcast/NBC Universal, Providence Equity and Disney have said that they are no longer looking to sell the company. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Our focus now rests solely on ensuring that our efforts as owners contribute in a meaningful way to the exciting future that lies ahead for Hulu.</div> </p><p> </p><p>The auction was already coming to a halt, not only from bad talks with Disney, but also with debate over digital rights, sale price and even Hulu's owners sometimes balking at actually selling off the video-streaming service. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1372-hulu-no-longer-up-for-sale.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:53:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1372-hulu-no-longer-up-for-sale.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1371-googles-second-round-of-shutdowns.html <p>Larry Page, since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1013-googles-eric-schmidt-resigns-as-ceo.html" class="UpStreamLink">taking the helm of Google</a>, has been doing a lot of housecleaning, starting with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1321-google-does-a-little-project-downsizing.html" class="UpStreamLink">closing up 10 under-performing products</a>. This week saw round 2 of the shutdowns, this time with much higher profile products. </p><p> </p><p>First off is <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/491-did-you-hear-the-buzz-google-buzz.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google Buzz</a> which has had nothing but <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/512-the-buzz-continues.html" class="UpStreamLink">problems</a> since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/605-countries-ask-google-to-try-not-to-screw-up-another-service-launch.html" class="UpStreamLink">day 1</a>. The product, which was something similar to Twitter, found problems with privacy on day 1 when everyone in your email list was added to your following list. This could include ex-husbands, stalkers, business partners - none of whom should see the things you are doing or the places you go on the Internet. </p><p> </p><p>The second product is Jaiku, a product I was actually pretty sure was already closed. Jaiku, also similar to Twitter, was purchased in 2007 and never really integrated into the company properly. That being said, products that Google purchases and don't immediately re-brand (such as Jaiku or Orkut), don't usually stand a chance within the organization. </p><p> </p><p>Google thinks they have learned lessons from these brands, though. Hit the break to find out why we think they might not have. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1371-googles-second-round-of-shutdowns.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:13:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1371-googles-second-round-of-shutdowns.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1370-what-does-the-blackberry-outage-mean-for-the-company.html <p>Research in Motion has been having a lot of trouble competing in the new smartphone world. When it was just them, Palm and Microsoft it was an easy world to compete in; everyone had a large marketshare because of the differing values. In the new world, with Apple and Google taking aim at a new way to use your phone, and Microsoft revamping their OS from scratch, sticking to your core and not making major changes to keep up is a nearly impossible game to win. </p><p> </p><p>At least BlackBerry has been able to stay alive with their perceived level of security. RIM has always stayed where they are in the business world because of their encryption of everything that passes through the phone, but in the modern world there are a lot of ways to accomplish that without BlackBerry. Therefore, the worst thing that could have happened was a long outage of the BlackBerry servers. Unfortunately that is exactly what happened this week. </p><p> </p><p>Why is this outage such a big deal for RIM? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1370-what-does-the-blackberry-outage-mean-for-the-company.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:12:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1370-what-does-the-blackberry-outage-mean-for-the-company.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1369-a-bridge-is-missing-seriously.html <p>How does this happen? A 50-foot long, 20-foot wide steel bridge is missing from North Beaver Township, Pennsylvania. Seriously. Police are saying the crime must have been committed over the course of months. Yes, months. For MONTHS, people have been removing large pieces of steel, each weighing hundreds of pounds, from a bridge, with no one noticing. </p><p> </p><p>It gets better - the police say the bridge went missing sometime between September 27th and October 5th. Yes, that is a 9 day window for a massive bridge to have vanished and for no one to have really noticed. We think the 50 ton bridge disappeared Wednesday, but it could have been Sunday... we're really not sure... </p><p> </p><p>Seriously, how did this happen and why did they want to steal a bridge? Well, the why is easy - the scrap metal would have been worth somewhere in the $100,000 range. That is certainly worth a month of work, I suppose. How did they transport all of that steel and who is taking it in in trade? The how turns out to be a little easier to figure out than you would think, however. It turns out it is an old rail bridge buried in the woods, but still. </p><p> </p><p>The real questions here are, are they done? Will they steal another bridge somewhere else? Are we living in a John Wayne movie? I think the only way to know is to wait and find out. A modest proposal: if you own a bridge, keep an eye on it. Someone might be trying to steal it.</p> Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:06:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1369-a-bridge-is-missing-seriously.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1368-netflix-to-remain-whole-another-change-in-direction.html <p>Netflix seems to have lost their mind. First, they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1254-netflix-raises-prices-again-this-time-angers-customers.html" class="UpStreamLink">raise their prices</a>, splitting DVD and streaming into two packages. Then, they announce they are splitting the DVD business into its own brand - Qwikster. This week brings us even weirder news - they have decided to axe the Qwikster brand even before it launches. </p><p> </p><p>In a letter from the CEO of the company, directly to customers, he writes, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs. </p><p> </p><p>This means no change: one website, one account, one password. In other words, no Qwikster. </p><p> </p><p>While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.</div> </p><p> </p><p>So, they are still planning to keep the services as separate packages, as well as keep the prices higher, but the two websites and separate brand names will be discarded. I'm not entirely sure about their reasoning here, but I'm pretty sure they don't quite understand it. </p><p> </p><p>Why are they really doing this and will it help? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1368-netflix-to-remain-whole-another-change-in-direction.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:05:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1368-netflix-to-remain-whole-another-change-in-direction.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1367-hank-williams-jr-compares-obama-to-hitler-espn-pulls-him-from-mnf.html <p>When you ask somebody "Are you ready for some football?", they know you're talking about Monday Night Football. Singer Hank Williams Jr. has opened MNF for quite some time and his name and football have been synonymous with each other for over 20 years, but after this week's remarks on <i>Fox and Friends</i>, the Disney-owned ESPN and Hank are going to part ways. </p><p> </p><p>Williams was brought onto the show, for a reason I cannot even begin to figure out, to talk about politics. It should be noted that when I think about deep, thoughtful political debate, I think about Hank Williams Jr. (or Willie Nelson). When asked for his thoughts on President Obama playing golf with House Speaker John Boehner, things went a little sideways. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">That'd be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu.</div> </p><p> </p><p>He went on to say that Obama and Biden were the enemy but the hosts certainly didn't help the situation. It seems that they were told to antagonize and encourage the actions from Williams, who clearly shouldn't be on a political talk show. </p><p> </p><p>For ESPN's reaction and Williams' explanation, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1367-hank-williams-jr-compares-obama-to-hitler-espn-pulls-him-from-mnf.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:37:49 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1367-hank-williams-jr-compares-obama-to-hitler-espn-pulls-him-from-mnf.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1366-facebook-knows-what-youre-doing-even-after-you-log-out.html <p>Have you stopped using Facebook yet? Or have you not yet believed that their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1018-will-facebook-fall-on-its-face.html" class="UpStreamLink">demise is not too far from the present</a>? Either way, here's news that will be sure to get you to demand for a "Dislike" button. Remember when we talked about Facebook using their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1036-like-something-facebook-will-exploit-you.html" class="UpStreamLink">Like system for more than just a fun way to interact with friends</a>? It appears that now Facebook has started to collect the information associated with you Liking something even after you have signed out of their software. They claim that this is part of their way to help protect your account and to make sure that nobody else is trying to login. </p><p> </p><p>Facebook also says that all of the information from those Likes are not necessarily stored. This all stems from a discovery from an Australian computer expert, Nik Cubrilovic, who posted that some data was sent from Likes by users even after the user was already signed out. This not only raises some new concerns, but also questions <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1319-facebook-unhides-your-privacy-controls-and-trades-in-places-for-tags-.html" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook's privacy policy</a> yet again. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this developing story, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1366-facebook-knows-what-youre-doing-even-after-you-log-out.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:17:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1366-facebook-knows-what-youre-doing-even-after-you-log-out.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1365-apple-iphone-4s-picking-up-where-2007-left-off.html <p>Amazing, indeed. It's amazing how anyone could think this device is revolutionary, powerful or even something out of this year. In case you couldn't figure it out, the new iPhone was announced this week. With much speculation of how the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1354-apple-to-unveil-iphone-5-oct-4th.html" class="UpStreamLink"> event would pan out</a> after the untimely <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1310-steve-jobs-resigns-as-ceo-of-apple.html" class="UpStreamLink">resignation by Steve Jobs as CEO of the company</a>, Apple had a lot riding on the announcement of the new iDevice. As luck would have it, the presentation was lackluster at best. </p><p> </p><p>For a company who has always relied on the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1156-ill-buy-anything-if-its-shiny-and-made-by-apple.html" class="UpStreamLink">"shiny"</a>, flashy and glamorous presentation style, with products to match, they really seemed to drop the ball with this one. We could only assume that the people on stage, who were close to Jobs, knew about his passing in the coming days, however since Apple did not choose to push back the conference, they had to bring their "A" game and didn't. Instead, an empty seat reserved for Jobs, who obviously could not attend, spoke volumes for the lack of energy and presence of that man himself on stage. </p><p> </p><p>What we did see was the announcement of the iPhone 4S, the "S" of course standing for "stuck behind the times." For the breakdown on the list of the "<a target="NewWindow" href="http://blog.laptopmag.com/12-reasons-why-android-still-beats-the-iphone-4s" class="UpStreamLink">Hey, we can do this too!</a>" Apple features, check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1365-apple-iphone-4s-picking-up-where-2007-left-off.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:27:39 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1365-apple-iphone-4s-picking-up-where-2007-left-off.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1364-fox-vs-the-simpsons-standoff.html <p>It's been a pretty rough week for FOX and <i>The Simpsons</i>. The show hasn't been doing as well as it used to and FOX needs to cut costs in production. The easiest place to cut costs is in salaries, and no one gets paid quite like the primary voice actors. Needless to say, FOX started discussions with the voice talent to see about cutting salaries. The only requirement the voice actors had was that they get some of the massive licensing fee profit in exchange. </p><p> </p><p>It all seems pretty reasonable, especially considering the alternative of terminating the show and no one getting any money anymore. FOX did finally reach a deal with the cast, including a possible 30% salary cut (which still leaves them with an average of $300,000 per episode) and zero back-end profit sharing. </p><p> </p><p>What it does mean, however, is that <i>The Simpsons</i> will be returning for their 24th and 25th seasons, making them the longest running comedy in US television history. That is an impressive feat by any measure, but for it to be an animated series is even more impressive. It takes a lot more effort to produce an animated series than it does live action, and to stick with it for 25 seasons and manage to keep it entertaining, relevant and funny, my hat is off to you, which is something that doesn't happen often. </p><p> </p><p>I look forward to the FOX jokes that will come out of this over the next 2.5 years. What about you guys? Are you happy to see the series continue, or do you think it was over a long time ago? Let us know in the comments!</p> Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:20:19 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1364-fox-vs-the-simpsons-standoff.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1363-xbox-live-announces-its-video-lineup.html <p>Ever since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/e32011.php" class="UpStreamLink">this year's E3</a>, we have been looking forward to seeing exactly what <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1192-e3-2011-the-xbox-360-really-does-equal-entertainment.html" class="UpStreamLink">Xbox LIVE had planned for video</a>. We've known a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1346-dashboard-updates-and-live-tv-for-xbox-360.html" class="UpStreamLink">Dashboard update was coming</a>, but what we were missing was the list of content providers coming to the platform. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Major Nelson announced the lineup and it is pretty amazing. Major Nelson said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We have nearly 40 world class TV and entertainment providers coming to Xbox LIVE... that will begin rolling out to consoles in more than 20 countries this holiday.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Want to see the full list, both current and future? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1363-xbox-live-announces-its-video-lineup.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:16:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1363-xbox-live-announces-its-video-lineup.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1362-sprints-4g-technological-evolution.html <p>Sprint this week hosted their Network Vision Strategy Update and they made announcements about where their network is headed. While the announcements were major, none were really surprising. The biggest thing to come out of the conference was that Sprint will be ending their partnership with Clearwire, the owners and operators of Clear 4G mobile broadband which also powers Sprint's 4G WiMax network, in favor of a transition to Long Term Evolution, or LTE. </p><p> </p><p>LTE is the technology that powers Verizon's 4G network and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1349-att-launches-true-4g-lte-available-in-only-five-cities.html" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T's upcoming 4G network</a> and would be a major shift for Sprint. Up until now, Sprint was committed to remaining a fully CDMA network and, therefore, partnered with Clearwire to help build and deploy a WiMax (4G CDMA) network. The positive of all CDMA networks is that every time speed is increased, voice capacity is increased. GSM follows the other way, the faster the speed, the less call capacity. The benefit of GSM is that it is the world's most prominent technology, meaning that phones can travel worldwide. </p><p> </p><p>How does Sprint plan to carry out the transition, and what does Clearwire think about the news? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1362-sprints-4g-technological-evolution.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:14:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1362-sprints-4g-technological-evolution.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1361-google-takes-on-teamviewer-with-new-chrome-extension.html <p>Google has tried to make a go at their Chrome Web Store, an Android-style marketplace for extensions for their Chrome browser and Chrome OS computers. So far, nothing of any true value has graced the store through my screen; that is until this week. </p><p> </p><p>I was surprised to find that Google's Chromium team, the same people who built the OS and the browser, had made a remote-desktop extension for the browser. Now, anyone who works on multiple computers can tell you what a hassle it can be. It's why I reviewed <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1333-control-all-of-your-computers-with-a-single-mouse-from-the-garage.html" class="UpStreamLink">Mouse Without Borders</a>, a project from the Microsoft Garage that allows you to transition your mouse across locally-networked computers. The problem still exists when you are not next to the computer, however. Companies have tried to produce a usable platform, such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.teamviewer.com/" class="UpStreamLink">TeamViewer</a> or <a target="NewWindow" href="http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh" class="UpStreamLink">Windows Live Mesh</a>, both of which we have used here in the office for the past few years. Google's attempt, however, is a little different. </p><p> </p><p>To find out what exactly they have done, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1361-google-takes-on-teamviewer-with-new-chrome-extension.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:31:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1361-google-takes-on-teamviewer-with-new-chrome-extension.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1360-youtube-wants-more-advertisers-to-favorite-them.html <p>Last year, Google became dissatisfied with losing money on YouTube which they purchased back in 2006 for $1.6 billion. In 2010, YouTube was the third most visited site in the world and raked in $544 million in revenue, making it almost profitable and this year revenues are projected to be around $1 billion according to Citigroup Inc. The thought of YouTube becoming profitable is as bizarre as Google taking the initiative to position YouTube in the world of cable and set-top box providers. They are, however, attempting to organize quite a line up of partnerships and shelling out $100 million in cash to make this all come together sometime next year. </p><p> </p><p>The first we heard of YouTube's initiative was in April of this year, when they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1124-youtube-channels-set-to-take-the-spotlight-.html" class="UpStreamLink">announced the re-positioning of YouTube</a>, centered around 2 things: original content creation and a channel-based user experience. YouTube has solicited a variety of Hollywood content creators and offered cash advances for them to create several hours of content per channel per month. </p><p> </p><p>People like pro skater Tony Hawk have been in talks with YouTube and are very close to reaching a deal if they haven't already. Verso Entertainment and Cash Warren might be bringing some mainstream sports coverage to the table as well. Partnerships with FremantleMedia Ltd, who is responsible for <i>The X Factor</i>, and Electus, which produced <i>Mob Wives</i>, are also in the mix bringing a wide variety of content. A YouTube spokesperson didn't offer anything concrete as far as who selected partners are but they are still actively talking to lots of content creators. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We don't comment on rumor or speculation, but we're always talking to content creators and curators of all kinds about building audiences on YouTube.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Will these changes in YouTube position YouTube for success in the future? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1360-youtube-wants-more-advertisers-to-favorite-them.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:01:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1360-youtube-wants-more-advertisers-to-favorite-them.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1359-paypal-takes-on-google-wallet-and-says-nfc-is-not-for-commerce.html <p>Google managed to cause controversy well before they imbued the Nexus S 4G Android phone for Sprint with NFC (near-field communications) technology in hopes of getting in early on the mobile payment market. Last May Paypal <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1176-google-is-getting-sued-by-paypal-over-who-pays-with-digital-wallets.html" class="UpStreamLink">brought up a lawsuit against Google and Paypal ex-senior executives</a> Osama Bedier and Stephanie Tilenius for breach of contract and employee poaching. Bedier left Paypal to head up Google Wallet and this lawsuit comes as no surprise. </p><p> </p><p>From October 2010 forward, Google and Paypal have entertained the use of NFC to transition the masses to digital wallets but they have decided to take different approaches. Google has adopted NFC as the method of choice, for now, and there has been a lot of discussion between major payment processing companies like Square, Visa and Mastercard about the widespread adoption of NFC technology. The general consensus at Mobile Future Forward this year was that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1355-whos-in-your-google-wallet-google.html" class="UpStreamLink">NFC wouldn't see its day for another 3-5 years</a> but Google is pushing forward and has entered into discussions with Visa, Discover and American Express about integrating their services. </p><p> </p><p>The director of communications at Paypal, Anuj Nayar, recently offered insight into their take on NFC and how they intended to approach mobile payments. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1359-paypal-takes-on-google-wallet-and-says-nfc-is-not-for-commerce.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:54:32 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1359-paypal-takes-on-google-wallet-and-says-nfc-is-not-for-commerce.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1358-hulu-hits-1-million-paid-subscribers.html <p>Things might be looking up for Hulu, finally. CEO Jason Kilar said this week that the video streaming service has over 1 million paid subscribers on its network, meeting its numbers that the company predicted earlier in the year. With Hulu still <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1229-hulu-for-sale.html" class="UpStreamLink">up for sale</a>, this certainly adds a lot of value to the company, who has been struggling in recent months to gain any traction in a market of new, rising services. </p><p> </p><p>While Hulu plans on spending another $375 million on content this year, it also helped that they spent big bucks on partner agreements with Viacom and Miramax only a few short months ago. </p><p> </p><p>It also should be noted that Hulu is still the only service to stream just-aired shows as soon as 24 hours after initial airing. Kilar chalks up the growth of the company to those TV shows and the exclusives that they have with the joint owners of News Corp., Disney and Comcast Universal. </p><p> </p><p>Kilar did mention that, despite some programming stations not wanting to come over to the green machine, Hulu is projecting $500 million in revenue this year alone. "I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll work with everyone over time," Kilar said. </p><p> </p><p>As far as the sale of Hulu, that's still up in the air. Rumors of Google, Amazon or Yahoo bidding for the company are still flying around and nobody behind the closed doors are saying anything to hint one way or the other. At this point, all we know is that 1 million paid subscribers are waiting for an answer that needs to be known soon.</p> Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:46:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1358-hulu-hits-1-million-paid-subscribers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1357-gamestop-to-sell-a-certified-gaming-tablet.html <p>GameStop has been making some very strange and/or questionable decisions as of late. They <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1289-eas-season-ticket-finds-more-ways-to-take-your-money.html" class="UpStreamLink">learned from EA about the devious ways of digital distribution</a>, they've <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1317-gamestop-caught-throwing-out-codes-found-inside-new-game-boxes.html" class="UpStreamLink">tampered with content found in brand new games</a> and they've even started to belive that Apple products are so shiny that even <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1330-gamestop-adding-apple-products-to-its-lineup.html" class="UpStreamLink">they can make money off of an iPod</a>. So what's GameStop doing now to go along with this steady stream of slightly insane? They're going to sell tablets, of course! Not just any tablet, though, as GameStop is going to be selling their own GameStop branded two-handheld device. </p><p> </p><p>Tony Bartel, president of GameStop, said in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz that they've selected a "GameStop-certified gaming platform" to market after going through several options on what the tablet of choice might be. </p><p> </p><p>What could this tablet have that you won't see anywhere else? We have details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1357-gamestop-to-sell-a-certified-gaming-tablet.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:32:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1357-gamestop-to-sell-a-certified-gaming-tablet.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1356-nvidia-has-a-fivecore-quadcore-named-kalel.html <p>During Mobile World Congress in February this year, Nvidia made a powerful showing with their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1046-nvidias-super-mobile-processor-kalel.html" class="UpStreamLink">super-powered mobile quad-core CPU</a>, appropriately named Kal-El. It put the Tegra 2 and Core2Duo to shame according to the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/images/news/logos/onetime/mwc2011-kaleltest.jpg" class="UpStreamLink">Coremark benchmark</a>. Its 12-core GPU also blew us away with stunning 1440p game demos that made all of us here at PLuGHiTz Live! Radio think it could change the way mobile computing works, and as it turns out, we were right because Kal-El has a secret fifth core. </p><p> </p><p>Wait, doesn't that mean Kal-El is masquerading around as a quad-core and Nvidia is outperforming Tegra 2 and Core2Duo by cheating? Well, it doesn't seem that way and here's why. Yes, Kal-El has five cores but the purpose and architecture of the fifth core makes it more of a core that's crippled by kryptonite than a super core. It does perform a function that seems to be unique to mobile computing, though, and you can find out all about that by reading on after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1356-nvidia-has-a-fivecore-quadcore-named-kalel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:36:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1356-nvidia-has-a-fivecore-quadcore-named-kalel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1355-whos-in-your-google-wallet-google.html <p>On September 10th of this year at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mobilefutureforward.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Mobile Future Forward</a>, the topic of discussion was largely mobile payment technologies and the rather mediocre adoption rates they have been experiencing. As it turns out, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1347-teens-could-flip-mobile-payments-upside-down.html" class="UpStreamLink">the corporate sector may not be the market segment that brings mobile payments into the mainstream</a>, as companies like Square, Amex, Google and Visa had previously expected. Instead, average consumers offer potential in not only growing the market for mobile payments but opening up an entirely new market segment. </p><p> </p><p>The big guns at Mobile Future Forward also cited the lack of widespread use of NFC (near field communication) in mobile devices and retail outlets wasn't helping their cause and they didn't expect that technology to be mainstream for at least another three years. Google announced Google Wallet back in May of this year and they have teamed up with Sprint to start pulling NFC and widespread mobile payments into the present. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1355-whos-in-your-google-wallet-google.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:16:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1355-whos-in-your-google-wallet-google.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1354-apple-to-unveil-iphone-5-oct-4th.html <p>I have very good news - the wait is almost over. In just a few days the tech media will finally stop talking about the iPhone 5's impending release! The reason, of course, is because Apple has scheduled a media event for October 4th. Based on reports that Sprint has canceled vacation time for mid-October and the fact that Apple really has nothing else going for it, it must be the release of the iPhone 5. </p><p> </p><p>The phone, however, is not what I am intrigued about (big surprise, right?). We all know that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1310-steve-jobs-resigns-as-ceo-of-apple.html" class="UpStreamLink">Steve Jobs resigned as CEO</a> not long ago. This unveiling will be the first one with new CEO Tim Cook at the helm. He has to be the presenter. Without him on stage, it will send the message that he is not cut out to fill the shoes of Jobs who, even during illnesses, has been on stage for major events. </p><p> </p><p>How is this going to work for Cook? Hit the break for my take on the situation. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1354-apple-to-unveil-iphone-5-oct-4th.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:16:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1354-apple-to-unveil-iphone-5-oct-4th.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1353-hp-replaces-ceo-after-2-months-of-disaster.html <p>It's been a rough couple of weeks for HP since CEO Leo Apotheker announced plans to spin off their computer division and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1326-hps-touchpad-firesale-will-return-after-this-brief-restocking-period.html" class="UpStreamLink">discontinued webOS hardware</a>. Everyone everywhere seems to think it is a terrible mistake that will ultimately sink the company. Apotheker asserts that focusing on the software and services business will bring HP back to prosperity, but the rest of the world seems to think it is a terrible decision. </p><p> </p><p>The rest of the world seems to include HP's Board of Directors, as Leo Apotheker was let go only 11 months after joining the company. If you remember, he was brought in to replace former CEO Mark Hurd was terminated <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/773-hp-ceo-resigns-after-sexual-harassment-investigation.html" class="UpStreamLink">for inappropriate behavior</a> with a contractor. Since taking over, Apotheker has constantly been a source of confusion for those of us who spend our lives covering the industry. After promising a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1029-hp-introduces-2-webos-phones-1-tablet-and-no-palm.html" class="UpStreamLink">bright future for webOS</a> and then closing the platform, it is no surprise he is out. </p><p> </p><p>Who will replace him? We have her name and history after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1353-hp-replaces-ceo-after-2-months-of-disaster.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:38:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1353-hp-replaces-ceo-after-2-months-of-disaster.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1352-forget-4g-verizon-cranks-up-their-backbone-speed-to-100g.html <p>Ever wanted to download a full Blu-ray movie in a few seconds? Well, very soon your prayers may be answer and you will be able to thank Verizon for making it happen. Big Red has said this week that it will be accomplishing an industry first when it flips the switch on its already-deployed 100Gbps data connection. You heard right: 100<b>G</b>bps. This is technology so fast, that an MP3 file would be downloaded before you could even think of wanting to listen to it. </p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, those speeds aren't available at your house yet. Why? We have the answer after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1352-forget-4g-verizon-cranks-up-their-backbone-speed-to-100g.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 21 Sep 2011 22:23:06 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1352-forget-4g-verizon-cranks-up-their-backbone-speed-to-100g.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1351-russian-soldier-steals-32-million-in-six-months.html <p>Ever wonder what the Russians are up to lately? News has come across my desk this week that sheds a little light on their improved craftiness. A Russian man in his twenties is suspected to be running a cyber crime ring, stealing millions of dollars with bank Trojans and other types of malware. </p><p> </p><p>Trend Micro has reported that this man, named "Soldier," has been able to steal over $3.2 million in only six months, beginning somewhere in January of this year. Just to break it down, that's $17,000 a day! </p><p> </p><p>How did this happen? We have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1351-russian-soldier-steals-32-million-in-six-months.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:15:14 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1351-russian-soldier-steals-32-million-in-six-months.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1350-commercials-say-ebaying-is-a-smart-move-on-your-smartphone.html <p>eBay has managed to sustain a relatively small amount of marketing and advertising since 2006 and it seems they've decided to come out of their shell and launch a new advertising campaign that will address the perception of eBay as a auction service and the mobile aspect of purchasing off the site. This decision was made because the way people use eBay has changed over the years and advancements in technology have imbued smartphones with the power to purchase which companies like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1347-teens-could-flip-mobile-payments-upside-down.html" class="UpStreamLink">PayPal and American Express know isn't a widely used option</a> right now. Richelle Parham, the chief marketing officer of eBay stated it simply, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We need to change that perception.</div> </p><p> </p><p>What she's referring to changing is the perception of the company as just an auction site. Over the past several years the fixed price items have come to surpass the number of items purchased through auctions. The new ad campaign, which has already aired some commercials, depicts someone purchasing a tablet at a fixed price through eBay which is bringing the mobile purchasing possibility into the mix. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the story and to check out one of the ads, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1350-commercials-say-ebaying-is-a-smart-move-on-your-smartphone.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:34:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1350-commercials-say-ebaying-is-a-smart-move-on-your-smartphone.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1349-att-launches-true-4g-lte-available-in-only-five-cities.html <p>We'll just cut right to the chase with this one. Over the weekend, AT&T launched their 4G LTE network. Turns out that they really do want to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1323-department-of-justice-blocks-attmobile-merger.html" class="UpStreamLink">acquire T-Mobile to expand their 4G</a>, right? Sadly, that is not the case. If you haven't followed along with us through the lies and deceit that T-Mobile and AT&T were delivering when it came to 4G truly meaning 4G, boy have you got a lot of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">catching up to do, so start here</a>. </p><p> </p><p>I guess we'll start up by saying AT&T claims to already have a 4G network (read: HSPA+), so this is their 4G LTE network that is being launched. This will not only confuse consumers that already have a "4G" device, but now clearly points out that what they had before was fake compared to Verizon's 4G LTE, that launched with what it promised. </p><p> </p><p>For where you will be able to get 4G LTE service for AT&T, follow us after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1349-att-launches-true-4g-lte-available-in-only-five-cities.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:32:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1349-att-launches-true-4g-lte-available-in-only-five-cities.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1348-sony-prevents-lawsuits-now-and-in-the-future.html <p>Microsoft's not the only ones <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1346-dashboard-updates-and-live-tv-for-xbox-360.html" class="UpStreamLink">working on updates to their service</a>, but they do seem to be the only ones working to improve it. Sony, instead of working on improving the quality of the PSN or making Home relevant have been working very hard to update their terms of service. As with any ToS change for any system, you must agree to the new terms before you are allowed to continue using the system. </p><p> </p><p>Most of the time this is just fine, but occasionally a company will add a clause that is against the user. Most recently there was a lot of outrage over DropBox changing their ToS to say that anything you upload to their service becomes their property. While most people seemed to be offended by a change like that, Sony seems to have been inspired. This week introduced a ToS change to the PSN that essentially states you cannot join a class action lawsuit against Sony. </p><p> </p><p>To read the exact text and find out how it affects you, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1348-sony-prevents-lawsuits-now-and-in-the-future.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:51:47 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1348-sony-prevents-lawsuits-now-and-in-the-future.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1347-teens-could-flip-mobile-payments-upside-down.html <p>PayPal, Google, Visa, Mastercard, Square and American Express have interjected themselves into the mobile payment arena with pretty mediocre results. One of the major issues is that there simply isn't a need for the service as far as most people are concerned. Credit cards are almost universally accepted as a quick and easy form of payment. Sure there are security issues that come along with carrying 1 or 4 credit/debit cards and any amount of cash but most just accept the risks for what they are. T- Mobile's Chief Strategy Officer Peter Ewens asserted at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mobilefutureforward.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Mobile Future Forward</a> that the security for mobile payments was improved over credit cards but that doesn't seem to be enough to get adoption rates up. You could probably compare mobile payments and credit cards to PDF and XPS files. PDF's solve a problem, not in a great way but everyone uses them. XPS's are a great solution to the same problem but since most people have already used PDF's for years, they just don't care to switch. </p><p> </p><p>All the big names at Mobile Future Forward also agree that technology like NFC, near field communications, are still about 3 years out from becoming mainstream on mobile devices and in the check-out registers of retail outlets. In the meantime, a new market segment has been targeted by American Express that differs greatly from corporate sector everyone has been targeting. </p><p> </p><p>To find out who AmEx has set their sights on now, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1347-teens-could-flip-mobile-payments-upside-down.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Sep 2011 11:06:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1347-teens-could-flip-mobile-payments-upside-down.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1346-dashboard-updates-and-live-tv-for-xbox-360.html <p>The feeling of the start of fall is beginning to fill the air. In Florida, car interiors are no longer burning with the heat of 1,000 raging wildfires, football season has just kicked off and for the Xbox 360, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1309-xbox-live-gets-another-cool-upgrade-for-the-espn-channel.html" class="UpStreamLink">ESPN just got loaded with a bunch of awesome upgrades</a> to prepare you until the mercury rises again. Fall season is also the time where the 360 also sees a dashboard upgrade, and that's what we found out this week. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft is looking to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1342-microsofts-buildwindows-conference-delivers-windows-8-preview.html" class="UpStreamLink">continue its sleek Windows 8/WinPho 7 look</a> and implement the 'Metro' user interface that we hinted at back at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1190-e3-2011-microsoft-keynote-liveblog.html" class="UpStreamLink">E3 this year</a> into the 360. Not only should we expect to see the Kinect and physical controller areas finally merged together to live happily, we should also see performance boosts, easier navigation and, of course, simpler, indexed searching with Bing via voice or text. </p><p> </p><p>However, that's not all we'll see this fall for the update. Plus, your Xbox is finally getting live TV! We'll talk about these great things after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1346-dashboard-updates-and-live-tv-for-xbox-360.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Sep 2011 02:11:56 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1346-dashboard-updates-and-live-tv-for-xbox-360.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1345-thx-turns-attention-to-mobile-devices-and-tablets.html <p>It seems like HTC isn't the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1328-htc-quickly-adds-beats-to-the-htc-sensation-with-a-special-edition.html" class="UpStreamLink">only company who cares about mobile audio</a>. According to THX, they announced this week that they are looking to improve and certify the quality of sound in tablets and mobile devices. THX is considered one of the leading audio experts in the industry that specialize in certifying audio receivers and TVs as products that specifically provide the best sound and video output. </p><p> </p><p>For more on what's in store for the device in your pocket or purse, follow us after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1345-thx-turns-attention-to-mobile-devices-and-tablets.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Sep 2011 01:24:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1345-thx-turns-attention-to-mobile-devices-and-tablets.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1344-nokia-is-unsure-about-google-and-motorola.html <p>Earlier this month when Steven Elop, the CEO of Nokia, was in China discussing the Q4 rollout of their new Windows Phone, the N9, he made an interesting comment about Google purchasing Motorola. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">It creates a great deal of uncertainty for the Android ecosystem. I'm sure it is of great concern for many of the Android participants.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Elop also said that the effects of the deal will only be realized over time and that it will also affect hardware manufacturers' allegiances to the platform. </p><p> </p><p>Android hardware manufacturers like HTC and Samsung are already getting squeezed for every Android phone they produce and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1172-microsofts-android-profits-soar.html" class="UpStreamLink">Microsoft is making a lot of money</a> off of Google's Android patent infringements. It also doesn't help that Google has made some decisions in the past that might not have been in the best interest of manufacturers, like when they decided to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1293-googles-angry-mistake.html" class="UpStreamLink">decline Microsoft's offer to join the Rockstar Consortium</a> which would have given them access to the Nortel patents and possibly prevented further patent infringements in the future. Now Google getting their hands on Motorola adds a whole new element to the situation. </p><p> </p><p>Find out what this could mean for Android users after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1344-nokia-is-unsure-about-google-and-motorola.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:28:41 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1344-nokia-is-unsure-about-google-and-motorola.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1343-virginia-is-for-lovers-and-haters-of-wifi.html <p>I am sure everyone has encountered a person throughout their lives who claims to have been made ill by WiFi and cellular phones. Probably very few of those people have legitimate claims, considering there are other radio waves broadcasting almost everywhere all the time. Well, it turns out that there is a haven for these people who do not quite understand how technology works, and it is in Virginia. </p><p> </p><p>In Virginia, there is the National Radio Quiet Zone, which is a 13,000 square mile area that surrounds the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. As it turns out, because of regulations placed on the area to protect the observatory's telescope and its work, the area is almost entirely free of radio waves and other electromagnetic interference. Because of this, it has become a haven for crazy people. </p><p> </p><p>What do the residents think of the area? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1343-virginia-is-for-lovers-and-haters-of-wifi.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Sep 2011 11:55:30 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1343-virginia-is-for-lovers-and-haters-of-wifi.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1342-microsofts-buildwindows-conference-delivers-windows-8-preview.html <p>Microsoft held their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/build/" class="UpStreamLink">//build/windows Conference</a> this week and there was plenty of stuff to keep everyone entertained. While the event was intended to be a multi-day developer gathering in Anaheim, California, it turned into a display of cool new technology from multiple hardware partners and reveals of amazing new Microsoft technologies. </p><p> </p><p>Whether you are excited about tablets or cars, there was a wide range of conversations that came out of the event, but the thing on everyone's mind was Windows 8. Ever since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1179-microsoft-lets-us-peek-through-the-curtains-with-windows-8.html" class="UpStreamLink">we got a peek at D9</a>, everyone has wanted to see a big demonstration and many of us have wanted to get our hands on the new interface. At //build we got both of our wishes. </p><p> </p><p>To start off, Microsoft gave us some high-level tutorials on how the OS works and what they have improved on in the Metro UI from the current Windows Phone 7 and the Xbox 360 Dashboard, plus how the computer can operate without the standard Windows UI. For starters, the classic desktop is still available, but through a live tile on the Start screen. This gives you the ability to still interact with applications that could never really work as a Metro app, for example Photoshop or Visual Studio. </p><p> </p><p>How will Metro work for a full computer and how can you try it out? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1342-microsofts-buildwindows-conference-delivers-windows-8-preview.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:18:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1342-microsofts-buildwindows-conference-delivers-windows-8-preview.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1341-nbc-gives-free-shows-on-zune.html <p>Do you like free stuff? Of course you do. This week, NBC has decided to give away some free stuff, and we're not talking about old shows or canceled projects. In hopes of gaining interest for their new season of comedies, NBC is giving away the pilots for two of their new series. </p><p> </p><p>The series that are available are <i>Free Agents</i> and <i>Up All Night</i>. It's not just the pilots that are available, either; you can also download behind the scenes and previews as well. Being available from the Zune Marketplace, you have the ability to watch it on your computer, a portable device or on your Xbox, and it is available in SD or HD formats. </p><p> </p><p>Having watched both of them myself already, I can tell you that I am excited to see if the writers can keep up the momentum on these shows because so far they are both pretty wonderful. Want to take a look before you download the shows? Hit the break for a little sneak peak. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1341-nbc-gives-free-shows-on-zune.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:33:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1341-nbc-gives-free-shows-on-zune.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1339-nike-comes-back-from-the-future-with-back-to-the-future.html <p>Leave it to Nike to come out with something that people have been clamoring to make into reality for what seems to be eons now. Nike's factories have been dialed up with some flux capacitors to bring to the world the "Back for the Future" 2011 Nike Mag. Yes, that's right, the shoes from the <i>Back to the Future</i> movie! </p><p> </p><p>Nike is auctioning them off on eBay and all proceeds benefit the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.michaeljfox.org/" class="UpStreamLink">Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research</a>. Here's the details. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">1,500 pairs of the most famous shoes never made will be auctioned off to benefit the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Together, we're going to help erase Parkinson's disease from the space-time continuum.</div> </p><p> </p><p>This is so cool, words can't even describe it! We have the videos after the break and the auction site in the source link. Check them out! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1339-nike-comes-back-from-the-future-with-back-to-the-future.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:45:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1339-nike-comes-back-from-the-future-with-back-to-the-future.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1338-sales-team-ganges-up-on-groupon.html <p>Groupon is a company that was celebrated by investors until August of this year when their web traffic dropped by 50% from June. The company has also been trying to deflect a lot of negative publicity with regards to valuations that put them between $15 to $20 billion even thought Q2 of this year they lost $103 million and claimed revenues of $878 million. Unfortunately for them, things are getting worse with the addition of another class action lawsuit. </p><p> </p><p>Employee dissatisfaction seems to be at an all time high with regards to their sales force. Former salesperson Ranita Dailey will represent hundreds of plaintiffs in the suit that cites Groupon violated state and federal labor laws. They are seeking three years of overtime, other back wages and punitive damages. Filed with the suit was a bi-monthly pay stub that has Dailey working 106 hours and receiving compensation for 19.75 hours along with $478 in commission. The lawsuit was filed last month after alleged Groupon employees were posting comments to the tune of "Immense pressure to hit unrealistic sales goals," and "Sales staff cries all the time," on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Groupon-Reviews-E301291.htm" class="UpStreamLink">Glass Door</a>. </p><p> </p><p>I think many of their problems stem from a business model that just doesn't work and businesses are finally starting to realize that offering their services at 50% then giving Groupon a cut is not such a hot idea.</p> Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:20:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1338-sales-team-ganges-up-on-groupon.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1337-apple-wins-adobe-concedes-defeat-in-the-flash-mob-war.html <p>I can't think of any other way to say this other than, Apple won. Yes, you read that correctly. In the battle that was almost destined to go <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/625-adobe-sarcasm-101-now-available-on-apples-audacity.html" class="UpStreamLink">on forever between Apple and Adobe</a>, Apple won. This week, Adobe announced it would be updating its Flash Media Server to version 4.5, which would include an ability for Apple users to finally see Flash content, in a very round-a-bout way. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this end of war, check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1337-apple-wins-adobe-concedes-defeat-in-the-flash-mob-war.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:43:58 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1337-apple-wins-adobe-concedes-defeat-in-the-flash-mob-war.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1336-spotify-drops-in-on-ford-syncs-up-some-mad-beats.html <p>This weekend's Hackathon in San Francisco showed some really cool, new, innovative tech off to the masses. Specifically, we saw Spotify and Ford team up "unofficially" to show everyone how easy (and how cool) it is to integrate with Ford's voice-activated SYNC system. Spotify was there to explain details on how easy the API and SDK are and to encourage developers to "hack" the in-dash system to make some great apps. </p><p> </p><p>We have lots more on what you can do with SYNC after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1336-spotify-drops-in-on-ford-syncs-up-some-mad-beats.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:08:18 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1336-spotify-drops-in-on-ford-syncs-up-some-mad-beats.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1335-twits-at-twitter-forgot-to-trademark-tweet.html <p>In the effort of fairness, Twitter forgetting to trademark "Tweet" happened before Dick Costolo took the reins and began <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1272-war-and-twitter-140-characters-at-a-time.html" class="UpStreamLink">trying to turn Twitter into an actual business</a>. However it doesn't excuse this oversight or the way Twitter is trying to get rights to the "Let Your Ad Meet Tweets" trademark that is held by none other than <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.twittad.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Twittad</a>. </p><p> </p><p>They are a 3rd party integration partner that utilizes the Twitter API to perpetuate it's pay-per-tweet advertisement model allowing users to make money off their tweets. Recently, Twitter's treatment of 3rd party integration partners hasn't exactly been conducive with maintaining healthy relationships seeing as how they <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1073-twitter-dislikes-your-interface.html" class="UpStreamLink">pulled a lot of API tokens</a>. Now, add suing one over their own stupidity to the list and you've got a funny, yet not very surprising situation to read and write about. The delightful details of this almost but not quite trademark dispute can be found after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1335-twits-at-twitter-forgot-to-trademark-tweet.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Sep 2011 16:29:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1335-twits-at-twitter-forgot-to-trademark-tweet.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1334-att-wants-to-spend-39-billion-on-insignificance.html <p>Back in March <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T told the world they wanted to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion</a>. Then in August AT&T had to do some <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1306-atts-real-reasons-for-wanting-tmobile.html" class="UpStreamLink">damage control</a> when a letter stating the real reasons AT&T wants the merger to happen was posted on the FCC's website by someone at a law firm who is working with AT&T on the merger. This evidence, that was so conveniently delivered to the FCC's virtual door step, by a currently unemployed paralegal or lawyer, prompted the Department of Justice to open an investigation. </p><p> </p><p>Last week the DoJ made a statement about their lawsuit to block the AT&T - T-Mobile merger, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">AT&T's elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low-priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market.</div> </p><p> </p><p>AT&T's argument against the merger block takes a very different stance, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The new network will be more than the sum of its parts: as a result of engineering efficiencies enabled by the transaction, the combined capacity of the new firm will be significantly greater than what the two companies could do separately. That means increased output, higher quality service, fewer dropped calls, and lower prices to consumers than without the merger. Rather than substantially reducing competition, the combined firm will usher in more intense competition to an already vibrantly competitive market.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Despite their optimistic tenor with regards to this merger, AT&T's take on T-Mobile and it's own LTE network is polar opposite. Will acquiring T-Mobile help AT&T to deliver your world in a better way? Find out after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1334-att-wants-to-spend-39-billion-on-insignificance.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:03:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1334-att-wants-to-spend-39-billion-on-insignificance.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1333-control-all-of-your-computers-with-a-single-mouse-from-the-garage.html <p>We've never talked about <b>The Garage</b> from Microsoft here at The UpStream, but it is something worth mentioning. <b>The Garage</b> is an initiative at Microsoft, similar to Google Labs, where employees are encouraged to work in innovative projects. Unlike Google Labs, however, some pretty impressive stuff has come out of <b>The Garage</b>. Most of the projects are eventually integrated into an existing Microsoft project or are used internally to speed development or deployment of said projects. From time to time, however, a project is so unique and so useful that it deserves to stand on its own, and today we have one such project. </p><p> </p><p>The product is called Mouse without Borders. The simple, descriptive name succinctly encapsulates what it started out as but hides a lot of its true awesomeness. MwB, as the name suggests, allows you to use a single mouse across the border of your average viewport. In essence, a mouse on one computer in your office or home can move to another computer and control your interactions without having to actually connect the mouse to that computer. Reading that description was all I needed to try it out. What I didn't know was all of the other great features that are hidden behind the name. </p><p> </p><p>To find out what all Mouse without Borders can do for you, see a video about the product and get the download link to try it yourself, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1333-control-all-of-your-computers-with-a-single-mouse-from-the-garage.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:32:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1333-control-all-of-your-computers-with-a-single-mouse-from-the-garage.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1332-google-goes-zagat.html <p>Ever since Google <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1273-google-places-reviews-on-hold.html" class="UpStreamLink">discontinued using third party reviews on Places</a>, we all knew it was only a matter of time before they bought their way back to relevance and this week they did just that. After an unsuccessful attempt to initiate a buyout a few years back, Zagat has officially been purchased by Google. This will most certainly change the social review landscape as we know it. </p><p> </p><p>This purchase can certainly bring Google Places back to a relevant service as soon as Google reintegrates Zagat reviews into the service. The problem, however, comes with the credibility of Zagat. For years they have been the independant, unbiased review site and publication for restaraunts. That will all change once Google puts themselves in charge of the brand. </p><p> </p><p>How might this change the way many people find new places to eat? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1332-google-goes-zagat.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:24:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1332-google-goes-zagat.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1331-godaddy-blacks-out-selective-dns.html <p>Before we get into what has changed, let's start by discussing what DNS is. DNS is the Domain Name Service, the protocol that translates domain names into IP addresses. Basically, when you type in www.plughitzlive.com, DNS is what translates it into 64.202.163.78. Obviously you would rather remember the name, not the number - thanks, DNS! </p><p> </p><p>Now, to the news. GoDaddy, now under new management, has implemented a new policy restricting who can access their DNS servers. Now, they're not going to black out service providers like Time Warner or Comcast, but they might block services like Alexa, who shows domain traffic for the top websites on the Internet, from accessing their servers. This could significantly damage the way companies and individuals find out how well their sites are doing. Rich Merdinger, Director, Domain Services, released this statement, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Go Daddy monitors DNS queries to ensure our customers' information is being accessed properly and not being harvested for unintended uses. </p><p>If we suspect that any service is gathering DNS data, we will limit access to that specific source. This is done to maintain our high level of system integrity. </p><p> </p><p>If a company or service has questions about accessing Go Daddy DNS, they can email dns (at) jomax.net.</div> </p><p> </p><p>To find out exactly what this means for you and how it could affect the rest of the Internet, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1331-godaddy-blacks-out-selective-dns.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:14:41 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1331-godaddy-blacks-out-selective-dns.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1330-gamestop-adding-apple-products-to-its-lineup.html <p>In one of the strangest moves we have seen out of GameStop in a while, they will soon be carrying Apple products in-store. In addition to selling products like the iPod Touch and iPad, the company will also begin offering iPhones. The idea of carrying iPhones now, as Apple is rumored to expand its US wireless offerings to all 4 carriers, adding Sprint and T-Mobile USA at iPhone 5 launch, sure seems like a good idea on paper. Over 20 million iPhones were sold this past quarter, and that can only increase if the rumors of Sprint and T-Mobile are true. </p><p> </p><p>In addition to a large user-base for the iPhone and iPad, it also seems like a semi-natural fit for GameStop, seeing as more and more games are written to accommodate the platform. The problem with adding this new product category is that it will bring GameStop into a new world that they are not used to - wireless plans and activations. It's not an easy world, as any employee of a wireless carrier store, kiosk or third-party can tell you. </p><p> </p><p>What else has GameStop got up their sleeves with Apple and how might they handle this shift? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1330-gamestop-adding-apple-products-to-its-lineup.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:43:59 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1330-gamestop-adding-apple-products-to-its-lineup.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1329-nintendos-3ds-ambassador-program-goes-live.html <p>I have another update coming at you this week, this time regarding Nintendo. We now have final details on the company's Ambassador Program, which is Nintendo's way of saying, "<a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1303-nintendo-says-sorry-for-the-early-price-drop-on-the-3ds.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sorry that we dropped the price on the 3DS so quickly</a>." </p><p> </p><p>We have details on the games after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1329-nintendos-3ds-ambassador-program-goes-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Sep 2011 17:25:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1329-nintendos-3ds-ambassador-program-goes-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1328-htc-quickly-adds-beats-to-the-htc-sensation-with-a-special-edition.html <p>I promised an update after I broke the news on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1305-htc-acquires-majority-stake-in-beats-audio-for-300-million.html" class="UpStreamLink">HTC's majority stake acquisition of Beats Audio</a>, but I certainly didn't expect an update to come so soon after the announcement. Add to that the fact that we already have a device slated for launch and we have something interesting to discuss this week! </p><p> </p><p>A picture and the news can be found after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1328-htc-quickly-adds-beats-to-the-htc-sensation-with-a-special-edition.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Sep 2011 17:14:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1328-htc-quickly-adds-beats-to-the-htc-sensation-with-a-special-edition.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1327-dish-network-introduces-blockbuster-movie-streaming-service.html <p>After <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1277-dish-network-keeps-open-over-1500-blockbuster-locations.html" class="UpStreamLink">acquiring Blockbuster</a> and deciding to keep almost all of their remaining stores open for some strange reason, Dish Network has decided to launch a Blockbuster streaming service to compete with the likes of Netflix. </p><p> </p><p>How? We have more after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1327-dish-network-introduces-blockbuster-movie-streaming-service.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:54:14 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1327-dish-network-introduces-blockbuster-movie-streaming-service.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1326-hps-touchpad-firesale-will-return-after-this-brief-restocking-period.html <p>It seems like it was just yesterday that HP went crazy and decided to kill off its <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/618-hp-purchases-palm-for-12-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">$1.2 billion acquisition</a> by starting a fire sale on the TouchPads just six weeks after launch, practically giving them away at $99 and $149. Regardless of the rhyme and reason for the decisions made, which we will discuss <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/radio/index.php" class="UpStreamLink">on our show</a>, HP seems astonished that the move garnered such attention and caused a sellout in almost every store that carried the product. </p><p> </p><p>To see what they've decided to do next, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1326-hps-touchpad-firesale-will-return-after-this-brief-restocking-period.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:03:36 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1326-hps-touchpad-firesale-will-return-after-this-brief-restocking-period.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1325-losing-iphone-prototypes-is-so-last-mac-world-and-hard-drives-with-confidential-info-are-in.html <p>After losing the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://gizmodo.com/5520438/how-apple-lost-the-next-iphone" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone 4 prototype</a> I suppose it just felt right to make the same mistake by losing the iPhone 5 prototype... in another bar of course. Now, only 2 days after losing the iPhone 5 prototype a Genius Bar employee at an Apple Store in Samford Connecticut has probably started a new trend by giving a customer a hard drive with confidential information. </p><p> </p><p>An anonymous source contacted <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.cultofmac.com/this-guy-walked-away-from-the-genius-bar-with-a-drive-full-of-apples-retail-secrets-exclusive-pics/111520" class="UpStreamLink">Cult of Mac</a> saying that they procured a hard drive with confidential Apple information. By "procured" I mean, it was given to him and by "confidential Apple information," I'm talking about a complete Apple Retail Store server Time Machine backup disk with internal documents from late 2009 to May of this year. </p><p> </p><p>How did this actually happen? You can probably guess but reading about it still makes it that much better. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1325-losing-iphone-prototypes-is-so-last-mac-world-and-hard-drives-with-confidential-info-are-in.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 04 Sep 2011 08:59:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1325-losing-iphone-prototypes-is-so-last-mac-world-and-hard-drives-with-confidential-info-are-in.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1324-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-xbox-360.html <p>While the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1285-r2d2-soon-available-as-home-entertainment-product.html" class="UpStreamLink">Star Wars Xbox 360</a> won't be out until next year, the newly announced <i>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3</i> special edition bundle will be available November 8th. Announced at Activision's Call of Duty XP event, the bundle will include a lot of custom-designed hardware and interactions. </p><p> </p><p>The console is designed to look battle-worn, easily fitting into the theme for the flagship franchise. It includes a 320GB hard drive and custom <a target="NewWindow" href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/majornelson/Xbox360MW3ConsolePower.wav" class="UpStreamLink">power</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/majornelson/Xbox360ConsoleEject.wav" class="UpStreamLink">eject</a> sounds. In addition to the console customizations, you will also receive 2 custom-designed <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/812-new-xbox-360-wireless-controller-to-feature-shapeshifting-dpad.html" class="UpStreamLink">second generation controllers</a>. You will also, of course, receive a copy of the game with a 1 month Live subscription. </p><p> </p><p>The controllers will also be available separately, retailing for $60 and will come with a token for an exclusive download. The big, surprising news is the other custom hardware. There will be a headset, custom designed to go with the game and the special edition console, that can work both with the Xbox 360 or as a Bluetooth headset for a phone. It comes with a charging cradle as well as another token for an exclusive download. As far as the download that comes with it, we know as much as you do at this point, but I can imagine it is a virtual version for your avatar. </p><p> </p><p>If you want to see more photos of the console than the one in the corner there, you can check it out <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/majornelson/sets/72157627577954956/" class="UpStreamLink">on Flickr</a>. </p><p> </p><p>So, are you a big enough CoD fan to spend the $400 for this special edition console and another $70 for the headset, or are you just planning on getting the game? Let us know in the comments section!</p> Sat, 03 Sep 2011 22:21:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1324-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-xbox-360.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1323-department-of-justice-blocks-attmobile-merger.html <p>Since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T's announced plans to purchase T-Mobile USA</a>, there has been a lot of talk about why and how. What are <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1306-atts-real-reasons-for-wanting-tmobile.html" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T's real reasons for the purchase</a>? Will the federal government allow said merger? This week we got the answer to the last question. </p><p> </p><p>The US Department of Justice filed a suit to prevent the $39 billion merger between the only 2 GSM carriers left in the US. They claim that the merger would damage the state of the wireless industry, essentially eliminating the low-cost alternative to the Big 3 (Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint). They also claim that no amount of technology gain from the combination of spectrum would offset this damage to consumers. </p><p> </p><p>What did the DoJ say and what do the carriers think about this move? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1323-department-of-justice-blocks-attmobile-merger.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 03 Sep 2011 21:27:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1323-department-of-justice-blocks-attmobile-merger.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1322-apple-employees-raid-home-with-help-of-police-again.html <p>I think we all remember the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://gizmodo.com/5520438/how-apple-lost-the-next-iphone" class="UpStreamLink">iPhone 4 prototype that was lost</a> and the controversy around the <a target="NewWindow" href="" class="UpStreamLink">termination of an employee</a> for showing an iPad prototype to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. I don't think anyone would expect another prototype issue to arise, especially one that is exactly the same as the first one, right after the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1302-an-apple-lawsuit-finally-ends.html" class="UpStreamLink">legal battle has ended</a>. Apple lost an iPhone 5 prototype handset at a bar. Yeah, that's right... another prototype, another bar. </p><p> </p><p>Clearly, Apple needs to stop letting their moron "engineers" leave the property with the prototypes because, while drinking away their frustration of working for Apple, they tend to lose them. The reaction from Apple has been very similar to the first time, but the strategy has been altered based on what they learned in raiding the home of a Gizmodo editor. Instead of contacting the FBI and hiring private security firm Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team, they went to the local police and had them accompany their in-house security team while they raided the house. </p><p> </p><p>For the full details on the home invasion and the police's involvement, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1322-apple-employees-raid-home-with-help-of-police-again.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:15:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1322-apple-employees-raid-home-with-help-of-police-again.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1321-google-does-a-little-project-downsizing.html <p>Ever since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1013-googles-eric-schmidt-resigns-as-ceo.html" class="UpStreamLink">Larry Page reclaimed the reigns of Google</a> a few months ago, he has been making a lot of changes to get the company <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1123-googles-employment-transition.html" class="UpStreamLink">back to their roots</a>. He has even tried to regain the fun start-up feel by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1251-google-bids-with-constantly-crazy-math-skills.html" class="UpStreamLink">mathematical constants vs regular whole numbers</a> on an important auction. This week he is working on trimming some of the corporate fat by closing some of the many worthless Google projects. </p><p> </p><p>The most notable product to be axed is <b>Google Desktop</b>. For those who do not know, Google Desktop was a system add-on that allowed you to search your computer with the same familiar style of any other Google search. The product was originally created for Windows when XP did not have an indexed search option for the platform, so the ability to index your files and search quickly was a definite advantage. In modern operating systems like Windows 7 or MacOS X, files are indexed regularly by the OS itself, eliminating the need for an add-on like this. September 15 will mark the end of Desktop, including all support and APIs. </p><p> </p><p>For us here at PLuGHiTz Live!, the one that really hits home is <b>Google Pack</b>. For those of you who have been following us from the beginning, Google Pack was one of our first sponsors for the site and the show. While the products that have been a part of the pack have lost a lot of relevance over the years, it is still a little odd for us to know the product that got us started will be no more. Google's announcement made the closure immediate, so the product is already gone. The website, however, is still around and you can still download the products directly from their respective websites from the links. </p><p> </p><p>What are other 8 products that will end? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1321-google-does-a-little-project-downsizing.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:05:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1321-google-does-a-little-project-downsizing.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1320-nokias-plans-to-make-us-remember-them-with-windows-phone-7.html <p>Nokia has had a rough ride over the past half-decade or so. They were never particularly big in the US and still managed to maintain a leading global market share, that is, until they decided not to compete with Android, iOS and HTC. As a result, in April of this year <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1118-htc-moves-up-in-rank-taking-nokias-spot-in-market-value.html" class="UpStreamLink">HTC passed up Nokia to claim the number 3 spot</a>, in terms of market value, behind Samsung and Apple. The struggling Symbian and MeeGo operating systems Nokia had developed in-house were antiquated and Nokia just couldn't seem to bring them up to par. This has forced them to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1143-nokia-to-cut-4000-jobs-move-another-3000-and-symbian-to-accenture.html" class="UpStreamLink">cut 4,000 jobs and move 3,000 more to Accenture</a> who would be taking on Symbian and MeeGo development. All this makes it feel like Nokia did a hard reset on themselves and just forgot how to be Nokia. The uncertainty of their future even earned them a spot on 24/7 Wall St.'s <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1221-10-brands-that-will-not-survive.html" class="UpStreamLink"> 10 brands that will not survive in 2012</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Then from Microsoft came hope that Nokia could rise again. September of last year, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/832-former-microsoft-exec-a-spy-at-nokia.html" class="UpStreamLink">Stephen Elop, the former Microsoft executive</a> who headed up the $18.6 billion business division, took the reins from former CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. Elop was faced with solving Nokia's market erosion problems which resulted in Nokia giving up on Symbian and MeeGo completely, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1034-nokia-announces-partnership-with-microsoft-for-windows-phone-7-handsets.html" class="UpStreamLink">in favor of Windows Phone 7</a> earlier this year. Now, Nokia has come forward with some information to reassure us that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1045-nokia-makes-sure-you-know-theyre-not-losing-out-on-the-microsoft-deal.html" class="UpStreamLink">they weren't making a bad decision by signing their life away to WinPho7</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia's head designer, plans to design phones that will save us from our phones. Sound familiar? Find out more after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1320-nokias-plans-to-make-us-remember-them-with-windows-phone-7.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:00:11 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1320-nokias-plans-to-make-us-remember-them-with-windows-phone-7.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1319-facebook-unhides-your-privacy-controls-and-trades-in-places-for-tags-.html <p>It's been a bumpy ride for Facebook in terms of privacy management. At times they have taken liberties by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/376-facebook-changing-its-privacy-system.html" class="UpStreamLink">changing default settings like back in 2009</a> and even though there have been constant complaints from users wanting more simplified privacy management for year now, their attempts at doing so have been unsuccessful at best. This is why the new changes that recently took place are a bit surprising. Facebook's concept about how the user interacts with their entire profile is changing, seemingly for the better. </p><p> </p><p>It was also back in 2009 that Facebook gave users the ability to control who sees individual pieces of content and now Facebook has finally taken things a step further by using inline controls to put privacy management in the forefront, instead of burying it away in an obscure manner under your "Account Settings." For example, the user will finally have more control over photos that other people tag them in. Now they have the ability to approve or deny tagged photos, ask the person who posted the photo to take it down or block the person. It's also worth noting that if you block the person or deny the tag, the picture will not show up in your profile. Take a moment to read over the previous sentence and give your self a minute to let that marinate... okay. The only downside is that now anyone can tag you in a photo, not just your friends. Given that what happens on the Internet stays on the Internet indefinitely, these enhancements will make that mostly a non-issue. </p><p> </p><p>Facebook is putting privacy management in the limelight and moving Facebook Places backstage. Find out more about that after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1319-facebook-unhides-your-privacy-controls-and-trades-in-places-for-tags-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:44:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1319-facebook-unhides-your-privacy-controls-and-trades-in-places-for-tags-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1318-ubisoft-reminds-us-you-dont-need-limbs-to-be-a-smash-with-rayman-origins.html <p>I've been eagerly awaiting <i>Rayman Origins</i> since the demo at the Ubisoft Keynote from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/e32011.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3</a> this year. With big MMO-style FPS titles, such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1194-e3-2011-why-do-ea-keynotes-always-feel-like-battlefield-3.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Battlefield 3</i></a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1199-e3-2011-tom-clancys-ghost-recon-future-soldier-.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier</i></a> getting a lot of press, it's games like <i>Rayman Origins</i> that remind us there is still a place in this world for 2D games without guns... or limbs. </p><p> </p><p>From what I've seen, the super realistic 2D artwork integrates with the action taking place in the foreground of the game so that everything works in tandem. Simply put, it just looks stunning and like a tremendous amount of fun and or/pain. Based on the demo at E3, even the most experienced gamer will be attempting levels over and over again. Even developers from Ubisoft had some difficultly completing levels during the demo and gamers who are familiar with Rayman from previous experiences already know that its high degree of difficultly makes it very rewarding in the end. </p><p> </p><p>If you haven't seen <i>Rayman Origins</i> in action yet you can check out the E3 demo after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1318-ubisoft-reminds-us-you-dont-need-limbs-to-be-a-smash-with-rayman-origins.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:25:41 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1318-ubisoft-reminds-us-you-dont-need-limbs-to-be-a-smash-with-rayman-origins.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1317-gamestop-caught-throwing-out-codes-found-inside-new-game-boxes.html <p>GameStop has always been known for doing the right thing, right? Well, then this story should come as a shocker to you. If you have purchased your copy of <i>Deus Ex: Human Revolution</i> from GameStop, you may have noticed a little code missing from your box. The code was to allow you to play the game for free using the wonderful services of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/953-onlive-playpack-offers-monthly-subscription-for-unlimited-gaming.html" class="UpStreamLink">OnLive</a>. </p><p> </p><p>GameStop, being afraid of a little competition, decided to remove those codes and that memo came from top brass, specifically Josh Ivanoff, GameStop's Field Operations Manager. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Please immediately remove and discard the On Live coupon from all regular PC versions of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Our desire is to not have this coupon go to any customers after this announcement.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Clearly, some associate in GameStop didn't agree with this and leaked the image of the memo. Good for them! GameStop now has to eat their words and apologize, and we have the details after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1317-gamestop-caught-throwing-out-codes-found-inside-new-game-boxes.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:05:28 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1317-gamestop-caught-throwing-out-codes-found-inside-new-game-boxes.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1316-microsoft-patent-application-could-kinect-smartphones-together.html <p>Patents have been front and center in the media thanks to the recent <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1293-googles-angry-mistake.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google vs. the Rockstar organization</a> events and Microsoft put in a neat little patent application February of last year for "Combined Surface User Interface," which Apple echoed on February of this year. </p><p> </p><p>The idea behind this patent is to use pico projectors to display a workspace that can be integrated with another workspace from a different device. The user(s) will also be able to interact with the workspace through motions captured by the camera on the device. </p><p> </p><p>Catch a glimpse into the future and see what I'm talking about after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1316-microsoft-patent-application-could-kinect-smartphones-together.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Aug 2011 07:57:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1316-microsoft-patent-application-could-kinect-smartphones-together.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1315-googles-investigation-has-cost-500-million-so-far.html <p>We all knew it was only a matter of time before the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1222-google-in-hot-water-with-the-government.html" class="UpStreamLink">Department of Justice's Google investigation</a> started turning up some skeletons, but I don't think anyone thought Google would start settling the cases this quickly. The first case to come out of the investigations seems to be about advertising. </p><p> </p><p>It would appear that Google took money from Canadian pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products to US residents. Now, while it is not unusual for Canadian companies to market to US citizens, it is unusual for a US-based advertiser to do so for pharmaceuticals. Why? It is illegal for a person to import non-FDA managed drugs, which is exactly the process these companies were trying to avoid. </p><p> </p><p>How exactly did Google get involved and how much has it cost them? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1315-googles-investigation-has-cost-500-million-so-far.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:44:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1315-googles-investigation-has-cost-500-million-so-far.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1314-xbla-wants-your-exclusives.html <p>I have a bit of information for my aspiring game developers - if you want to publish your game on the Xbox LIVE Arcade, don't submit it to the PlayStation Network. If you do, your application for XBLA will be denied. Well, that is all assuming it is published on PSN before XBLA. </p><p> </p><p>Obviously, this is all about getting exclusive content for Xbox, or at least getting the head start on the competition. This isn't the only policy Microsoft has that is similar; even the big publishers are required to have the same content on-disc across all platforms if Microsoft will allow it on their platform. As far as these demands, I understand and approve of them. Microsoft wants to protect their platform and, of course, their users. </p><p> </p><p>To read what Chris Lewis of Xbox Europe has to say, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1314-xbla-wants-your-exclusives.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:11:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1314-xbla-wants-your-exclusives.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1313-androids-security-problems-get-worse-apple-avoids-attacks.html <p>We've talked in the past about Android's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/755-apple-google-or-palm.html" class="UpStreamLink">Marketplace</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1160-android-is-a-security-disaster.html" class="UpStreamLink">overall</a> security problems, and it seems they are not getting better. In fact, Google's attack rate has grown 76% in the past quarter. This is not surprising considering the platform's popularity. </p><p> </p><p>For decades Apple has touted their lack of malware on their computer systems. The case, however, has never come down to the fact that Apples are incapable of being attacked, but instead on the fact that no one owned them and therefore there was no point in attacking them, though <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1162-mac-users-finally-admit-they-get-viruses-too.html" class="UpStreamLink">that has changed some</a>. Google's platform has become the most popular mobile platform, like Windows for computers, and therefore it has become the platform to attack. </p><p> </p><p>Why has Apple remained unaffected? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1313-androids-security-problems-get-worse-apple-avoids-attacks.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:37:47 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1313-androids-security-problems-get-worse-apple-avoids-attacks.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1312-foxs-antiinternet-policy-leads-to-piracy.html <p>It's been a month since FOX <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1281-fox-limits-how-soon-you-can-watch-their-content-online-after-it-airs.html" class="UpStreamLink">announced its 8 day Internet rule</a> and only 2 weeks since it has gone into effect, but the results are already becoming apparent. As most people on the Internet knew before the rule went into effect, the result is, of course, piracy. </p><p> </p><p>People do not use services like Hulu because they enjoy commercials; they do so because it is an easy and convenient way to get content in good quality legally. Hulu, however, is not the only way to get HD video online. There are plenty of sources for downloading video illegally, cutting the studios and broadcasters out of all revenue. That is exactly what is happening with FOX. </p><p> </p><p>Want more on the cause and effect of the decision? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1312-foxs-antiinternet-policy-leads-to-piracy.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:39:35 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1312-foxs-antiinternet-policy-leads-to-piracy.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1311-for-the-answers-to-tweeted-questions-check-your-inboxq.html <p>Earlier this month we said <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1300-twitpic-founder-says-heello-to-twitter.html" class="UpStreamLink">hello to heello who intern said hello to Twitter</a>. Now we're looking into <a target="NewWindow" href="https://www.inboxq.com/" class="UpStreamLink">InboxQ</a>, a service that looks to help make Twitter useful instead of directly competing with it. </p><p> </p><p>Some of you may be familiar with Answerly and the Q&A products they have produced over the past several years. The San Fransisco based company, now called InboxQ, managed to obtain funding from VC, Trinity Ventures and two Angel investors last year. As a result, on the 26th of August they debuted their newly focused Q&A product which is meant to link up "experts" who use Twitter and Twitter users who pose questions that are mostly ignored, according to InboxQ. I try to ignore most things that involve Twitter but you wouldn't know it because I write about them all the time. </p><p> </p><p>To see if InboxQ will answer the cry of 100,000 daily ignored questions, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1311-for-the-answers-to-tweeted-questions-check-your-inboxq.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 27 Aug 2011 12:52:35 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1311-for-the-answers-to-tweeted-questions-check-your-inboxq.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1310-steve-jobs-resigns-as-ceo-of-apple.html <p>The past two weeks have been crazy in the tech world! One thing that shook up the industry was that the captain of the shiny Apple stepped down this week. Steve Jobs has left his position as CEO and has named Tim Cook as the next man to lead Apple into the future. We know that Jobs has had severe health issues as of late, yet he did not indicate the reason for leaving in his letter. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community: </p><p> </p><p>I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. </p><p> </p><p>I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. </p><p> </p><p>As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. </p><p> </p><p>I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. </p><p> </p><p>I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you. </p><p> </p><p>Steve</div> </p><p> </p><p>Apple's board did follow Jobs' recommendations and appointed Cook as new CEO and Jobs will remain on as chairman of the Apple board. </p><p> </p><p>Regardless of where Apple has gone in the past few years, Jobs has always been a visionary and someone who definitely helped lead us into a new frontier in technology. From turning a product launch into a red carpet event to proving that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1156-ill-buy-anything-if-its-shiny-and-made-by-apple.html" class="UpStreamLink">shiny things can sell</a>, regardless of the decade-old features and performance, he always did everything with flash, confidence and made things important even when they weren't. I don't foresee Apple's momentum slowing down (unfortunately), as he has been away from the ship's wheel multiple times lately. </p><p> </p><p>We usually will take on and challenge any and everything Apple does, but for this one time, in this article (this article right here), we will remember Jobs' take on innovation. "<a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/526-good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal-thanks-steve-jobs.html" class="UpStreamLink">Good artists copy. Great artists steal</a>." Well said, my friend.</p> Thu, 25 Aug 2011 07:22:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1310-steve-jobs-resigns-as-ceo-of-apple.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1309-xbox-live-gets-another-cool-upgrade-for-the-espn-channel.html <p>At <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/e32010.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3 2010</a>, we saw the Xbox 360 really start to take its shape with all of the media additions that came to the console. One of the major sign-ons was <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/695-e3-2010-espn-and-xbox-now-playing-for-the-same-team.html" class="UpStreamLink">ESPN and their ESPN3 video content</a>. Sporting over <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/898-xbox-360-dashboard-enhancements-are-a-go.html" class="UpStreamLink">3,500 events per year</a> after its late 2010 upgrade, the ESPN channel on Xbox 360 really was the place to be. </p><p> </p><p>Now, after what felt like forever, more upgrades have made their way to the channel, making me wish Brighthouse would finally grant me full access to the service! </p><p> </p><p>For details on what I'm missing out on, check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1309-xbox-live-gets-another-cool-upgrade-for-the-espn-channel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 25 Aug 2011 07:22:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1309-xbox-live-gets-another-cool-upgrade-for-the-espn-channel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1308-anonymous-goes-after-bart-not-simpson.html <p>Today, Anonymous has started a cyber attack against the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), after the company shut down cell phone service in downtown San Francisco to prevent a protest in the area on Friday. So far, they have taken user information, phone numbers and addresses from the website and have replaced the home page with their own version. </p><p> </p><p>2,001 names of people along with passwords have also been taken from users that have used the service called myBART, which gives riders discounts and info on events and contests. </p><p> </p><p>We have more on this after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1308-anonymous-goes-after-bart-not-simpson.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Aug 2011 18:03:13 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1308-anonymous-goes-after-bart-not-simpson.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1307-valve-locked-and-loaded-for-counterstrike-global-offensive.html <p>Rumors have been flying around regarding a possible new <i>Counter-Strike</i> game. If anyone remembers, about twelve years ago, <i>Counter-Strike</i> revolutionized the way shooters are played, how one should design a shooter and how much fun you can have if you have awesome <a target="NewWindow" href="http://youtu.be/PM4fTWwfdUc" class="UpStreamLink">AWP skills</a>. For those who were engaged in conversation about a new <i>CS</i> game on the Steam forums, they got to see Valve employee Cliffe lay down two words that had a lot of meaning behind them: Global Offensive. Shortly after that, the anti-cheat company ESEA's Facebook page had a message to share, saying "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive... More info in the morning." </p><p> </p><p>Well, confirmation of a new game from VALVe hit this week as a press release was sent out talking about an early 2012 release for the correctly titled <i>Counter-Strike: Global Offensive</i> for the XBLA, PSN and Steam. </p><p> </p><p>We have the press release and more news after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1307-valve-locked-and-loaded-for-counterstrike-global-offensive.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:48:25 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1307-valve-locked-and-loaded-for-counterstrike-global-offensive.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1306-atts-real-reasons-for-wanting-tmobile.html <p>It's been a while now since AT&T announced their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">intention to purchase T-Mobile USA for $39 billion</a> in March. The primary reason is nothing has really happened; until now, that is. This week, a document was leaked that calls into question AT&T's real reasoning for the buyout of T-Mobile. </p><p> </p><p>So far, AT&T executives have been explaining it by claiming that it will allow them to increase their LTE network roll-out from 80% population coverage to 97%. The document, however, suggests that AT&T's actual motives are much more sinister and anti-competitive. Essentially, AT&T is willing to pay a massive upcharge to keep T-Mobile out of Sprint's hands. </p><p> </p><p>So, how much are they paying to limit the field of competition? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1306-atts-real-reasons-for-wanting-tmobile.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:21:44 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1306-atts-real-reasons-for-wanting-tmobile.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1305-htc-acquires-majority-stake-in-beats-audio-for-300-million.html <p>A lot of people are writing this off, but I think this raises a lot of questions for all parties involved. This week, HTC has acquired a majority stake in Beats Electronics. Listeners and readers of our content will know that Beats Audio has been not only a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/223-whoa-beats.html" class="UpStreamLink">headphone/earbud solution</a>, but also a huge 24-bit digital technology enhancement that can, as of right now, only be found in HP machines, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1029-hp-introduces-2-webos-phones-1-tablet-and-no-palm.html" class="UpStreamLink">HP Touchpads and HP Pre3</a> as well as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1140-chrysler-and-beats-by-dre-team-up-to-bring-beats-audio-to-cars.html" class="UpStreamLink">Chrysler cars</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Now that HTC has a huge stake in the company, should we expect to see Beats integrated more smartphones? HTC has said that it's paid $300 million for this acquisition, so we'd sure hope so. </p><p> </p><p>Want more on this awesome news? We have the coverage after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1305-htc-acquires-majority-stake-in-beats-audio-for-300-million.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:54:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1305-htc-acquires-majority-stake-in-beats-audio-for-300-million.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1304-the-mothership-is-shiny-and-made-by-apple.html <p>Back in June we already talked about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1214-new-apple-campus-will-be-scifi-certified.html" class="UpStreamLink">Apple's plans to build a new "campus"</a> on the old 98 acre HP campus site. The building design takes the old Mothership joke about 1 Infinite Loop past the next level and several ones after that. Just recently Cupertino released some artistic renderings of what we can expect the Mothership to look like and they do not disappoint. </p><p> </p><p>You can see what I'm talking about after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1304-the-mothership-is-shiny-and-made-by-apple.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:58:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1304-the-mothership-is-shiny-and-made-by-apple.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1303-nintendo-says-sorry-for-the-early-price-drop-on-the-3ds.html <p>As you should know by now, this week marked the week that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1282-nintendo-slashes-price-on-3ds-after-an-82-cut-in-sales-forecast.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nintendo cut the price on their 3DS</a> by $80. You probably also know that Nintendo's corporate president <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1284-satoru-iwata-takes-price-cut.html" class="UpStreamLink">Satoru Iwata announced that many of the company's execs would be taking pay cuts because of the accountability in Nintendo</a>. What you probably may not know, but could have guessed, is that a lot of people, despite Nintendo's brass admitting their faults and taking responsibility, are not too happy about the price cut coming less than six months after release. Those people are the early adopters who bought the 3DS at launch. </p><p> </p><p>In a letter written by Iwata himself, he explains the price cut and tries to ease the tension of those early shoppers. We have the letter and more after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1303-nintendo-says-sorry-for-the-early-price-drop-on-the-3ds.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:00:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1303-nintendo-says-sorry-for-the-early-price-drop-on-the-3ds.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1302-an-apple-lawsuit-finally-ends.html <p>Here is something I never thought I would get to report: one of Apple's many frivolous lawsuits has finally been settled. You might remember a long time ago in a galaxy very close to here, an Apple engineer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://gizmodo.com/5520438/how-apple-lost-the-next-iphone" class="UpStreamLink">left a prototype iPhone 4 in a bar</a>. You might also remember that the person who found the phone, instead of returning it to Apple, sold it to a Gizmodo writer, Jason Chen for $5,000. </p><p> </p><p>Shortly after the news broke that he had a prototype iPhone in his possession, law enforcement officers raided his house, breaking down his door, taking computers, drives, documents and more, all at the request of Apple. The resulting case finally came forward in the San Mateo County district attorney's office and they have decided not to charge him. The people who originally "found" the phone at the bar, however, will be charged with 2 misdemeanors. </p><p> </p><p>Why is the lack of charges against Chen important? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1302-an-apple-lawsuit-finally-ends.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:34:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1302-an-apple-lawsuit-finally-ends.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1301-fake-apple-stores-are-all-over-china.html <p>Remember those amazingly detailed <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1268-chinese-counterfeiting-of-apple-products-is-so-last-macworld-apple-stores-are-next.html" class="UpStreamLink">fake Apple stores</a> that were found last month? Well, China's Administration for Industry and Commerce promised they would look into the problem and you will never believe what they found. </p><p> </p><p>So far, the administration has turned up another 22 unauthorized Apple stores. Yeah, you read that right: 22 more fake stores. As of now, we are unaware of whether the stores are selling official product unofficially or knock-off products. Knock-offs are a big business in China, but it is very unusual for an organization to go to the lengths these guys have to make the stores look so real. </p><p> </p><p>Based on the photos we saw last month, obviously someone has direct access to the manufacturing of at least Apple's fixtures, because the first round of fake stores even had the official Apple product displays. From the reports, these stores are no different and, despite the coverage of the first round of stores and the fact that only 4 real Apple stores exist in the country, the employees of these stores still believe they work for one of the four. </p><p> </p><p>Whether or not they work for Apple or are selling official Apple product illegally, they have been ordered to remove any Apple logos from their stores. To increase the speed of discovery, the agency has also setup a complaint hotline for residents to report what they believe to be counterfeit Apple locations. China sure is a fun place.</p> Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:19:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1301-fake-apple-stores-are-all-over-china.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1300-twitpic-founder-says-heello-to-twitter.html <p>Noah Everett, the man responsible for <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1150-twitpic-a-photo-service-for-twits.html" class="UpStreamLink">TwitPic</a>, has gone from 3rd party Twitter integrations to straight up creating his own Twitter service that has already managed to hit 1 million "pings" in 2 days. It is very likely that Everett feels revenge is not for the birds after Twitter decided to clip its wings and revoked tons of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1073-twitter-dislikes-your-interface.html" class="UpStreamLink">API tokens and apps</a> in an effort to create a more consistent Twitter experience. You may have also noticed the pictures attached to people's tweets which is something Twitter does in-house now and could very well be the reason for <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.heello.com/" class="UpStreamLink">heello</a> <i>(he low)</i>. </p><p> </p><p>When you create an account for the first time, you might think you accidentally signed into your Twitter account; alas this is not the case. One obvious difference is that your profile page layout is flipped, your "ping" feed is on the right and only information pertaining to you is displayed on the left. It is also worth noting that the ping feed happens in real time. There is no "Similar to..." or "Following" preview. All that information on heello is available though the clearly marked links underneath your profile pic. The terminology is different and more sensible in my opinion, tweets are "pings" and retweets are "echos" which evidences his developer or Navy background. Follow is called "Listen," making the people you are subscribed to people you are "listening" to and people who listen to you are "Listeners." </p><p> </p><p>To see what I'm talking about first hand, check out the pictures after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1300-twitpic-founder-says-heello-to-twitter.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:09:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1300-twitpic-founder-says-heello-to-twitter.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1299-unicorns-ninjas-vulcans-xbox-live-security.html <p>What do unicorns, ninjas and Vulcans have to do with security? Everything, at least if you're talking about Xbox LIVE security. There is a team at Microsoft, known as the Xbox LIVE Policy and Enforcement team, where all of the cheaters, hackers, phishers and thieves come to be dealt with. The team is entrusted with the responsibility of making sure "Xbox LIVE is safe, non-offensive and fun for all users." </p><p> </p><p>They don't deal with everything, though. Obviously if someone is cheating or modifying a game the team will get involved, but there is a lot happening on LIVE that cannot be regulated. Xbox LIVE Enforcement Unicorn Ninja (there are your unicorns and ninjas), Boris Erickson, says, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">If you're playing a game on Xbox LIVE, and somebody snipes you from across the map and you drop the F-bomb, we're not going to ban you – not for the occasional slip. We focus on the really bad stuff... We are not here to be the arbiters of all speech. But there are certainly some kinds of communication on Xbox LIVE that crosses a line – racism, homophobia, sexism, offensive comments about nationalities, and more.</div> </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about the ninjas, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1299-unicorns-ninjas-vulcans-xbox-live-security.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:54:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1299-unicorns-ninjas-vulcans-xbox-live-security.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1298-android-might-not-do-in-the-future.html <p>Google has certainly made their mark on the world since getting ahold of Android Inc. in 2005. Recent numbers from Reuters show that Android is circling half of the global market share and has about 500,000 device activations per day for both tablet and smartphones. Those numbers are enough to make Google's and Android adopters' processors hot but Android might have indulged in too many honeycombs and could be at risk of a diabetic coma, from which it wouldn't wake up. </p><p> </p><p>Most of the incredible adoption rate can be credited to Android being open-source and most of all, free for manufactures. Google has reaped the benefits of these since 2008 but things have moved from bad to worse in 2011 with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?r=&story_ref=517" class="UpStreamLink">fragmentation issues</a> and patent infringements. The severe fragmentation Android has experienced is a side-effect of being a very open platform. Google not only had to deal with many versions of their OS populating devices but manufacturers tailoring the UI as they pleased. On top of that, there was no standard for hardware and all these things guaranteed there would be no consistent Android experience and confusion. In early April this year, Google <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1113-android-shuts-their-formerly-open-door.html" class="UpStreamLink">put the lid on the honey jar</a> and closed the platform up a bit so that changes to the OS would have to be approved but that was only after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1034-nokia-announces-partnership-with-microsoft-for-windows-phone-7-handsets.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nokia decided to take the WinPho7 approach</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Despite the fragmentation issues, Android seems to be conquering the mobile industry, can it overcome all the other factors playing against it now? Find out after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1298-android-might-not-do-in-the-future.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 08 Aug 2011 06:33:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1298-android-might-not-do-in-the-future.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1297-federal-it-now-powered-by-former-microsoft-executive.html <p>On August 4th of this year President Obama announced the CIO, Chief Information Officer, position of the Federal Government to be filled by Steven VanRoekel. The former Microsoft executive, the 2nd person to fill the position, is responsible for managing the $80 billion set aside for IT spending. He was considered after heading up the project to transform the FCC's previously <a target="NewWindow" href="http://transition.fcc.gov/" class="UpStreamLink">terrible website</a> into <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.fcc.gov/" class="UpStreamLink">something much more manageable</a> and much less 1990. </p><p> </p><p>His Predecessor, Vivek Kundra, laid the groundwork for policies that are intended to streamline government operations by reducing the current 2500 data centers to 1700 by 2015 using a "cloud-first policy." He was also a big proponent of "open government," which VanRoekel plans to carry on as well, despite continuous budget cuts. The CIO is also responsible for cyber security, including working with other government agencies like the NSA and Homeland Security to combat the increasing attacks on government systems. </p><p> </p><p>VanRoekel talks about his take on the real problem that needs to be addressed to bring the government up to speed after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1297-federal-it-now-powered-by-former-microsoft-executive.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 07 Aug 2011 12:52:00 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1297-federal-it-now-powered-by-former-microsoft-executive.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1296-20-years-ago-the-web-was-born.html <p>20 years ago Saturday, August 6, 1991, the first ever webpage was published. It was done by a 36-year-old physicist, named Tim Berners-Lee at the CERN facility in the Swiss Alps and, obviously, was not very complex. According to CERN, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Info.cern.ch was the address of the world's first-ever web site and web server, running on a NeXT computer at CERN. The first web page address was <a target="NewWindow" href="http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html" class="UpStreamLink">http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html</a>, which centred on information regarding the WWW project. Visitors could learn more about hypertext, technical details for creating their own webpage, and even an explanation on how to search the Web for information. There are no screenshots of this original page and, in any case, changes were made daily to the information available on the page as the WWW project developed. You may find <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html" class="UpStreamLink">a later copy</a> (1992) on the World Wide Web Consortium website.</div> </p><p> </p><p>While this was a major accomplishment, it went almost entirely unnoticed. That could be, in part, because only two people in the world had a web browser to be able to access it. In fact, it wasn't until 1993 when Mosaic was released that the general populace had the ability to access any of the web. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the history of the web, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1296-20-years-ago-the-web-was-born.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 07 Aug 2011 10:32:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1296-20-years-ago-the-web-was-born.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1295-sony-says-vita-wont-be-coming-home-for-the-holidays-in-the-usa.html <p>Sony had a powerful E3 presentation where <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1206-e3-2011-living-la-vita-playstation.html" class="UpStreamLink">Vita brought hope</a> to all Sony fans and even myself that innovation had once again found itself ingrained within the Sony handheld's precious metals. While that seems to still be true, no one here in the US or Europe should expect to have their anxiety curbed this holiday season, according to Sony Executive Vice President Kazuo Hirai. </p><p> </p><p>Despite the fact that Hirai announced at E3 the Vita would be available "starting from the holiday season this year," he made another announcement on August 4th that this would not be the case. The US and Europe but more importantly, the US, shouldn't expect Vita to grace store shelves until early next year. Missing out on the retail golden quarter might have certain ramifications for the Vita, more on that after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1295-sony-says-vita-wont-be-coming-home-for-the-holidays-in-the-usa.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:32:05 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1295-sony-says-vita-wont-be-coming-home-for-the-holidays-in-the-usa.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1294-verizons-future-available-now.html <p>Considering Verizon's big announcement that they will be <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1280-radioshack-upgrades-from-3g-to-4g-lte.html" class="UpStreamLink"> reentering RadioShack stores</a>, we weren't expecting to see any more information from them for a little while. Well, much to their surprise, and ours, a photo was leaked claiming to be Verizon's roadmap for the rest of the year. While this happens from time to time and often turns out to be only somewhat accurate, this one has a lot of interesting information to it, so we are hoping it is accurate. </p><p> </p><p>Not surprisingly, Verizon is spending a lot of time and money on their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="UpStreamLink">true 4G LTE</a> network. In evidence, out of 16 devices listed, 8 of them are full 4G LTE devices. Granted 3 of them are tablets, but that still leaves 5 new 4G handsets before the end of the year. Also, it seems that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1293-googles-angry-mistake.html" class="UpStreamLink">despite Google's fears</a>, Android will play a major part in Verizon's year. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know what is on the list (and what is not)? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1294-verizons-future-available-now.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:49:42 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1294-verizons-future-available-now.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1293-googles-angry-mistake.html <p>This week, David Drummond, Google's Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, posted a blog entry on the official Google blog about how technology patents stifle innovation. Coming from a company who is built on stifling innovation, the concept seemed a little odd. However, the post started out on an odd note, talking about how Microsoft and Apple have been at each others throats for years, but Microsoft has held a stake in Apple for over a decade and was once the largest manufacturer of software for Apple devices. He seemed surprised that Microsoft and Apple may have teamed up for something, but I don't think anyone else was. </p><p> </p><p>It all came about because of the recent <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1251-google-bids-with-constantly-crazy-math-skills.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nortel patent auction</a>, in which Microsoft, Apple and others banded together to purchase the patents jointly. Google did not want to bid jointly and, instead, bid on their own, obviously losing to the "Rockstar" organization. Drummond, and possibly Google as a whole, believe the team came together specifically to outbid Google to allow for a higher licensing fee for Android (a free OS), than Windows Phone 7, or allowing Microsoft to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1172-microsofts-android-profits-soar.html" class="UpStreamLink">profit from Android</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Why can't this be the case? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1293-googles-angry-mistake.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:18:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1293-googles-angry-mistake.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1291-limewire-writes-a-check-for-12-million-to-warner-music-group.html <p>We have finally reached the end of the small battle between <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/906-riaa-finally-wins-a-lawsuit.html" class="UpStreamLink">RIAA and LimeWire</a> this week, as they have reached a payout agreement. You may recall that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1154-record-labels-squeeze-limewire-for-105-million.html" class="UpStreamLink">LimeWire has been on the hook for $105 million from several record labels</a> and RIAA was so proud of themself from putting that together, that they felt they could pretty much do anything, so long as they got help <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1166-riaa-warrents-not-required.html" class="UpStreamLink">from the crazy legislators in California</a>. </p><p> </p><p>This week we learned that LimeWire had to write a check for $12 million over to the Warner Music Group. That might not be as close to the $1 billion in damages Warner claimed to have had done to them at the hands of the former P2P software, but I suppose that's better than nothing. However, $12 million is only 1.7% of the amount of revenue Warner does in a quarter. So in the end, it's more like a drop in the Atlantic Ocean. </p><p> </p><p>No matter how much money would be issued to these labels, though, it feels like they'd never be happy. Warner may have claimed $1 billion, but you know they would complain until they saw $3 billion in their account. Good news for them is that they were up 5% in revenue for the second quarter, attributed to digital sales that were up 13%. The number that is important is that they still were able post a net loss of $47 million. Seems like that $12 million might have helped them out more than they thought.</p> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:00:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1291-limewire-writes-a-check-for-12-million-to-warner-music-group.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1290-tmobile-loses-50000-customers-in-q2-note-it-as-a-huge-success.html <p>It's about time that T-Mobile gets a little payback for all the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="UpStreamLink">lies that have spilled about their 4G network</a>. From the start, their 4G claims were unfounded, to the point where companies like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/977-metropcs-brings-real-4g-network-to-boston-sacramento-and-nyc.html" class="UpStreamLink">Metro PCS</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/931-hey-tmobile-att-has-a-3g-network-80-of-it-hspa.html" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/956-verizons-4g-launches-today-10gb-data-for-80.html" class="UpStreamLink">Verizon</a> took advantage by boasting honest, reliable networks that truly had faster speeds. Customers were leaving T-Mobile for greener, faster pastures, regardless of the number before the G. They even tried to save some face by launching some <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/960-tmobile-lies-some-more-4g-tablets-coming-in-2011.html" class="UpStreamLink">4G tablets</a>, but that caused even more turmoil among customers who were really expecting lightning data rates. </p><p> </p><p>This all proved to be a great opportunity for AT&T to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">snag the company in a $39 billion merger</a> back in March, hoping to tap into some of their customer base before everyone caught onto their act of deceit. </p><p> </p><p>Did it work? Tap that break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1290-tmobile-loses-50000-customers-in-q2-note-it-as-a-huge-success.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:42:58 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1290-tmobile-loses-50000-customers-in-q2-note-it-as-a-huge-success.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1289-eas-season-ticket-finds-more-ways-to-take-your-money.html <p>Did you think <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/621-ea-sports-learning-from-gamestop-charging-to-play-used-games-online.html" class="UpStreamLink">EA's Online Pass</a> was the only way the company was going to take more features away from the game you paid $60 for, only to make you pay extra for those same features? Well Xbox and PlayStation gamers, it seems that EA has been chatting with GameStop on how to create a false sense of value in new (and sometimes, new to this year) products and ideas as this week, they have introduced the EA Sports Season Ticket, which EA says is "Early. More. Better." </p><p> </p><p>What exactly is EA Season Ticket? Well, to some, it may seem like a way to get discounts on DLC and play their games earlier than public release date. However, we will discuss all that it entails after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1289-eas-season-ticket-finds-more-ways-to-take-your-money.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:34:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1289-eas-season-ticket-finds-more-ways-to-take-your-money.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1288-virtual-goods-could-see-more-real-returns.html <p>The market for virtual goods and the potential it has the to be huge has been a topic for game developers and social platforms to salivate over in the recent months. More specifically, Zynga and Facebook who are gearing up to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1279-facebook-wants-mobile-money.html" class="UpStreamLink">take a bigger slice of the quickly growing pie</a>. Just recently, ThinkEquity LLC placed the market around $20 billion for 2014 and now PlaySpan and VG Market Study have put together some interesting findings that might justify the anticipation. </p><p> </p><p>Their study concludes that 1 in 3 gamers who participate in online play spend money on virtual goods. Almost an entire 3rd of the online gaming community, 31%, have used real money to purchase virtual goods from a 3rd party. It also comes as no surprise that female gamers are more likely to spend more than men in many categories of games. For example, with casual games women spent $86 dollars on average as compared to $77 for men. They also purchased more from 1st and 3rd party publishers, $51 to $36 for 1st party and $62 to $28 for 3rd party publishers. </p><p> </p><p>There are more exciting stats to come so hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1288-virtual-goods-could-see-more-real-returns.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:49:18 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1288-virtual-goods-could-see-more-real-returns.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1287-zediva-down-but-not-out.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1095-2-digital-streaming-of-new-films.html" class="UpStreamLink">Zediva, a video streaming service</a>, started their public offering in March to mixed reviews. Zediva was formed to allow people to rent movies before they are available to RedBox and stream long before Netflix. They did this through an interesting means, though. The company has no agreements with the studios for streaming, but instead streams one-for-one physical DVDs. </p><p> </p><p>While the allure of $2 video rentals was appealing, it was only a matter of time before a lawsuit came about. That suit was not far behind, coming in April. A group of studios, including 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Disney Enterprises, Paramount, Universal and Warner Bros, filed a suit against the start-up claiming copyright infringement. They claim Zediva uses "technical gimmicks" to skirt copyright law. This week, a US District Judge agreed. </p><p> </p><p>To find out what he said and how Zediva responded, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1287-zediva-down-but-not-out.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:58:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1287-zediva-down-but-not-out.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1286-att-cappin-foos-data.html <p>Starting October 1st, AT&T is joining the ranks of Verizon and T-Mobile and start slowing down your data speed once you hit an unconfirmed level that would mark you as one who uses "an extraodrinary amount of data." <a target="NewWindow" href="http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/28/att-to-implement-data-throttling-in-early-october-just-in-time-for-iphone-5/" class="UpStreamLink">9to5Mac has reported</a> that because AT&T has seen an increase in data consumption of 80 times what it has in 2007 - before the iPhone was introduced - that the company may consider putting the hammer down on those crazy tethering and streaming mobile devices. </p><p> </p><p>This change will affect the plans who currently have an unlimited data package, so you 5GBers need not worry. </p><p> </p><p>While we're not surprised as yet another company either reducing speeds after a certain point in your allotted data or throttling speeds when you exceed a larger amount, we are surprised at what some of the details of this change might be. We have those after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1286-att-cappin-foos-data.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 30 Jul 2011 21:53:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1286-att-cappin-foos-data.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1285-r2d2-soon-available-as-home-entertainment-product.html <p>It isn't every day that Microsoft creates a custom Xbox 360 to go along with a videogame release. Even more rare is for them to release a custom console for a game that they are not intimately involved with. Based on this information, it was a surprise when they announced a <i>Star Wars Kinect</i> custom console. </p><p> </p><p>The console itself is modeled after R2-D2 with a matching gold C-3PO controller. In addition, a matching Kinect sensor is included, along with a 320GB hard drive, <i>Star Wars Kinect</i> and <i>Kinect Adventures</i>. All of this for a price of only $449. </p><p> </p><p>Oh, by the way, it also has custom console sounds. So, are you going to be getting one of these when it launches this fall? Let us know in the comments section. Also, good news: you can pre-order from the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=pPPa6vu276Q&offerid=166833.10000511&subid=0&type=4" class="UpStreamLink">Microsoft Store</a> right now!</p> Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:09:05 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1285-r2d2-soon-available-as-home-entertainment-product.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1284-satoru-iwata-takes-price-cut.html <p>By now, I think we all know about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1282-nintendo-slashes-price-on-3ds-after-an-82-cut-in-sales-forecast.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nintendo's 3DS price cut</a>, but that isn't the only thing getting slashed at Nintendo. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's corporate president, has taken responsibility for the poor sales numbers and recognizes the probable loss that will accompany the price drop on the 3DS, and has announced that he will take a 50% pay cut, as well. </p><p> </p><p>He won't be the only executive to be taking a major pay cut, either. In explaination of the pay cuts, Iwata himself said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">For cuts in fixed salaries, I'm taking a fifty percent cut, other representative directors are taking a 30 percent cut, and other execs are taking a 20 percent cut.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out how and why this is happening. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1284-satoru-iwata-takes-price-cut.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 30 Jul 2011 15:10:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1284-satoru-iwata-takes-price-cut.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1283-ncsoft-to-reveal-new-game.html <p>Ever since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://us.ncsoft.com/en/events/gamescom_2011.html" class="UpStreamLink">NCsoft announced that they would be attending gamescom 2011</a> and were going to "make some world exclusive announcements," the Interwebz have been trying to figure out what it could be. The prevailing theory seems to have been there would finally be a release date for <i>Guild Wars 2</i>. </p><p> </p><p>This week, however, NCsoft announced through a letter from Executive Producer Jeremy Gaffney that the big announcement will not have anything to do with any existing IP, but instead will be the game the guys over at Carbine Studios have been working on. While we may not know a lot about it, we do know that it is a new sci-fi MMO IP. </p><p> </p><p>Want more information that that? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1283-ncsoft-to-reveal-new-game.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:34:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1283-ncsoft-to-reveal-new-game.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1282-nintendo-slashes-price-on-3ds-after-an-82-cut-in-sales-forecast.html <p>Nintendo had high hopes that its <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1101-nintendo-3ds-is-here.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nintendo 3DS</a> would bring the company out of the basement of the gaming world and bring it back to the glory days. Unfortunately, Quarter 2 results did not look so good for the company. Nintendo posted a total net loss of $324 million for Q2, a little more than their hit from last year as the same time. The bigger issue here is that Nintendo also reduced their sales forecast for 2010 by 82 percent, from $11.5 billion to a mere $257 <b>million</b>. </p><p> </p><p>Because of this, Nintendo's stock dropped by a fifth of its value this week. As it turns out, 11,190 investors didn't seem to like an 82 percent decrease in sales projections. Nintendo is putting the blame on a lack of sales for the big titles on the Wii and 3DS. </p><p> </p><p>So what is a company who is struggling to barely keep afloat this year to do after a disastrous financial report? Drop the price of their headlining handheld gaming device, of course! More details on that after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1282-nintendo-slashes-price-on-3ds-after-an-82-cut-in-sales-forecast.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:47:18 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1282-nintendo-slashes-price-on-3ds-after-an-82-cut-in-sales-forecast.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1281-fox-limits-how-soon-you-can-watch-their-content-online-after-it-airs.html <p>In less than a month, FOX Broadcasting will be launching a new campaign to go after the pirates (Davey Jones, Giant Squid). FOX is aiming to make sure cord-cutters aren't going to benefit from sites like Hulu and Fox.com anymore. Starting on August 15th, if you have DISH Network, you will be the first to be able to watch new episodes of FOX TV shows online. If you don't have DISH, you will have to wait 8 days after the episode airs on TV. This change will affect anywhere that hosts FOX TV shows on their site, legally, of course. This particularly affects Fox.com and Hulu. </p><p> </p><p>We have more on the change and why after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1281-fox-limits-how-soon-you-can-watch-their-content-online-after-it-airs.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:15:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1281-fox-limits-how-soon-you-can-watch-their-content-online-after-it-airs.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1280-radioshack-upgrades-from-3g-to-4g-lte.html <p>As regular readers of The UpStream know, many of us here are RadioShack alumni. Over the years, we have seen a lot of changes, particularly in the wireless business. In my tenure with the company, I had the opportunity to interact with all of the major networks but always in smaller, odd pairings. The largest, and possibly strangest pairing, is the current 3 that The Shack offers - Sprint, AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile. </p><p> </p><p>This week, however, RadioShack announced that they plan to oust T-Mobile and replace them with Verizon Wireless. This is a surprising move considering remarks that RadioShack leaders have made about the smallest national carrier's interactions with the retailer. At one point during the 4th quarter earnings call for 2010, there was even a comment about T-Mobile breaching their contract with the corporation. With all of that said, I don't think anyone is surprised that the new CEO, James F. Gooch, is ready to be done with them. </p><p> </p><p>How does this impact the wireless-buying populace? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1280-radioshack-upgrades-from-3g-to-4g-lte.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:35:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1280-radioshack-upgrades-from-3g-to-4g-lte.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1279-facebook-wants-mobile-money.html <p>Before 2011 this year Facebook Credits were merely an option for game developers and it was a nice option to have. If they chose not to manage their own virtual currency but wanted the option to sell virtual goods, Facebook took care of it for a fee. Then in January this year, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1019-facebook-forces-crafty-creators-to-use-credits-as-their-currency.html" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook announced a new policy</a>, effective July 1st 2011, that would make it mandatory for game developers to use Facebook Credits should they want to sell virtual goods to users through Facebook. Basically, they were leveraging their then 500 million plus user base to get mega social game developers like Zynga to concede to the 30% Facebook takes off the top. To be fair, there are <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1019-facebook-forces-crafty-creators-to-use-credits-as-their-currency.html" class="UpStreamLink">advantages to having one universal currency</a> and Facebook has offered targeted ad campaigns as part of the deal. </p><p> </p><p>What Facebook has been missing out on is the revenue generated by smartphone and tablet users who take advantage of the mobile apps and mobile browsers for the various platforms. They are asking developers to start building apps with HTML 5 standards which might put them in a better position to take advantage of the revenue slipping through their fingers. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.thinkequity.com/" class="UpStreamLink">ThinkEquity LLC</a> estimates the virtual goods market to be around $20 billion by 2014 and, with the growing popularity of mobile gaming, Facebook could be missing out on a lot of revenue right now. Undisclosed sources told reporters at Bloomberg that Facebook might include something like a news feed in apps that is dedicated to displaying your friends in-game activities in an effort to get game developers more recognition. </p><p> </p><p>With a possible Facebook IPO early next year, hit the break to find out why they need to take advantage of these revenues. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1279-facebook-wants-mobile-money.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:47:03 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1279-facebook-wants-mobile-money.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1278-chinese-parents-sell-their-three-children-to-pay-for-video-gaming.html <p>There are some things in life that you hear about and think are simply weird or strange. Other times, there are things that are confusing. This is one of those cases that go beyond the bizarre line and enter the "just plain wrong" category. Forget about selling your <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1184-a-kidney-for-an-ipad.html" class="UpStreamLink">kidney for an iPad</a> or your <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1235-virginity-is-better-than-a-kidney.html" class="UpStreamLink">virginity</a> for an iPhone, this week parents Li Lin and Li Juan have been accused of selling all three of their children to solve their need to play video games at several Internet lounges. I promise you, this is something even the best <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1268-chinese-counterfeiting-of-apple-products-is-so-last-macworld-apple-stores-are-next.html" class="UpStreamLink">fake Apple store</a> can't make up. </p><p> </p><p>Ironically enough, the couple, both under 21 years old, met each other inside one of these web cafes in 2001. Only a year after that, they had their first son, which they left at home by himself days after birth so they could go play video games at a cafe nearly 20 miles away. </p><p> </p><p>They then decided in 2009 to sell their second of their three kids, their infant daughter, for just $500 USD in order to pay for their gaming addiction. When funds ran tight again, they decided to sell their first son, who apparently was worth more at $4,600 USD. Then once their third son was born, they sold him and got almost another $4,600 USD. </p><p> </p><p>How did they finally stop? Li Lin's mother reported them to the Chinese authorities when she learned what her son had done to her grandchildren. </p><p> </p><p>"We don't want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money," was the reply when asked if they missed their kids and they claim that they didn't know selling their own flesh and blood was against the law. Did they not realize it was morally wrong as well? This really takes video game addiction to a whole new level.</p> Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:38:05 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1278-chinese-parents-sell-their-three-children-to-pay-for-video-gaming.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1277-dish-network-keeps-open-over-1500-blockbuster-locations.html <p>Since the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1078-blockbuster-officially-up-for-sale-and-not-liquidation.html" class="UpStreamLink">Blockbuster auction earlier this year</a>, we were curious to see what <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1114-dish-network-blockbuster.html" class="UpStreamLink">Dish Network was going to do with all the stores they ended up with</a>. On the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/joinus/" class="UpStreamLink">show</a>, we had several speculations, like branding purposes, or that they would keep open a select number of the stores to sell their Dish Network TV service. Call us crazy, but we were hoping they would do something with the $320 million purchase. </p><p> </p><p>Well, some of our predictions came true, as this week, Dish Network and Blockbuster, LLC announced that "despite our efforts to reach reasonable terms, some property owners have closed stores." However, Dish will keep open over 1,500 of the locations and retain 15,000 employees. To compare, when Blockbuster went into bankruptcy, they had around 3,000 stores, and when Dish acquired them they were left with over 1,700. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the story and the press release, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1277-dish-network-keeps-open-over-1500-blockbuster-locations.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:59:59 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1277-dish-network-keeps-open-over-1500-blockbuster-locations.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1276-facebook-stalking-will-get-you-four-years-in-prison.html <p>We all know <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1231-supreme-court-tells-california-the-1st-amendment-is-still-constitutional.html" class="UpStreamLink">California was a little bit off the rocker</a> and that their citizens were a touch on the nutty side, but this one definitely goes over the top. Not only is the offense out there but the sentence is, too. A guy from California spent time on Facebook, stalking women's Facebook pages, looking for items that would let him get into their email accounts. </p><p> </p><p>The information he gathered would then lead him to get into the accounts via the security questions. Investigator Robert Mogester said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The victims we went to said "I had very robust passwords." But it didn't matter how robust the password was if the recovery question is easy. Lost your password? What's your favorite color or what high school did you go to? Or what's your dog's name? And he was able to glean that information from social media.</div> </p><p> </p><p>So what happened here? We have the full story after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1276-facebook-stalking-will-get-you-four-years-in-prison.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:07:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1276-facebook-stalking-will-get-you-four-years-in-prison.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1275--guitar-hero-the-band-is-getting-back-together.html <p>Activision pulled an Apple by announcing one thing and doing the opposite. Of course I'm talking about the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1033-guitars-are-no-longer-the-hero-activision-needs.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Guitar Hero</i> franchise being disbanded</a> due to waning sales caused by releasing titles too frequently and not enough continuous innovation. Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard's CEO made a statement in <i>Forbes</i> about bringing the franchise back, if indeed it was ever really dead. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">...we're going to take the products out of the market, and we're not going to tell anybody what we're doing for awhile... we're going to use new studios and reinvent Guitar Hero. And so that's what we're doing with it now.</div> </p><p> </p><p>How they plan on bringing the franchise back better than ever is a mystery but at least we can add the actual death of the <i>Guitar Hero</i> franchise to the list of things that will never actually happen. Whether or not that's a good thing. Only time will tell but I've never heard of a reunion tour being better just because the band got back together.</p> Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:24:36 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1275--guitar-hero-the-band-is-getting-back-together.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1274-insurance-might-not-cover-sony-breach.html <p>For PlayStation Network members, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="UpStreamLink">data breach</a> might have seemed to end with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1211-3-psn-arrests.html" class="UpStreamLink">the 3 arrests</a>, but for Sony it is only the beginning. As time passes, the prospects of class-action lawsuits seems more and more likely and the legal fees continue to mount. Thank goodness Sony has insurance, right? </p><p> </p><p>Well, it might turn out that insurance will not matter in this case. One of Sony's insurers, Zurich American Insurance Co, has asked a New York state court to rule that it is not responsible for paying for Sony's upcoming legal fees. If this ruling is made, it would be a huge blow to Sony's already <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1171-sony-revises-financial-outlook-expects-disastrous-losses.html" class="UpStreamLink">disastrous financial outlook</a>. Not only that, but it would also set a possible precedent that could be applied to Sony's other insurers, including AIG and ACE Ltd, who have already asked the courts for clarifications on their possible responsibilities under their currently written terms. </p><p> </p><p>How is this playing out so far? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1274-insurance-might-not-cover-sony-breach.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:29:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1274-insurance-might-not-cover-sony-breach.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1273-google-places-reviews-on-hold.html <p>Thursday, Google announced, via their blog, that they were making an alteration to Google Places. Effective immediately, outside reviews have been removed from Google Places. For those who don't know what Places is, it is a service that allows people to find local restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. You can also get and give reviews on the locations you visit. </p><p> </p><p>This service, originally called Hotspot, is not an original concept from Google. In fact, there are several competitors in the market, including Yelp and TripAdvisor. The unique thing about Places is that it collected the reviews from these other sites and showed them on their own pages as part of the reviews and ratings. </p><p> </p><p>So, why did Google remove this information? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1273-google-places-reviews-on-hold.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:09:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1273-google-places-reviews-on-hold.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1272-war-and-twitter-140-characters-at-a-time.html <p>Just last week we were finally able to report that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1246-twitter-is-getting-serious-about-growing-money-tweets.html" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter does intend to become a profitable business</a> and this week CEO Dick Costolo took it a little further at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.fortuneconferences.com/brainstormtech/" class="UpStreamLink">Fortune Brainstorm Tech</a>. Adam Lashinsky fired off some questions at Costolo about Google+, Promoted Tweets and the like, some of which Costolo answered and others he responded to. </p><p> </p><p>Not surprisingly the first question asked was in regards to the <i>Fortune</i> cover titled "Trouble at Twitter." Costolo responded with some stats like Twitter's website getting 400 million unique hits per month and that their users generate 1 billion tweets every 5 days, which is an improvement from June, where it took seven days to reach 1 billion tweets. Costolo also mentioned that their mobile usage is growing 40% every quarter. </p><p> </p><p>That's not all the Twitter CEO had to say. Hit the break to find out else was said. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1272-war-and-twitter-140-characters-at-a-time.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 23 Jul 2011 09:57:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1272-war-and-twitter-140-characters-at-a-time.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1271-capcom-strikes-yet-again.html <p>First Capcom re-releases <i>Street Fighter 2</i> in full-HD, then they remastered <i>Street Fighter 3</i> two times (soon to be a third released on XBL and PSN later this year) with <i>Street Fighter 3</i>, <i>Street Fighter 3: 2nd Impact</i>, and <i>Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike</i>. Let's not even begin to mention the number of games they have re-mastered two to three times over the years. </p><p> </p><p>Capcom's most recent attempt to re-release a game three times was <i>Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition</i> but apparently that is not where it ends... <i>Marvel vs. Capcom 3</i> was a smash hit from even before it's release date and has X-Factored it's way into fighting game fans hearts. Well now my duckies here come <i>Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3</i>! </p><p> </p><p>For a list of features and even some video from the game, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1271-capcom-strikes-yet-again.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 22 Jul 2011 05:59:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1271-capcom-strikes-yet-again.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1269-amazon-gears-up-for-war-with-netflix-and-hulu.html <p>With big events like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1229-hulu-for-sale.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu going up for sale</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1254-netflix-raises-prices-again-this-time-angers-customers.html" class="UpStreamLink">Netflix raising their prices</a>, sometimes it's easy to lose sight of the rest of the pack. This week, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1064-amazon-instant-video-becomes-part-of-amazon-prime.html" class="UpStreamLink">Amazon Prime</a> took it upon themselves to stand out from the crowd. </p><p> </p><p>If you don't remember what Amazon Prime is, it started off as a shipping service on Amazon that would cost a customer $79 a year, but would give you free two-day shipping on almost every item in the Amazon.com inventory. It grew from there, adding new features, but it really took off when Amazon announced that their Prime service would also include their Instant Video services, only repackaged. </p><p> </p><p>As the months have progressed from their announcement, Amazon Prime's video side of the fence has seen an improved interface, smoother and quicker video streaming and a list of new videos to stream while you wait for your Amazon.com orders. </p><p> </p><p>This week, Amazon expanded their video library, directly targeting Netflix and Hulu. Could Amazon Prime take them down? We'll discuss after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1269-amazon-gears-up-for-war-with-netflix-and-hulu.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:59:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1269-amazon-gears-up-for-war-with-netflix-and-hulu.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1268-chinese-counterfeiting-of-apple-products-is-so-last-macworld-apple-stores-are-next.html <p>China has been the leader in imitation ever since the Western World discovered it was cheaper to have all their stuff manufactured in the East. With imitation iPhones, golf clubs and crab out there, it seems to me that if it exists, there is probably some factory in China spewing out knock-offs. The electronics industry is more than familiar with combating production of counterfeit products but it's a costly process that is largely out of their control, especially when it comes to China. The more popular the product, the more of a problem counterfeiting is. That's the good news; the bad news for Apple is that counterfeiting their products is so last MacWorld. </p><p> </p><p>There is indeed not one but 3 fake Apple Stores within walking distance of each other in Kunming. This suggests they are taking the same approach Starbucks used a couple years back to crowd out competition and gain market share. There is certainly a healthy demand for Apple products in China as just recently we've seen people are willing to sell their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1235-virginity-is-better-than-a-kidney.html" class="UpStreamLink">virginity</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1184-a-kidney-for-an-ipad.html" class="UpStreamLink">kidneys</a> just to get their hands on one. That is assuming they don't sell their hands as well. </p><p> </p><p>The only thing more impressive than Chinese peoples' need for Apple stuff is their ability to reproduce entire retail stores. Hit the break to find out just what I mean. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1268-chinese-counterfeiting-of-apple-products-is-so-last-macworld-apple-stores-are-next.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 20 Jul 2011 07:48:21 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1268-chinese-counterfeiting-of-apple-products-is-so-last-macworld-apple-stores-are-next.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1267-amazon-lights-up-a-new-feature-for-their-kindle-college-textbook-rentals.html <p>Are you a college student and own a Kindle? Well, you just may be in luck if you're looking to buy or rent a textbook on the cheap. This week, Amazon has started to rent out those $6,000 college textbooks on their awesome Kindle device. Some books are even 80% off retail price. Hooray! You can now afford something other than noodle cups again! </p><p> </p><p>Amazon's statement this week said that you can get textbooks from John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis. The cool part here is students can rent the books on their Kindle based on how long they need it. Amazon has set up a custom rental option that will allow you to select between 30 and 360 days, perfect for an express class or a year-long session. </p><p> </p><p>For more on what's in store and what the company has to say about the new feature, click that break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1267-amazon-lights-up-a-new-feature-for-their-kindle-college-textbook-rentals.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:22:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1267-amazon-lights-up-a-new-feature-for-their-kindle-college-textbook-rentals.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1266-paypal-fights-back-on-cyber-attackers.html <p>14 people were arrested Tuesday in conjunction with the cyber attack against PayPal after the company suspended access to WikiLeaks accounts. The arrests are the culmination of over 35 search warrants issued to FBI agents around the country. The attacks were organized by the guys from Anonymous, of course, who agrees with the mission of WikiLeaks: to spread information to everyone. The group was also associated with attacks against Visa and MasterCard for also cutting funding options to WikiLeaks. </p><p> </p><p>Not all of the warrants and arrests, however, were associated with the PayPal attack; some were related to other WikiLeaks events. An AT&T customer support contractor was arrested for stealing confidential business information from the AT&T servers and uploading the information to WikiLeaks. A 16-year-old boy was also arrested in England. Both of these arrests are related to the other well-known hacker group, LulzSecurity and not Anonymous. </p><p> </p><p>For more info on the arrests, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1266-paypal-fights-back-on-cyber-attackers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:09:00 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1266-paypal-fights-back-on-cyber-attackers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1265-borders-to-close-its-doors.html <p>Back in February, the nation's second-largest bookseller, Borders, filed chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced a plan to restructure. It closed all but 399 of its stores with plans to reorganize the company to regain profitability and hopefully reopen many of its closed stores in a smaller footprint, similar to what <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1115-best-buy-pushes-allin-on-web-sales-starts-to-fold-on-their-storefronts.html" class="UpStreamLink">Best Buy plans</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Well, the closure of these stores has not accomplished the goal they were hoping for. In fact, there seems to have been no change in the profitability of the company at all. Management decided to try and sell the company instead of fixing the problems, but there were apparently enough issues that no buyer was interested enough to offer an amount the creditors would accept. Instead, Borders will close all of its doors, possibly as soon as Friday. </p><p> </p><p>There is a little bit of hope for some of the stores. To find out how, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1265-borders-to-close-its-doors.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:04:39 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1265-borders-to-close-its-doors.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1264-mortal-kombat-9-review.html <p>Over all <i>Mortal Kombat 9</i> is definitely a buy. This particular <i>Mortal Kombat</i> is honestly the only game in the franchise that I consider to be a true successor to <i>Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3</i>. With fresh, up-to-date graphics that is sure to impress, excellent character designs along with multiple un-lockable costumes and goodies, awesome gameplay - and you are able to experience it all online. </p><p> </p><p>I'd say this game is a win, and it only took over a decade for them to get it right. The fight mechanics are simple, yet complex - this game is no button masher's delight. Combos are pretty specific, but can be pretty long and very damaging. One good thing about this is that game director Ed Boon decided to take this game back to 2 dimensional fighting! 3D characters on a 2D plane: a formula that has worked for many games like: Capcom's <i>Street Fighter IV</i> and Nintendo's <i>Super Smash Bros.</i> series'. I must say, it works pretty damn well! </p><p> </p><p>For more of my thoughts on the game, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1264-mortal-kombat-9-review.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 May 2011 20:46:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1264-mortal-kombat-9-review.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1263-civilization-isnt-just-a-human-thing-anymore.html <p>The truth is that almost everyone in the developed world has had experience with artificial intelligence or AI. This is especially true for gamers. In fact, according to SRK Branavan of University College London, games are a test bed for AI. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Games are used as a test bed for artificial-intelligence techniques simply because of their complexity. Every action that you take in the game doesn't have a predetermined outcome, because the game or the opponent can randomly react to what you do. So you need a technique that can handle very complex scenarios that react in potentially random ways.</div> </p><p> </p><p>It turns out that some very smart people at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://web.mit.edu/aboutmit/" class="UpStreamLink">MIT</a> have come up with a machine-learning system that can read the user manual for <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.civilization.com/" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Civilization</i></a> and make it's game better. That might not sound impressive but it actually is. Basically the system starts with a list of actions it can take and no knowledge of the game or languages to decode the user manual. This means that the actions taken at first were completely random but depending on the action it took a word came up on the screen and it initiated a search for that word in the game and in the manual. Big deal right? That's called indexing which deals with information retrieval. Here's the kicker: the system was able to "hypothesize" the association between the words and actions and get better results in the game! </p><p> </p><p>This ability to associate information and actions concluded with astounding results. Hit the break to find out just how much. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1263-civilization-isnt-just-a-human-thing-anymore.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:06:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1263-civilization-isnt-just-a-human-thing-anymore.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1262-two-tablets-one-company-more-details-on-the-sony-s1-and-s2.html <p>In February of this year, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.engadget.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Engadget</a> sources revealed some information from about Sony's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1040-playstation-certified-s1-tablet-come-at-us-.html" class="UpStreamLink">code named "S1" gaming and multimedia centered tablet</a>. While both the S1 and S2 tablets were announced April of this year in Japan, at a Sony event in New York this month, details on the S2 tablet came to light. Both tablets run Android 3.0 and therefore share similar functionality; however, Kunimasa Suzuki, president of the Vaio and mobile business group, thinks that both will be successful in the market based on differences in form factor. </p><p> </p><p>The S1, as we've seen before, more resembles a regular style tablet with two unique differences. One of which is the fact that the weight of the device has been shifted to rest on the user's arm, hopefully making it more comfortable to use while holding with one arm. The other is the stand coming off the back that resembles a folded over magazine. This is supposed to put the screen at a more friendly angle when it is set down on a flat surface. The S2 more closely resembles a Nintendo DSi in terms of form factor. That means that there are two screens both of which are 5.5 inches. It also means that the device is foldable allowing it to more easily fit inside a pocket. </p><p> </p><p>To get a better idea about what Sony has in store for the S1 and S2 launch this fall, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1262-two-tablets-one-company-more-details-on-the-sony-s1-and-s2.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Jul 2011 09:06:25 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1262-two-tablets-one-company-more-details-on-the-sony-s1-and-s2.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1261-apples-app-store-eclipses-15-billion-downloads.html <p>As much as we dislike Apple almost all the time, there are just certain events that occur where you have to tip your hat and give credit where credit is due. This is one of those cases as last week, Apple announced that it has toppled way over the 10 billion downloads it set a goal for and has now surpassed the 15 billion download mark. </p><p> </p><p>Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen. Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.</div> </p><p> </p><p>That's pretty impressive. It's also impressive that they have over 425,000 apps on the platform as well, regardless of the tens of thousands cow moo and gunshot apps that may be roaming around. </p><p> </p><p>It should be noted here that there are a staggering 100,000 native iPad apps on the platform as well (take note, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1217-hp-touchpad-arrives-july-1.html" class="UpStreamLink">HP</a>!), and to date Apple has paid developers over $2.5 billion. </p><p> </p><p>So congratulations, Apple, that's a pretty big number to hit. Enjoy the kudos while they last, we don't give them to you often around these parts, because we don't like you, and you usually don't deserve it.</p> Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:18:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1261-apples-app-store-eclipses-15-billion-downloads.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1260-chinas-economy-is-scarier-than-we-thought.html <p>In general, we tend to avoid political topics as they often alienate people, but seeing as this year China overtook the US as the leading manufacturer in the world and we talk about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/642-one-bad-apple.html" class="UpStreamLink">Apple's</a> use of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/657-foxconn-employees-pledge-not-to-kill-themselves.html" class="UpStreamLink">Chinese</a> manufacturer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/875-foxconn-cons-employees-yet-again.html" class="UpStreamLink">Foxconn</a>, I decided to buck the trend and bring you this information. </p><p> </p><p>We hear often about how China's economy is booming, and it is pretty difficult to dispute. They own so much of the US's $14 trillion debt, they have had an almost constant 10% GDP growth and, as I said before, they are now the largest manufacturer on the planet. As it turns out, the lack of ability to dispute the boom is exactly what China has been trying to produce. </p><p> </p><p>How have they managed to create an indisputable economic boom? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1260-chinas-economy-is-scarier-than-we-thought.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:08:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1260-chinas-economy-is-scarier-than-we-thought.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1259-spotify-here-at-last.html <p>Spotify is finally here! After months of covering their hopeful arrival to the US, I can finally rest with ease in a streaming bliss of musical exasperation. However, first I feel the need to recap everyone of where Spotify was and how they got here. </p><p><ul><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1002-spotify-might-be-spotted-in-the-us-very-soon-with-the-help-of-sony.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify Might Be Spotted in the US Very Soon with the Help of Sony</a></li><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1012-spotify-and-sony-come-to-a-musical-meeting-of-the-minds.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify and Sony Come to a Musical Meeting of the Minds</a></li><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1039-spotify-inches-closer-to-being-spotted-in-the-us.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify Inches Closer to Being Spotted in the US</a></li><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1061-spotify-signs-more-deals-still-waiting-on-warner.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify Signs More Deals, Still Waiting on Warner</a></li><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1130-spotify-makes-you-wish-you-paid-for-their-service.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify Makes You Wish You Paid for Their Service</a></li><li><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1185-spotify-teams-up-with-facebook-were-still-waiting-on-the-us-launch.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify Teams Up with Facebook, We're Still Waiting on the US Launch</a></li></ul> </p><p>All caught up? Great. The Cliffs Note version of all of that is that Spotify needed to secure the major labels to really make a notable debut in the US and had to round up more paid subscribers in order to make a sustainable impact. </p><p> </p><p>Has all that happened? We'll wrap up the Spotify arrival after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1259-spotify-here-at-last.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Jul 2011 22:55:51 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1259-spotify-here-at-last.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1258-htc-responds-to-apples-litigious-ways.html <p>Apple has been in a pretty litigious mood lately. By lately, I mean the last decade or so. With current legal action against <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1249-apple-quickly-becoming-the-man.html" class="UpStreamLink">GetJar</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1104-apple-vs-the-world.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nokia</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/600-apple-vs-htc-google-nokia-kodak.html" class="UpStreamLink">Kodak</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1096-apple-sues-amazon-for-using-their-stuff.html" class="UpStreamLink">Amazon</a> and the Moon, it isn't surprising that HTC, whom Apple has taken before the ITC at least 5 times recently, has responded rather succinctly. In fact, the comment was rather harsh, though correct. </p><p> </p><p>HTC's general counsel, Grace Lei, said in a statement: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;"> HTC is disappointed at Apple's constant attempts at litigations instead of competing fairly in the market... HTC strongly denies all infringement claims raised by Apple in the past and present and reiterates our determination and commitment to protect our intellectual property rights</div> </p><p> </p><p>Quick and to the point. While it is fun to have HTC going after the jugular, Jobs doesn't usually take kindly to attacks like these; <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/734-iphone-isnt-the-problem-everyone-else-is.html" class="UpStreamLink">he prefers to make them</a>, instead. This one should get fun quickly.</p> Sat, 16 Jul 2011 22:46:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1258-htc-responds-to-apples-litigious-ways.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1257-microsofts-probably-brilliant-accident.html <p>Earlier this week, Microsoft launched a splash page for a project they call Talalip (the screen can be seen on the right). The page, if you cannot see it, says "Welcome. With Tulalip you can Find what you need and Share what you know easier than ever." In addition to this welcome text, there is a Facebook and Twitter sign-in and a series of Windows Phone 7/Windows 8/Xbox Dashboard-style tiles with people's photos. If this doesn't cry social network, I don't know what does. </p><p> </p><p>Well, Microsoft knows and they know they published the splash page. In fact, not too long after, the page came down and an acknowledgement message (yes, that's right, a company that doesn't deny a product everyone now knows exists) went up in its place. The message reads: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Thanks for stopping by. Socl.com is an internal design project from a team in Microsoft Research which was mistakenly published to the web. We didn't mean to, honest.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Didn't they mean to? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1257-microsofts-probably-brilliant-accident.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Jul 2011 22:12:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1257-microsofts-probably-brilliant-accident.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1256-water-graphite-the-ultimate-battery.html <p>July has become the month of UpStream electrical mathematics. First we <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1253-urine-forward-osmosis-electricity-nasa-experiment.html" class="UpStreamLink">add urine with forward osmosis without electricity</a>. This week, we will be adding pencil lead to water to create a battery. </p><p> </p><p>That's right; a research team from the Monash University Department of Materials Engineering, led by Dr. Dan Li, have developed a material they call graphene. They believe this development could lead to the next generation of batteries. Why is this? This material can create an electrical storage device powerful enough to outshine even the most efficient lithium-ion batteries with the added bonus of only taking seconds to charge. Add to that its ability to charge an almost unending number of times and we might just have the perfect battery. </p><p> </p><p>So, why isn't this in every product everywhere already? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1256-water-graphite-the-ultimate-battery.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Jul 2011 21:58:13 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1256-water-graphite-the-ultimate-battery.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1255-75-more-potential-microsoft-stores-you-dont-click-the-center-link-for.html <p>Right now Microsoft has 11 brick and mortar store locations; well, 12 if you count <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1188-soontobe-apple-store-gets-some-window-pains.html" class="UpStreamLink">the Apple store that was branded in their honor</a>. As far as we can tell most of these locations are not profitable, but that doesn't seem to detour Steve Ballmer from pushing forward with 75 new locations across the U.S. There is speculation that this is an assertive move to compete with Apple, which has around 300 physical locations, the real question however is, what does Microsoft have to gain from all this? </p><p> </p><p>Since at least early April of this year there has been a hot debate among the Microsoft executive circle about whether or not this is going to benefit them. Certainly there are a lot of different factors here. Take for example, the success of Apple stores. It's true that iPods and iPhones are sold almost everywhere under the sun but Apple still largely retains iMac and iPad for themselves, with the exception of Best Buy and maybe a couple other retailers. I believe the reason they can pull this off is because Apple exercises the philosophy that you should have to purchase 4 devices, iMac, iPad, iPhone, iPod to do the job of 1. It also just so happens that 2 of those 4 can almost only be found at an Apple store. </p><p> </p><p>For more of our thoughts on the matter, hit the break. Also, don't forget to visit <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/" class="UpStreamLink">PLuGHiTzLive.com</a> and click the link in the center for the still-digital Microsoft Store. Tell them Jon sent you. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1255-75-more-potential-microsoft-stores-you-dont-click-the-center-link-for.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:40:36 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1255-75-more-potential-microsoft-stores-you-dont-click-the-center-link-for.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1254-netflix-raises-prices-again-this-time-angers-customers.html <p>Just about 8 months removed from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/936-netflix-adjusts-prices-offers-streamingonly-package.html" class="UpStreamLink">Netflix raising their prices by $2</a> to compete with Hulu Plus, the company is restructuring and raising prices again, this time angering over <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/netflix" class="UpStreamLink">60,000 "fans" on Facebook</a>. However, it seems that everyone is misunderstanding what the price change actually is and who it affects. </p><p> </p><p>At first, Netflix bundled their unlimited streaming service along with their DVDs by mail as a package for $7.99 a month, then up to $9.99 as mentioned earlier. Netflix has now launched DVD-only plans that offer unlimited DVDs, one at a time, for $7.99 a month, or $11.99 for two. This now gives customers who only want DVDs a low-cost option to do so, especially now that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1114-dish-network-blockbuster.html" class="UpStreamLink">BlockBuster is almost out of the picture</a>. </p><p> </p><p>The reason everyone is so mad though is because Netflix is now separating the DVD and streaming packages. It's going to make it a little more expensive if you want both, and we'll talk about that after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1254-netflix-raises-prices-again-this-time-angers-customers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Jul 2011 08:27:56 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1254-netflix-raises-prices-again-this-time-angers-customers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1253-urine-forward-osmosis-electricity-nasa-experiment.html <p>NASA has a tradition of conducting <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/11/iphone-rides-atlantis-into-space-where-no-one-can-hear-its-ring/" class="UpStreamLink">fun experiments</a> in space and given that the space shuttle Atlantis is on its last trip in the final frontier, I thought it would be fitting to discuss one of the last fun experiments we may see for quite a while. </p><p> </p><p>Those of you who have been paying attention to these kinds of experiments in the past might remember something really similar. It works like this, first someone urinates or pours undrinkable water in the "forward osmosis bag" where it filters through a semi-permeable membrane which excludes certain bacteria and particles. Next, the filtered water saturates with sugars to form what they call a "sports drink." The entire process takes about 4-6 hours and was designed by a company in Oregon for hikers, Bear Grylls and other people who find themselves in positions where drinking urine out of a bag is a required option for survival. The big difference between the forward osmosis bag and its predecessors is that it requires no outside power source like electricity; something that is cherished outside city limits and in space. </p><p> </p><p>Take a bathroom break and then hit the break to watch an incredibly detailed demonstration. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1253-urine-forward-osmosis-electricity-nasa-experiment.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:11:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1253-urine-forward-osmosis-electricity-nasa-experiment.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1252-apple-enlists-secret-service-to-investigate-webcam-scheme.html <p>I think the idea of capturing images of people staring blankly at computers while trying to decide if they want to purchase one is pretty awesome. It's even better if they are the stares of the latte-sipping Mac buyers. This is such a good (in this instance, good can also be synonymous with strange or demented) idea that Kyle McDonald seems to agree. He started a project called People Staring At Computers, a Tumblr site that posted images of people...staring at computers. </p><p> </p><p>Apple isn't thrilled about this idea and the Secret Service are involved. How? We discuss after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1252-apple-enlists-secret-service-to-investigate-webcam-scheme.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:59:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1252-apple-enlists-secret-service-to-investigate-webcam-scheme.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1251-google-bids-with-constantly-crazy-math-skills.html <p>For years and years, Google has been slowly evolving into an Internet monster that looks pretty on the outside but will be quick to swallow you whole without thought or remorse, kind of like a Venus flytrap. For the past two weeks, however, Google seems to have turned a new leaf and have been kind-hearted. They have even been somewhat humorous. Who knew that Google had a sense of humor hiding behind those grimacing red and yellow O's? </p><p> </p><p>Last week, we covered Google's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1236-googles-pride.html" class="UpStreamLink">support of equality and LGBT causes</a>. This week, Larry Page and company showed a little bit of their funny bone at the auction for Nortel Networks' wireless patents. </p><p> </p><p>What happened and why is it funny? We talk about it after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1251-google-bids-with-constantly-crazy-math-skills.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 13:33:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1251-google-bids-with-constantly-crazy-math-skills.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1250-in-mw3-color-blind-gamers-can-see-the-lightand-team-members.html <p>It has come to my attention that the VP/COO of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sledgehammergames.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Sledgehammer Games</a> understands the frustration that color blind gamers endure as well as those that are forced to play with them, especially in games like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://sledgehammergames.com/games" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Modern Warfare 3</i></a>. We don't mean to be team killers; it's just sometimes hard to tell who's who. Better safe than sorry right? </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to read the refreshingly pro-color blind forum post from Nick to Michael Condrey, the VP/COO of Sledgehammer Games on July 7th 2011. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1250-in-mw3-color-blind-gamers-can-see-the-lightand-team-members.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:43:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1250-in-mw3-color-blind-gamers-can-see-the-lightand-team-members.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1249-apple-quickly-becoming-the-man.html <p>You have to admire the nerve of a company like Apple who started their life off with a commercial literally breaking people free from the man's hold on them with a sledgehammer going after companies for using a pretty common phrase that has been around since before Apple got into the mobile space. That, however, is exactly what has happened once again, this time between Apple and GetJar, a mobile phone application marketplace. </p><p> </p><p>They refer to their marketplace as an app store, because it is, and apparently have since around 2005 when the company first launched this app store to the world (most likely for the Windows Mobile platform). Well, like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1096-apple-sues-amazon-for-using-their-stuff.html" class="UpStreamLink">Amazon before them</a>, Apple claims this infringes on a trademark they registered in 2008 (3 years after GetJar started using the term). </p><p> </p><p>How will this turn out? Hit the break for some idea. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1249-apple-quickly-becoming-the-man.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:00:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1249-apple-quickly-becoming-the-man.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1248-two-batmen-are-better-than-one.html <p>The <i>Batman</i> franchise has been in live production for a long time. It starts with Adam West in the original 60s television series, then moves to the big screen with Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Most recently, the darker version of <i>The Dark Knight</i> has been played by Christian Bale. The next entry in the series, <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i> may have a bit of surprise in store. </p><p> </p><p>According to reports, Adam West has been seen on the set for the next film and it is suggested that he will be playing a role in the new film. Most likely a cameo of sorts. In fact, <i>Floss</i> magazine's Twitter feed published, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Hollywood big wigs confirmed actor Adam West (Batman on the TV series) will make a cameo on The Dark Knight Rises set to open July 20, 2012</div> </p><p> </p><p>My hopes for the cameo are that Batman somehow interacts with Quahog, RI and it is Mayor Adam West we will be seeing. Probably not, though.</p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 10:14:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1248-two-batmen-are-better-than-one.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1247-investors-might-bet-the-farm-on-zynga-ipo.html <p>A Zenga Initial Purchase Offering (IPO) has been a long time coming and with all the recent Internet company IPOs like LinkedIn, Groupon and Pandora, the timing seems to be appropriate. Not to mention that Zynga makes all of them, including Facebook, look very shaky as far a business models and profitability is concerned. On July 1st of this year they official filed and are moving forward quickly. A $91 million net income for last year is a huge difference from a loss of $53 million in 2009 and their growth is still increasing. They are well poised for a successful IPO that could increase their valuation to as much as $20 billion. However, Zynga isn't looking at this through rose-colored glasses. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see how Zynga plans to move forward and address their concerns. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1247-investors-might-bet-the-farm-on-zynga-ipo.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 09:44:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1247-investors-might-bet-the-farm-on-zynga-ipo.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1246-twitter-is-getting-serious-about-growing-money-tweets.html <p>With Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams largely out of the picture, CEO Dick Costolo is looking to expand their current ad platform to start bringing in some more money as they look to raise another round of investor capital. Who and how much are still unanswered questions but in the past Twitter has averaged around $200-$300 million per round so we could probably expect to see a similar amount this time as well. The reason for the new capital is simple, they need to buy time so they can actually try to find a way to legitimize their service. This is a problem that goes back well before <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/566-twitter-still-trying-to-figure-out-that-business-model-thingy.html" class="UpStreamLink">March of last year</a> when Biz Stone announced they really weren't sure how to make money and also weren't really worried about it, at all. </p><p> </p><p>What does Costolo have in mind to help try and put this issue to bed? Hit the break to read on and find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1246-twitter-is-getting-serious-about-growing-money-tweets.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 09:35:31 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1246-twitter-is-getting-serious-about-growing-money-tweets.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1245-google-adds-to-its-offerings.html <p>In the wake of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1240-myspace-sold-for-35-million-to-specific-media.html" class="UpStreamLink">myspace's sale last week</a>, Google has decided that it needs to fill the power vacuum by filling the position vacated by myspace. There are, apparently not enough second-tier, poorly thought out social networking sites, so Google is stepping in with Google+, since second-tier and poorly thought out are right in their wheel house. Google+ is both of these. </p><p> </p><p>Some of our regular readers might have thought I changed teams last week when I wrote about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1236-googles-pride.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google's Pride shirts</a> and their HTML5 creator, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1239-create-html5-in-a-flash.html" class="UpStreamLink">Swiffy</a>, but I assure you I am still here to tell you the truth. In this case, the truth is, Google+ is exactly what I expected. </p><p> </p><p>What does that mean? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1245-google-adds-to-its-offerings.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 09 Jul 2011 21:27:21 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1245-google-adds-to-its-offerings.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1244-facebook-upgrades-its-messaging-again.html <p>Facebook, in an attempt to mitigate the damage done by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1245-google-adds-to-its-offerings.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google+</a>, made a big integration announcement this week. Starting now, if you install Skype version 5.0 for Windows, you will be able to use Skype from within Facebook. </p><p> </p><p>Most of the "usefulness" is hokum, such as being able to read your news feed from within the Skype client, but there are some legitimate features as well. The integration of video chatting into Facebook is something that is needed, if for no other reason than Google Chat already includes video, and Google Chat is integrated into Google+. </p><p> </p><p>What else has Facebook got planned for new features? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1244-facebook-upgrades-its-messaging-again.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 09 Jul 2011 21:07:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1244-facebook-upgrades-its-messaging-again.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1243-zune-video-pass-coming-soon-to-xbox-live.html <p>We know Xbox LIVE has been very much into the video scene. No matter where you live and what you like to stream, there's options for you. You have Netflix, Hulu Plus, AT&T U-Verse and even Sky Player for my people in UK, and that's just the third-party stuff. There's a whole catalog of video goodness within LIVE's Video Marketplace, too. However, if you are like most people, we blow by the Video Marketplace on our way to Netflix or Hulu Plus, knowing our options are a little more extensive over there. There's that, and the fact that we've already paid a monthly subscription for one if not both of those services and don't want to shell out another 400-800 Microsoft Points to rent out an HD movie. </p><p> </p><p>Wouldn't it be nice if just like the beloved and awesome Zune Music Pass there was a Zune Video Pass that allowed an all-you-can-stream package for a low monthly option? I know I would be onboard for that, and Microsoft knows that people have been asking for it. So this week, rumors have been flying around about a video streaming service to launch, complete with Zune branding. It makes sense, too, as they'd make more money if they kept the video streaming inside their own services and didn't have to link out to a third-party. Don't fret, though, I'm sure Microsoft will keep all of their external options on LIVE, too, as they do still want the Xbox to be the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1192-e3-2011-the-xbox-360-really-does-equal-entertainment.html" class="UpStreamLink">center of all of your entertainment</a>, no matter where you may want it to come from. </p><p> </p><p>We have more on what this package might be after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1243-zune-video-pass-coming-soon-to-xbox-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 09 Jul 2011 09:44:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1243-zune-video-pass-coming-soon-to-xbox-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1242-hulus-facebook-connect-quickly-disconnected.html <p>So any notion that Hulu might be finally moving in the right direction, even after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1229-hulu-for-sale.html" class="UpStreamLink">they put themselves up for sale</a> can just be tossed out the window. The video-streaming service hit another roadblock this week, as their Facebook integration launch ended in failure, at least for now. Logging into your Facebook account to connect your Hulu account to it would sometimes result in you seeing some other users' information, like profile photo and email address. I guess if you're into the whole live someone else's life kind of thing, it's not such a bad feature, but for everyone else, we'd prefer to see our own information. </p><p> </p><p>The good news here is that Hulu says it was not the doing of a hack attempt, instead it was simply a coding error. </p><p> </p><p>Richard Tom, VP of platform technology spoke on this in a blog post this week. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">When we launched our Facebook Connect feature early this morning, we discovered that a small number of users weren't seeing their own Hulu account information upon login. We're still drilling down on the precise nature of the issue, but we know that it was a coding and configuration error on Hulu's side, and not the result of hacking, or other third party actions, or a vulnerability in Facebook Connect.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For more on what happens now for Hulu and to see if the problem has been resolved, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1242-hulus-facebook-connect-quickly-disconnected.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 09 Jul 2011 08:45:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1242-hulus-facebook-connect-quickly-disconnected.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1241-web-dvr-allows-you-to-playlater.html <p>A service called <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.playon.tv/playlater/" class="UpStreamLink">PlayLater</a> has recently been brought to my attention and while it's not the first service to act like a web DVR, it is the first one I've seen to encompass such a wide array of content and function fairly well. </p><p> </p><p>As anyone who consumes video content from several different places is aware of, navigating several websites and then locating and playing video content can be annoying when repeated consistently. I mean, your goal is to watch the content not waste time tracking down the contents of your desire right? Right. Let's say you want to keep up with the extended interviews Jon Stewart posts on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/" class="UpStreamLink"><i>The Daily Show</i> website</a>, some of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://video.syfy.com/?_source=Syfy_Global_Nav" class="UpStreamLink">Syfy web series and online original movies</a> as well as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.adultswim.com/shows/aqua-teen-hunger-force/index.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Aqua Teen Hunger Force</i></a> on adult swim. PlayLater seems like a viable solution so hit the break to get the good and the bad. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1241-web-dvr-allows-you-to-playlater.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:40:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1241-web-dvr-allows-you-to-playlater.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1240-myspace-sold-for-35-million-to-specific-media.html <p>From $1 billion, to $580 million to this week's $35 million, my_____ (Myspace) has been sold again. News Corp. has sold the once-famous social networking site to Specific Media, an advertising network, for below what they wanted to, and well below what they paid for it. This isn't exactly the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1221-10-brands-that-will-not-survive.html" class="UpStreamLink">death that 24/7 Wall St predicted would happen</a>, but the fat lady hasn't quite sung her last note yet. </p><p> </p><p>The deal will also cut my_____'s staff in half from 400 to 200 employees, along with other obvious cuts. CEO Mike Jones (who?) will stay with the company temporarily through the transition. </p><p> </p><p>For press releases and more, check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1240-myspace-sold-for-35-million-to-specific-media.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:57:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1240-myspace-sold-for-35-million-to-specific-media.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1239-create-html5-in-a-flash.html <p>We know that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/999-chrome-hides-its-head-in-the-sand.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google is very interested</a> in the future of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1072-h264-remains-strong-with-this-war-on-webm.html" class="UpStreamLink">HTML5</a> and to prove it, they launched a new product in Google Labs this week called Swiffy. The service, as it stands, allows you to upload an Adobe Flash file and convert it into HTML5. </p><p> </p><p>The positive of the service is that it allows you to take an existing Flash application and create something that can be used on an iPhone without having to recode everything from scratch. The downfall, however is that the code only works in webkit browsers. For most mobile phones, that is no problem, but it does create a major problem for most of the users of computers. </p><p> </p><p>How does this affect regular computer users? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1239-create-html5-in-a-flash.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 12:46:35 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1239-create-html5-in-a-flash.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1238-games-for-windows-merges-with-xbox-live-windows-gamebawx-created.html <p>As we see Microsoft starting to center itself around the Xbox brand and make all of their products link to and from each other, we learned last week of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1225-xbox-live-to-show-up-on-more-than-just-winpho-7.html" class="UpStreamLink">Xbox Live popping up in Windows 8</a>. At <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/e32011.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3</a>, we also saw the Xbox <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1192-e3-2011-the-xbox-360-really-does-equal-entertainment.html" class="UpStreamLink">gaining the search functionality of Bing</a>. This week, Microsoft announced it was merging another one of their products, Games for Windows. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Games for Windows Marketplace will fully transition over to Xbox.com. Now you can get all of your gaming needs in one place. It's convenient, it's concentrated, and it's a whole lot of great games.</div> </p><p> </p><p>It makes sense that two gaming services be merged into the more popular one. One place for all things gaming. <i>The Path</i> to gaming starts at Xbox.com now. I see where they're going with this, and hopefully soon everyone else will, too. </p><p> </p><p>Not everyone is in support of this change though, and we have users' comments after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1238-games-for-windows-merges-with-xbox-live-windows-gamebawx-created.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 12:10:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1238-games-for-windows-merges-with-xbox-live-windows-gamebawx-created.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1237-ibms-universal-memory.html <p>IBM claims to be building a smarter planet. One way they are trying to accomplish this is through memory development. Now, they aren't doing crossword puzzles; instead they are developing new memory technology for electronics. The new chipset, developed by IBM, allows for writing at 100 times that of current flash memory chips. </p><p> </p><p>If this chipset can really do what IBM says it can, it will change the way computing happens. It is small enough, fast enough and has the capacity to become a universal memory of sorts. This phase-changing memory used as a universal memory could allow for computers to boot almost instantly right back to where they were when shut down. It allows for large data storage for long periods of time without the need for large spinning magnetic platters. </p><p> </p><p>When might we see this technology? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1237-ibms-universal-memory.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:51:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1237-ibms-universal-memory.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1236-googles-pride.html <p>Normally when I write about Google, it is to talk about a terrible decision the company has made about their Android product, or a product launch gone terribly wrong. It isn't often I write to congratulate them on something they have done. This will be one of those times I break convention. </p><p> </p><p>Google has always had a very firm, open policy on hiring. They believe that a good mix of people is the best way to get a good mix of ideas. Because of this, they openly encourage LGBT candidates to apply and encourage their employees to be themselves. In addition, they also support LGBT causes, most recently at Pride last weekend in NYC. </p><p> </p><p>What did they do and what does the image have to do with it? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1236-googles-pride.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:11:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1236-googles-pride.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1235-virginity-is-better-than-a-kidney.html <p>We have talked in the past about what some people might do to get an iPhone, such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1184-a-kidney-for-an-ipad.html" class="UpStreamLink">selling a kidney on the Internet</a>. Well, it turns out that a kidney is worth a lot more than we expected. In fact, it is worth about the same as the virginity of a teenage girl. </p><p> </p><p>Instead of a Chinese boy and a kidney, this time we have a Chinese girl who has offered her virginity in exchange for an iPhone 4. While the boy found a broker to sell his kidney, the girl took to a Twitter-like service in China, called Weibo, looking for sex. She says that her dream is to own an iPhone 4 but her father refuses to purchase one for her. </p><p> </p><p>There are a couple of possible situations here. First, it's possible that a friend or hacker has gained access to her account and is playing a really weird prank on her. Second, Apple's marketing has finally affected the morality of the population as a whole instead of just those who work for the company. The most likely situation, however, is that the Chinese media blackout has prevented this girl from knowing an iPhone 5 (or iPhone 4s) is right around the corner and she should just wait a few months.</p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:37:36 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1235-virginity-is-better-than-a-kidney.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1234-leapfrog-jumps-into-kidsized-tablets-with-the-leappad-explorer.html <p>In an age where young kids are growing up in a world of technology, they are hanging up your calls to your brother, ordering pay-per-view movies on your TV, disconnecting your phone from its Touchstone charger and running rampant on your tablet PC. (Side note: With a 16-month old running around my own house, I have never experienced any of these things personally...) </p><p> </p><p>The good news is that developers are picking up on these trends and are creating apps to go on your devices. The bad news with apps on grown-up products is that the kids can still get into stuff they shouldn't and can sometime cause severe problems for your laptop, or a $99 charge on your TV bill. </p><p> </p><p>LeapFrog wants to change all of that. With more and more kid-based Apple apps, LeapFrog is taking it in a whole new direction with the LeapPad Explorer. Sure we've seen baby computers and things like that before, and LeapFrog has some of those products already on the market, but this is a full-on tablet for kids ages 4-9. </p><p> </p><p>We have details on the product after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1234-leapfrog-jumps-into-kidsized-tablets-with-the-leappad-explorer.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:26:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1234-leapfrog-jumps-into-kidsized-tablets-with-the-leappad-explorer.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1233-electronic-arts-also-falls-victim-to-data-breach.html <p>All companies who have any information stored on the Internet should absolutely respect Internet security and make it their number one priority at all times. Lately, it seems like companies such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1171-sony-revises-financial-outlook-expects-disastrous-losses.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sony</a> (and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1182-sony-hacked-again-this-time-for-movies.html" class="UpStreamLink">their related brands</a>) and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1223-hackers-didnt-pass-up-on-sega-pass-online.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sega</a> have taken this matter lightly. Well, add Electronic Arts to the list of companies who have had a breach in security, as this week their BioWare brand fell victim to the hacker groups who are going after videogame developers and manufacturers. I guess the good news here is that the attack was on <i>Neverwinter Nights</i> servers. Does anyone still play that game? </p><p> </p><p>In the onslaught of attacks, user information like phone numbers, email and mailing addresses, CD keys and birth dates were taken, which is pretty much the lower level, usual data that we see snatched up in breaches like this, at least to begin with. No credit card information or social security numbers have been reported to be stolen. To date, we have not heard who is responsible for this attack, although it is rumored that Anonymous members went to work outside of the group's defined operations. </p><p> </p><p>EA has posted a Q&A about the attacks, and we have excerpts from it and our thoughts after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1233-electronic-arts-also-falls-victim-to-data-breach.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 09:34:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1233-electronic-arts-also-falls-victim-to-data-breach.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1232-microsoft-takes-office-2010-to-the-cloud.html <p>You might be asking yourself right now, "Doesn't Office 2010 already have web apps?" Well, yes, they do. In fact the Office 365 program suite is available right now in 40 markets according to the Steve Ballmer. The things Microsoft realized with the current Office 2010 web apps is that they are a relatively weak solution and with the growing demand for cloud applications, Google Apps could pose a problem in the near future. That alone was probably enough reason for Microsoft to take Office to the next level. </p><p> </p><p>Of course Microsoft is talking about full service Office web apps that would deliver the entire Office experience online over a network and not on a hard drive. This would provide another way for Office users to access and interact with Office products so long as Internet access is available. It will also be very beneficial for wallets according to Microsoft Office Division President Kurt DelBene, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Customers can save money with the product, which eliminates the need to maintain server computers and software. Microsoft estimates the average 1,000-person company will save about $350,000 a year over a four-year period.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Along with the potential cost savings for businesses, Microsoft is looking to grab more of the corporate spending in the technology sector by making the subscription to Office 2010 web apps a month-to-month, per user, kind of licensing. They think that this model will allow them to sell more to small and medium sized businesses. </p><p> </p><p>At $6 per month a user will be able to enjoy Office Web Apps and exchange e-mail services, if they want to, for an additional $12 per month, $18 total, they can have a full version of Office as well. Microsoft says that Office 2010 is being adopted five times faster than Office '07 and it will be interesting to see what effect these changes will have in the near future.</p> Sun, 03 Jul 2011 08:38:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1232-microsoft-takes-office-2010-to-the-cloud.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1231-supreme-court-tells-california-the-1st-amendment-is-still-constitutional.html <p>In November of last year, a California bill was signed into law that banned the sale of "violent" video games to minors, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mediacoalition.org/mediaimages/ab_1179%5B1%5D.pdf" class="UpStreamLink">AB 1179</a>. Opposition to the bill has not made its way to the highest court in the land where <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.tv.com/made-in-china/episode/1242244/summary.html" class="UpStreamLink">Denny Crane</a> argued that violence is American and the ban would make our children "namby panbies." </p><p> </p><p>On June 27th of this year, the Supreme Court of the United States finally rendered a verdict that ultimately upholds the First Amendment, under which video games are protected by freedom of speech. Justices Elena Kagan, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor echoed sentiments from Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote in his opinion, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The Act does not comport with the First Amendment. Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays, and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And 'the basic principles of freedom of speech... do not vary' with a new and different communication medium.</div> </p><p> </p><p>How have other organizations responded and how might this still affect you? Hit the break to get the facts. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1231-supreme-court-tells-california-the-1st-amendment-is-still-constitutional.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:01:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1231-supreme-court-tells-california-the-1st-amendment-is-still-constitutional.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1230-geohot-now-one-of-the-cool-guys-working-for-facebook.html <p>This is somewhat weird news that I both like and dislike at the same time. Our beloved hacker legend Geohot, also known to me as The Hotz, is now a legitimate working man. That's right, after all of the publicity, the media attention, the Sony lawsuits, the Kevin Butler flubs and countless hard drives seized by the feds, The Hotz is now working... for Facebook. </p><p> </p><p>So while it's cool and all that George received some sort of recognition for his skill-set out of all of this, why is he working for Facebook of all people? Well, it makes sense if you think about it. Hotz has been known for releasing exploits for not only the PS3 but for Apple products as well, specifically, the iPhone. He is known for jailbraking the handset to work outside of AT&T's network. </p><p> </p><p>According to Facebook, they've been eyeing to make an iPad app as of last week. You heard right, Facebook has yet to release an app for the iPad for their own site. Baffling. Regardless, with Geohot's experience with Apple products, he is now under the employ of the incompetently run giant to hopefully make their one good product for the year. </p><p> </p><p>Word got out of this after Chronic-Dev Team member Josh Hill noticed that his challenge to Hotz on hacking the iPad 2 was dismissed because of George's new work. After doing some research we learned that his new work was indeed at Facebook. </p><p> </p><p>Hotz' Facebook status read, "Facebook is really an amazing place to work...first hackathon over." </p><p> </p><p>We wish him luck and hope that he doesn't become tainted by the Zucks.</p> Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:19:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1230-geohot-now-one-of-the-cool-guys-working-for-facebook.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1229-hulu-for-sale.html <p>Hulu for sale? It seems so. After back and forth talks about their CEO leaving and resigning deals recently with the major networks, the company now has a For Sale sign out on the lawn. Hulu has picked up investment banks Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Partners to help them setup a sale. Interested parties have already been notified that the sale process would be starting in as soon as two weeks. </p><p> </p><p>Of course, we learned of this news after following a story earlier in the week where Yahoo! came forward with interest in an acquisition but did not make a formal bid. At that point, nobody had an idea if Hulu was willing to sell and they hadn't taken any steps towards preparing for a sale. Now with the addition of the banks, there is a clear line drawn on where Hulu wants to go with this. Not only are they on the minds of potential buyers, but the owning companies, News Corp., Disney, NBC Universal/Comcast and Providence Equity are looking to leave the media streaming service just three years after its inception. </p><p> </p><p>Could this really be? Click the break for more. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1229-hulu-for-sale.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:18:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1229-hulu-for-sale.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1228-sony-ericsson-xperia-phones-go-hollywood-and-underwater.html <p>I've been talking about Sony Ericsson Xperia phones for a while now and when I heard about the announcement of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/press/pressreleases/pressreleasedetails/xperiarayfinal-20110622" class="UpStreamLink">Xperia Ray</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/press/pressreleases/pressreleasedetails/xperiaactivefinal-20110622" class="UpStreamLink">Xperia Active</a> I was actually intrigued as to what they would have to offer. We know that Ericsson has taken well to Android and is now looking to become the top seller of phones on the Android platform. With <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1128-tsunami-makes-waves-at-sony-ericsson-concerning-xperia-neo-phone.html" class="UpStreamLink">Xperia Arc, Xperia Play and Xperia Neo</a> already on the roster what directions would they take with 2 new phones? </p><p> </p><p>It turns out that despite small screen sizes, 3in. for the Active and 3.3in. for the Ray, both phones will take advantage of the Mobile Bravia engine which is intended to transplant the Sony Bravia TV experience to mobile handsets by improving contrast and color management. One noticeable difference is the resolution of the Ray at 854 x 480 compared to the much more standard 480 x 320 of the Arc. That seems cool, we already saw some of that at CES this year but the Arc will deliver something more interesting that might make up for a more lacking display. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see the Reality Display in action from CES this year and for more details. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1228-sony-ericsson-xperia-phones-go-hollywood-and-underwater.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Jun 2011 13:08:11 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1228-sony-ericsson-xperia-phones-go-hollywood-and-underwater.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1227-3m-keeps-your-tv-plugged-in-with-ethernet.html <p>3M, the stationary company, has created something so cool that you'll want one of their Post-It notes to remember it. They have come up with an Ethernet-powered TV that doesn't need a power plug. If you didn't know or are trying to figure out what index cards and page labels have to do with new technology with TVs, 3M has been also working in the display industry for a long time. They have worked in-depth on a device called a front polarizer, which determines how to infuse light into the TVs. This polarizer rests between the glass on the TV and the actual liquid crystals. </p><p> </p><p>So while that work doesn't relate directly to creating a new tech for televisions, 3M has also been behind pushing the industry to find out how to make displays manage power more efficiently. 3M's polarizers are said to help bring down the power consumption of LCDs, to the point where it won't need to be plugged in. </p><p> </p><p>We have a fact sheet image and more after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1227-3m-keeps-your-tv-plugged-in-with-ethernet.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Jun 2011 12:22:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1227-3m-keeps-your-tv-plugged-in-with-ethernet.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1226-android-out-hp-webos-in.html <p>Are you frustrated with Android? Of course you are. It seems to be under a now constant <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1059-androids-hijacked-by-innocentlooking-apps.html" class="UpStreamLink">attack from virus software</a>, you never know <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1164-nvidia-says-honeycomb-isnt-sweet-enough-to-overcome-pointofsale-problems.html" class="UpStreamLink">what features you might be getting</a> from the incredibly fragmented landscape and now <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1113-android-shuts-their-formerly-open-door.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google has closed the OS</a>. If you are frustrated, imagine how Samsung, HTC and Motorola feel. They are the ones constantly fighting against Google and having to try and prove to customers why their $599 Motorola Xoom is worth it compared to Velocity's $149 Micro Cruz. </p><p> </p><p>When the OS is free and unregulated, these are the things that happen. This has caused the big 3 handset manufacturers to start considering abandoning the platform in favor of something else. Windows Phone 7 is certainly an option, but it has very limited hardware flexibilities and cannot be run on tablets. So, Trip Chowdry, an analyst at Global Equities Research believes that we may see them move to HP's webOS. </p><p> </p><p>Will HP be willing to license? Will manufacturers want to get involved? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1226-android-out-hp-webos-in.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:53:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1226-android-out-hp-webos-in.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1225-xbox-live-to-show-up-on-more-than-just-winpho-7.html <p>Since the inception of WinPho 7 we knew that Xbox LIVE would play a huge role and integrate easily into the new mobile devices. What we also guessed is that we would see LIVE show up on PCs in some capacity. As it would turn out, we have learned Xbox LIVE will be built into Windows 8. </p><p> </p><p>Mike Delman, VP of global marketing for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business revealed it all in an interview. </p><p> </p><p>We have parts of the interview and thoughts on the integration after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1225-xbox-live-to-show-up-on-more-than-just-winpho-7.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:43:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1225-xbox-live-to-show-up-on-more-than-just-winpho-7.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1224-ps3-slim-meet-ps3-green.html <p>To be fair, the next version of the PS3 is still in the 'Slim' family and Sony has managed to trim off almost another pound from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.jp.playstation.com/ps3/hardware/cech3000b.html" class="UpStreamLink">the CECH-3000B</a>, 6.6 pounds in the previous model down to 5.7 pounds now, but more efficient power usage is where most consumers will find value. The CECH-2500B, Sony's last version, was rated at 230W which has been reduced to 200W with the CECH-3000B. Fortunately, the 'less is more' mentality for the PS3 Slim hasn't translated over into the included accessories that still consists of a Dualshock 3 controller, power cord, AV cable and USB cable. The 320GB console and accessories can all be yours for the low low price of 34,980 yen or $436 USD but there's still more noticeable changes discussed after the break. Don't go rushing over to Japan just yet. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1224-ps3-slim-meet-ps3-green.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:38:28 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1224-ps3-slim-meet-ps3-green.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1223-hackers-didnt-pass-up-on-sega-pass-online.html <p>Coming off the heals of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1211-3-psn-arrests.html" class="UpStreamLink">PSN attacks</a> that happened in April this year it's not just Sony that found itself under siege by hackers. </p><p> </p><p>This month Sega experienced what the PSN did to a much smaller degree but the consequences were still devastating. Sega Europe is responsible for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sega.com/sega-pass/" class="UpStreamLink">Sega Pass online</a> service that was breached, which resulted in the names, birth dates, encrypted passwords and e-mails of 1.3 million users being compromised. Luckily no credit card information had been stolen but the Sega Pass service has been shutdown since June 16th, probably to revamp security measures, and there is currently no tentative date for resuming the service. Sega representative, Yoko Nagasawa delivered the following statement on behalf of the company, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We are deeply sorry for causing trouble to our customers. We want to work on strengthening security.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Guess which hacker organization has some involvement in this incident and hit the break to see why it might not be who you think. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1223-hackers-didnt-pass-up-on-sega-pass-online.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Jun 2011 10:07:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1223-hackers-didnt-pass-up-on-sega-pass-online.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1222-google-in-hot-water-with-the-government.html <p>This is a bad week for Google. Seemingly every government regulatory agency in the world is currently investigating Google for anti-trust and unfair business practices. As of right now, the Federal Trade Commission, the Justice Department, the Senate's antitrust subcommittee, the European Commission, several state attorneys general, plus other agencies are all investigating the same ideas but all separately. </p><p> </p><p>Google is everywhere - what exactly might they be investigating? Well, almost all of their actual business is search and advertising. They currently have around 66% of the US search business and around 80% of the European. When an organization gets that kind of popularity, the temptation to prioritize your own stuff gets very strong; that is what is currently being investigated. </p><p> </p><p>For example, let's use video search. When you do a Google search for anything and there is a video that matches your search terms, whose results will be first? Usually YouTube. In fact, you will almost never see a Vimeo result in your search unless there are no YouTube results. Is it because YouTube just has better results or is it because Google owns YouTube and wants people using their service instead of Video? </p><p> </p><p>For more complaints against Google and how this could all end, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1222-google-in-hot-water-with-the-government.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:49:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1222-google-in-hot-water-with-the-government.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1221-10-brands-that-will-not-survive.html <p>For the last few years, the guys over at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://247wallst.com/" class="UpStreamLink">24/7 Wall St.</a> compile a list of brands that they believe will not make it out of the next year. While we see lists like this often and ignore them, the reason I'm talking about this list is because of how accurate they usually are. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://247wallst.com/2009/12/02/the-ten-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2010/In 2009</a> they listed Palm (joined HP), Sun Microsystems (joined Oracle) as well as a few companies that made it out of the list but back onto 2010's. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://247wallst.com/2010/06/15/247-wall-st-ten-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2011/" class="UpStreamLink">In 2010</a>, they listed Blockbuster Video (joined EcoStar/DISH Network), T-Mobile USA (joining AT&T Mobility) and Merrill Lynch (joined Bank of America Corporation). </p><p> </p><p>Now, that being said, why is their 2011 list so important? Well, it's the guys on the list that make it important to those of us in the electronics world. There are some large, long-time names on the list and if the list is as accurate as last year, the technology landscape will be changing a lot in the next 18 months. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see the list and our thoughts on the members. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1221-10-brands-that-will-not-survive.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:55:44 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1221-10-brands-that-will-not-survive.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1220-tennessee-bans-offensiveness.html <p>The Internet has become a place for the craziest stuff to live and be happy. Where else can you find <a target="NewWindow" href="http://skirmisher.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/jesus-on-the-internet.jpg" class="UpStreamLink">Jesus floating in a pool</a> or cups being used for <u>that</u>. All of the craziness has been gravitating to the Internet for years now. If you live in Tennessee, however, you are officially on notice not to enjoy any of it. </p><p> </p><p>A new was passed last week in Tennessee prevents online distribution of any image that can "frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress" the viewer. Now, while the intent of the law might be to prevent others having to see some of the terrible things I wish I could unsee in my years on the web, the implementation just won't do. This will not just prevent people from seeing decapitations but also anything else. There is someone out there who has a panic attack over a waste of water and would find <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1dXaz-vKKk" class="UpStreamLink">this video</a> distressing. </p><p> </p><p>Is this the end of WrongNumberTexts.com? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1220-tennessee-bans-offensiveness.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 25 Jun 2011 10:53:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1220-tennessee-bans-offensiveness.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1219-german-mans-puppy-protest-against-the-hells-angels-is-not-hellish.html <p>I couldn't think of a better way to come back from our week long post <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/e32011.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3</a> hiatus than to tell you about a German guy who had an odd way of professing his feelings about the motorcycle gang members of The Hells Angels. </p><p> </p><p>Apparently, on the 12th of June, a 26 year old German man had a bone to pick with The Hells Angels and the best way to resolve his grievances involved a rude gesture, a puppy and a bulldozer, in that order. The man drove on the the Hell's Angels clubhouse north of Munich, performed a rude gesture, dropped his pants, threw a puppy and fled the scene. Next, he stole a bulldozer from a nearby construction site and preceded to make a getaway to Munich while causing a huge traffic jam along the way. Eventually the man was captured in his home but what drove him to do these things is still unclear. </p><p> </p><p>Before this I wasn't aware that the Hells Angels were in Germany too but I'm not surprised. For this guy's sake let's hope that PETA isn't. They might actually be worse. </p> Sat, 25 Jun 2011 10:28:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1219-german-mans-puppy-protest-against-the-hells-angels-is-not-hellish.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1218-apple-goes-back-on-its-word-gives-in-to-publishers.html <p>This week Apple did something that Apple usually doesn't do, they went back on a hard rule they set a few months ago. In February, Apple said that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1041-apple-subscribes-to-the-death-of-subscriptions.html" class="UpStreamLink">they'd be taking 30% of all your subscription earnings as a developer</a> and you had to offer your service through the iTunes App Store. Apple, after probably hearing thousands of people yell at them, took an unannounced do-over and decided to alter the rule to allow magazine, newspaper, video and music publishers to not have to specifically sell via iTunes. </p><p> </p><p>The rule was not yet in effect but Apple was already being lashed at by any and every developer that didn't have a huge margin to begin with. Some companies even said they would remove their apps completely from Apple products if the rule were to go through. Without services like Pandora, would you really buy an iPad? </p><p> </p><p>For more, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1218-apple-goes-back-on-its-word-gives-in-to-publishers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:10:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1218-apple-goes-back-on-its-word-gives-in-to-publishers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1217-hp-touchpad-arrives-july-1.html <p>We have been following HP's moves very closely as of late. From the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/618-hp-purchases-palm-for-12-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">$1.2 billion Palm buyout</a> to the beginning rumors <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1017-hppalm-webos-notebook-netbook-training-more-webos-tablet-news.html" class="UpStreamLink">about the webOS' new uses</a>, it's been a very interesting couple of months for the company. More recently we covered the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1029-hp-introduces-2-webos-phones-1-tablet-and-no-palm.html" class="UpStreamLink">two new webOS phones and the coveted beginnings of the TouchPad</a> and even had the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1088-rumor-mills-achurnin-with-hp-touchpad-arrival-for-summer-at-499.html" class="UpStreamLink">rumor mill churning with the TouchPad arrival for the summer</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Well, for an unprecedented third time, we here at the show have been right yet again as we should expect to see the HP TouchPad come to life on July 1st! Wow, it feels good to say we are right about this one, as we have been excited since the idea was just a twinkle in HP's eye, $1.2 billion ago. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1217-hp-touchpad-arrives-july-1.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:14:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1217-hp-touchpad-arrives-july-1.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1216-ataris-bringing-it-back-to-the-old-school.html <p>Every E3, the concern is that one of the Big 3 will eventually make a lousy presentation or product that will sink them to the bottom of the gaming ocean, which would then open up a spot for someone else to take the reigns. For me, Sony is still teetering on the brink of destruction and Nintendo isn't too far behind, so what better time, then, for Atari to come out and say they want back in the gaming market? </p><p> </p><p>Everybody knows Atari. The 2-bit sounds of <i>Pong</i> still ring true in my head to this day and I'd be furious if anyone bothered me during a serious session of <i>Asteroids</i>. Well, now Atari's looking to come back with new, social games. They're aiming for the Apple products and, sigh, Facebook. This means Atari will be going from arcade games, to home games, to now the digital realm. If you recall, Atari left the console game in '96 after seven million changes in ownership. </p><p> </p><p>What should we expect to see and how will this all play out? My thoughts are after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1216-ataris-bringing-it-back-to-the-old-school.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:46:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1216-ataris-bringing-it-back-to-the-old-school.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1214-new-apple-campus-will-be-scifi-certified.html <p>In 2006 Apple acquired 50 acres of land with something in mind and last November they added the 98 acre former HP Campus to their inventory. Just recently, on June 7th, we found out what all the land was for in a presentation that the Steve Jobs gave to the Cupertino City Council about a new Apple campus. </p><p> </p><p>Apple has experienced some steep growth and the current facilities at 1 Infinite Loop are starting to get a little cramped. In fact, the real problem Apple is running into is that they have to keep buying and renting places further and further away from the campus to accommodate its students and what not. The new campus has been designed to compliment the existing one and not act as a replacement. Hit the break to find out what the Steve Jobs has planned for the new campus. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1214-new-apple-campus-will-be-scifi-certified.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:32:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1214-new-apple-campus-will-be-scifi-certified.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1213-newegg-commercial-hits-close-to-home-with-best-buy.html <p>Even though <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.newegg.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Newegg</a> does quite well and has been around for a while, they have managed to remain relatively quiet and under the radar until a certain TV and YouTube commercial of theirs hit too close to home with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bestbuy.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Best Buy</a>. Watch the attached video and you will notice two things. The employee portrayed in the commercial looks a lot like a Best Buy employee and certainly acts like one. Also the 'Take it from a Geek' slogan at the end seems to have rubbed Best Buy's Geek Squad the wrong way. Those two things also seem to be why Best Buy served up a cease and desist order urging Newegg to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTMwNzY1NTI4OHNLUnoyaVZyWmxfMV8yX2wuanBn" class="UpStreamLink">stop hurting their employees' feelings</a> and to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTMwNzY1NTI4OHNLUnoyaVZyWmxfMV8xX2wuanBn" class="UpStreamLink">stop infringing on Geek Squad's good name</a>. It's really quite amusing to read. The entire first page is Best Buy telling Newegg about how awesome Geek Squad is, I highly recommend you read it over. Hit the break to watch the controversial commercial and have a good laugh. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1213-newegg-commercial-hits-close-to-home-with-best-buy.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:03:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1213-newegg-commercial-hits-close-to-home-with-best-buy.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1212-e3-2011-battlefield-dinosaur.html <p>Many of you saw <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1194-e3-2011-why-do-ea-keynotes-always-feel-like-battlefield-3.html" class="UpStreamLink">EA's <i>Battlefield 3</i> presentation</a> but what you may or may not have noticed was the soldier holding a toy dinosaur at the beginning of the video. If you are like me you probably skipped right over it assuming it to be a piece to tie the game with reality. Boy were we wrong. </p><p> </p><p>Not only is it not to tie in with reality, it is to reinforce the false reality that is 4chan. We have spoken of the insanity that is 4chan, such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/924-the-internet-says-kitten-lord.html" class="UpStreamLink">the war with Tumblr</a> or <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/856-operation-payback.html" class="UpStreamLink">their open attack on Scientology</a> but we have never spoken of their truly positive influences on society, through insanity, of course. Someone posted, shortly after the <i>Modern Warfare 2</i> launch, claiming to be an Activision employee, asking what people thought of the game. The reaction was unanimous - a total lack of dinosaurs. </p><p> </p><p>Now, I know what you're thinking, "It's true. There were no dinosaurs in the game, but why does that matter?" It doesn't, it was the first thing someone thought of and everyone followed along. You can see the posts in the image on the right. Apparently it grew to be such a big thing that the guys at DICE decided to try and appease the 4chan community by including a dinosaur in their game. They were so proud of their little joke on Activision that Gustav Halling, a designer for DICE working on the game, <a target="NewWindow" href="https://twitter.com/#!/gustavhalling/status/78029240041345026" class="UpStreamLink">Tweeted</a> to make sure everyone understood what happened. </p><p> </p><p>Like TBS, very funny.</p> Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:43:28 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1212-e3-2011-battlefield-dinosaur.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1211-3-psn-arrests.html <p>This has been a big week for Sony - first they presented incredibly well at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/e32011.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3 2011</a> and now arrests have been made in the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="UpStreamLink">PSN hacking and outage</a> case. The Spanish National Police announced on Friday that they had detailed 3 individuals in charge of hacking into the Sony network as well as several international business and government systems. </p><p> </p><p>The individuals were identified as leadership of Anonymous, a group we have <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1131-sony-reaches-a-not-so-exciting-resolution-with-george-hotz.html" class="UpStreamLink">spoken of in the past</a> in relation to this story, the group has repeatedly denied official involvement in the attack. It has always been assumed, however, that members of the group, acting alone, were probably behind it. These arrests either confirm the assumptions or are based solely on the assumptions. </p><p> </p><p>For details on the attack and who else has been a victim, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1211-3-psn-arrests.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:42:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1211-3-psn-arrests.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1210-high-speed-internet-for-a-reasonable-price.html <p>It is no surprise to most people in the US that Internet access is expensive. It gets even more expensive when you want that access to be fast. Connections in the 40-100 Mbps range can cost $100-200. RoadRunner Lightning, for all of you Time Warner Cable and Brighthouse Networks customers is around $100 for a whopping 40 Mbps. One California company, Sonic.net, is trying to change that. </p><p> </p><p>The company has been around since the mid-90s prodiving standard DSL service to customers. They later branched out and offered what is called bonded DSL, essentially 2 lines each providing 20 Mbps, bonded together at the modem to produce 40 Mbps speeds over DSL. That service has run their customers around $70 per month (much better than the cost for Lightning). While this is a great deal, Sonic.net has decided to up the ante. </p><p> </p><p>What are they doing? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1210-high-speed-internet-for-a-reasonable-price.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:42:28 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1210-high-speed-internet-for-a-reasonable-price.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1209-e3-2011-only-one-controller-per-wii-u.html <p>For those of you who have listened to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/radio/1-207-episode-207-e3-2011-day-3.html" class="UpStreamLink">PLuGHiTz Live! Radio - Episode 207 - E3 2011 Day 3</a>, I have some good news and some bad news for you. For those of you who have not, you should listen and then I can explain. The good news is I was right again about my analysis of Nintendo's press conference announcements. The bad news is I didn't want to be right. </p><p> </p><p>As you probably know by now, Nintendo showed off <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1207-e3-2011-nintendo-asks-will-you-wii-u.html" class="UpStreamLink">the controller for their new Wii U console</a> to a lot of fanfare. What else would you expect from a totally wireless controller with a large touchscreen that can also serve as a screen for the console to play full titles without the TV as well as a secondary view of a game also on the television. The presentation left a lot more questions than it answered, however. The most common being "will the console support more than one new controller?" </p><p> </p><p>To find out the answer, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1209-e3-2011-only-one-controller-per-wii-u.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Jun 2011 22:40:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1209-e3-2011-only-one-controller-per-wii-u.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1208-e3-2011-zeldas-not-too-old-to-party.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/e32010.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3 2010</a> brought us the celebration of Mario's 25th anniversary. This year, we get the opportunity to celebrate Zelda's 25th anniversary. The presentation even started with a live orchestra playing music from Zelda games. While we won't be getting a Hyrulian Wii, we are getting a huge collection of new games and accessories. </p><p> </p><p>The accessory that was announced to coincide with this celebration is a special golden Wii remote with the Triforce in the middle. It is planned to launch with the release of the newest Zelda title, <i>Skyward Sword</i>, slated for this Holiday Season. It is the epic game <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/696-e3-2010-nintendo-aims-for-the-sky-with-the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword.html" class="UpStreamLink">we spoke of last year</a> that even Shigeru Miyamoti, reigning Nintendo badass, was excited to announce was finally complete. I won't get into the nitty gritty details on the game but if you need a refresher on it, check out our review from last year. </p><p> </p><p>What else has Nintendo got in store for us? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1208-e3-2011-zeldas-not-too-old-to-party.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:48:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1208-e3-2011-zeldas-not-too-old-to-party.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1207-e3-2011-nintendo-asks-will-you-wii-u.html <p>Coming into E3 this year I knew that Nintendo couldn't afford to wait another year to do something with their next console and it seems they did as well. Before we get into what Wii U is all about I want to mention Nintendo's stage this year. It was actually a 3 tier stage which had a nice 3D effect that wasn't over done. The icing on the cake, though, was how they tailored all the video specifically to conform with the stage. I didn't think I would be awarding Nintendo my 'Best Setup' award this year but they earned it. Sony had some improvements in their design as did Microsoft but Nintendo's made a statement. Congratulations Nintendo. </p><p> </p><p>Getting back on track, I was really impressed with the theoretical implementation of the Wii U controller. Wait, controller? Yes. How can they release a controller before the console? I'm glad you asked. They didn't actually release anything, instead they showed us a cool video and talked about it. We did see a lot more of the controller than we did the Wii U console which was hiding out on a shelf under the TV. A live demo would have made a much more profound statement but Reggie even mentioned the footage about the Wii U games were in 'prototype' form, so they didn't have anything real to show us. </p><p> </p><p>The device itself boasts a hefty 6.2 inch touch screen, there are built in motion controls like a gyroscope that have some interesting gaming applications as well as an accelerometer. I also can't forget about the mic and inward facing camera as well as WiFi. This controller actually includes the inner workings of a full fledged handheld gaming system but it's not intended to be. This is why Nintendo is using WiFi to essentially tether the device to your console and TV. </p><p> </p><p>Check out Nintendo's goal for the Wii U system and its E3 debut by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1207-e3-2011-nintendo-asks-will-you-wii-u.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 08 Jun 2011 09:46:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1207-e3-2011-nintendo-asks-will-you-wii-u.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1206-e3-2011-living-la-vita-playstation.html <p>Sony came back with vengeance after debuting the PlayStation Move at E3 2009 and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/702-e3-2010-sony-moves-into-motion-gaming.html" class="UpStreamLink">showing it off last year</a> and dealing with the bad press from the recent <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1165-details-on-the-playstation-networks-welcome-back-program.html" class="UpStreamLink">PSN outage problems</a>. They actually did a lot of things better this year and ended up with the coveted PLuGHiTz Live! Best of the Big 3 at E3' award... almost by unanimous decision. No, we didn't see it coming either but they deserve it and if you want to hear me swallow my pride on air and say lots of good things about Sony then give <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/radio/1-207-episode-207-e3-2011-day-3.html" class="UpStreamLink">Episode 207 - E3 2011 Day 3</a> a listen and download it for your historical records. Of course you want to know about all the awesome stuff Sony did and between all the hosts here we're keeping you plugged in, so kick off your shoes and stay a while. As for the 'Vita' fans out there I have something here that your going to like. </p><p> </p><p>I actually started paying attention to the Vita <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1027-sony-to-bring-nextgeneration-portability-to-your-pants.html" class="UpStreamLink">about 6 months ago when it was still the NGP</a>. Back then I was a little skeptical that Sony had actually addressed the past problems with their handheld gaming devices and only beefed up the hardware. I was glad to find out that wasn't the case after getting to see it in action. For example, the range of controls has extended from 'stick control,' the two mushroom sticks, to 'touch controls' that include the front screen and the back touch pad. We saw a little bit of the new control implementation in the <i>Uncharted: Golden Abyss</i> demo that is attached at the bottom of this article. The old XCrossMediaBar operating system was always a bit of a pain and although we didn't get to see the functionality of the new OS as much as we wanted to, it seems pretty clear that it has gone away in favor of a more smartphone-ish OS like Android. The game demos also highlighted other hardware elements like the 6 axis gyro and the Quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor that ran everything like a champ. Wait, there's more, check out the hardware specs after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1206-e3-2011-living-la-vita-playstation.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:59:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1206-e3-2011-living-la-vita-playstation.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1205-e3-2011-assassins-creed-revelations-a-blast-from-the-past.html <p><i>Assassin's Creed: Revelations</i> is the latest installment in the acclaimed <i>Assassin's Creed</i> series by Ubisoft. I must start off by saying that I love the song playing in the trailer, available after the break. Anyway, we see our dear protagonist, Ezio, in his later years. He seeks the end to the war between the Assassins and the Templar for good. </p><p> </p><p>The trailer shows that though Ezio has seemed to grow older, his skills are still just as sharp as ever, until he has a cognitive vision of his ancestor Altair. As the soldiers triumph over Ezio and escort him to his death by lynch off the edge of a high point of the castle, Ezio sees Altair once again taking almost the same footsteps to his death. The hood comes off, and the rope is placed around Ezio's neck as you see his trusty eagle flying in the distance (fitting because Ezio means "flying eagle in Arabic), and he turns around to attack, ending the trailer. </p><p> </p><p>This game brings together all the Assassin heroes from past to modern day. There will be parts where you will play as Desmond Miles, Ezio, of course, and even Altair! Now Ubisoft has made it clear that this will be the last game featuring Ezio and Altair, which hints that future games could possibly continue with the modern day assassin Desmond. November 15th is the date and I can't wait! </p><p> </p><p>If you can't wait, either, hit the break to see the full trailer in all of its glory. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1205-e3-2011-assassins-creed-revelations-a-blast-from-the-past.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:56:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1205-e3-2011-assassins-creed-revelations-a-blast-from-the-past.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1204-e3-2011-sonys-moving-in-on-kinect.html <p>Last year, Sony showed off a little of what PlayStation Move was and what it could do, but all I really took away from it was <i>Sorcery</i> (yeah!). It was clear they had other ideas but no one had had the time or interest to create the things that were in their head. This year was a totally different story. After a full year of thinking Sony was going to waste away on the technology of Move they surprised us with a huge showing of games and concepts surrounding Move. </p><p> </p><p>Some of the games used it in an original Wii-style waggley way but others used it in a way that enhanced the gameplay instead of shoving Move controls in to be part of the cool crowd. Let's start off by saying, while we have talked a lot about the success that Microsoft has had with Kinect, Sony is having a pretty impressive time with Move. Over 8 million units have sold, which is not too far behind Microsoft's 10 million Kinects. By the end of 201, they expect to have over 200 titles available that take advantage of Move. </p><p> </p><p>Of course, some will be good, many will not. Hit the break to find out which are which. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1204-e3-2011-sonys-moving-in-on-kinect.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:48:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1204-e3-2011-sonys-moving-in-on-kinect.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1203-e3-2011-sony-still-believes-strongly-in-3d-with-new-glasses-and-a-3d-bundle.html <p>With a lack of slideshow presentations (and Kevin Butler) and an organizational approach to the event, Sony showed off some interesting new products and games at this year's E3. Of course, along with those games came the hardware to support it and a strong, ongoing push for 3D, as Sony is pretty much the creator of the technology. </p><p> </p><p>This year, Sony was proud to announce a new set of 3D games to add to more than 100 3D titles already on the PlayStation Network. That says a lot for a device that just recently got the upgrade for 3D. Also, 3D comes with a price, and that price exists with the hardware that you need to make 3D work. You need a pair of 3D glasses, which usually run at a price of $200 a pair, so to fix that sting, Sony will be releasing a pair of PlayStation branded 3D glasses for only $69. </p><p> </p><p>However, that's not the only thing that is preventing more users to get down with the triple D. Customers are demanding a more affordable solution to fight the $1,000 3DTVs out there. Sony hears you on this, so they are offering a pretty sweet bundle. You can pick up a PlayStation branded 24" 3DTV that is capable of displaying two simultaneous images in 3D to individual pairs of 3D glasses. This is perfect for co-op or competitive multiplayer gameplay with two people in the same room. We can't figure out how this technology works, though, and would love to get our hands on it! Along with the TV you will be getting a pair of the $69 3D glasses, a six-foot HDMI cable, a Move controller and <i>Resistance 3</i>. All of that will only run you $499, and we hope to see the package pieced out so we can buy the TV!</p> Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:06:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1203-e3-2011-sony-still-believes-strongly-in-3d-with-new-glasses-and-a-3d-bundle.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1202-e3-2011-the-rhythm-is-not-dead.html <p>Ubisoft proved that they have what it takes to develop games across all major genres. From <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1201-e3-2011-the-adventures-of-tintin-the-game.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>TinTin</i></a> to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1199-e3-2011-tom-clancys-ghost-recon-future-soldier-.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Ghost Recon</i></a> plus the addition of rhythm games, these guys are covering the bases. This year, they gave us a lot more rhythm than we were prepared for. </p><p> </p><p>Of course we had the sequel to their incredibly popular <i>Just Dance</i> series with the aptly named <i>Just Dance 3</i>. Having started its life on the Wii, the game is now available on all three major consoles supporting Wii Motion Plus, PlayStation Move and, of course, Microsoft Kinect. The game has been enhanced with new music and game, while maintaining all of the greatness that has made the series one of the best dance simulators ever. You can play with new multiplayer features as well as importing music from previous versions of the game. </p><p> </p><p>To see the promo video and read about their NEW rhythm game, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1202-e3-2011-the-rhythm-is-not-dead.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:01:42 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1202-e3-2011-the-rhythm-is-not-dead.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1201-e3-2011-the-adventures-of-tintin-the-game.html <p>I was first introduced to the bright-eyed, young and adventures British boy named TinTin during Ubisoft's press conference this year. Apparently the 'The Game' part of the title indicates that the story came from somewhere else entirely, like a book or a movie. In fact, it is a film inspired game from Paramount Digital Entertainment which in turn originated from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin" class="UpStreamLink">a variety of other French books</a>. </p><p> </p><p>In developing the game, people who helped produce the movie worked closely with Ubisoft to transcribe the look, feel and adventure of the movie in a way that worked. All the environments in the game are based on settings from the film to keep the world familiar to those who have only recently come to think of TinTin as a video game. The design is very clean and true to an early 20th century setting which is in keeping with previous iterations of the story. It almost has a young <i>Indiana Jones</i> appeal to it as TinTin seems like a nice young man but also has it in his character to shoot someone and not really think twice about it. In that way I find it amusing. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to check out more info and the Ubisoft presensation of TinTin. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1201-e3-2011-the-adventures-of-tintin-the-game.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:33:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1201-e3-2011-the-adventures-of-tintin-the-game.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1200-e3-2011-nintendo-3ds-loads-up-on-games-and-features.html <p>It seems like focusing on events has helped the some of the presenters this year. Nintendo was no different as they focused on three key items. They talked about the new home console Wii U, <i>The Legend of Zelda's</i> 25th Anniversary and what we're going to discuss this time, the Nintendo 3DS. </p><p> </p><p>Reggie came out and started going right for it and didn't dance through the presentation, per usual Reg-style. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We hear you. You want what you've always wanted, but you also want something new.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Nintendo definitely delivered on that quote. Between the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo's new home console, the Wii U, Reggie said there would be "Something for Everyone", and were they right about that. </p><p> </p><p>We have the upcoming 3DS titles and announcements, including the Virtual Console, upcoming work and the E-Shop after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1200-e3-2011-nintendo-3ds-loads-up-on-games-and-features.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:52:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1200-e3-2011-nintendo-3ds-loads-up-on-games-and-features.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1199-e3-2011-tom-clancys-ghost-recon-future-soldier-.html <p>You want to talk about a development studio that knows how to thrown down at a press event? Let's talk about Ubisoft! Even if you remove the Rabbids, Ezio Firenze, Rayman and Jason Brody, all which blew my mind, <i>Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Solider</i> stole the show on its own. If you thought what you saw with the Gunsmith feature from the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1190-e3-2011-microsoft-keynote-liveblog.html" class="UpStreamLink">Microsoft event</a>, you, my friend, are sadly mistaken. <i>Future Soldier</i> takes the Tom Clancy franchise to a whole new level. </p><p> </p><p>The game feels like it was specifically designed as a tactical, strategic co-op shooter, not like the game was added in as an extra on top of an arcade-style multiplayer or as a single player campaign bonus. This is simply the best cooperative multiplayer I've ever seen done as a first person shooter hands down. </p><p> </p><p>For details and the gameplay footage, check with us after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1199-e3-2011-tom-clancys-ghost-recon-future-soldier-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:10:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1199-e3-2011-tom-clancys-ghost-recon-future-soldier-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1198-e3-2011-nintendo-live-blog.html <p>Due to the conflict with the show last night we have no Sony Live Blog, but we are back at 11 for the Nintendo press conference. You won't want to miss it! </p><p> </p><p><iframe src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=dc93a877da/height=550/width=470" scrolling="no" height="550px" width="470px" frameBorder ="0" allowTransparency="true" ><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=dc93a877da" >E3 2011 - Nintendo Press Conference</a></iframe></p> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:18:06 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1198-e3-2011-nintendo-live-blog.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1197-e3-2011-partners-bury-the-lead.html <p>EA didn't just show off their own projects- they also showed projects from the EA Partners program. This is a collection of developers who are independent but publish through EA. Several notable developers are in the list, including <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/585-infinity-ward-seems-likely-to-respawn.html" class="UpStreamLink">Respawn Entertainment</a>. Three Partners showed their wares on the EA stage this year: DICE, Insomniac Games and 38 Studios. </p><p> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/staff/5-jon-wurm.html" class="UpStreamLink">Jon</a> covered what DICE had to show off - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1194-e3-2011-why-do-ea-keynotes-always-feel-like-battlefield-3.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Battlefield 3</i></a> - the latest in the <i>Call of Duty</i> competition series from EA's Partner. Jon will do the game more justice than myself, but suffice it to say, I'm impressed and I don't like the FPS genre. </p><p> </p><p>What did the other guys have to show? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1197-e3-2011-partners-bury-the-lead.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:48:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1197-e3-2011-partners-bury-the-lead.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1196-e3-2011-microsoft-kinects-us-to-our-consoles.html <p>Microsoft didn't just show off <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1193-e3-2011-more-kinect-games-than-your-body-can-handle.html" class="UpStreamLink">AAA Kinect title</a>, like <i>Mass Effect 3</i> and <i>Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier</i>. They also showed off a community for project developed by Xbox owners like you; it's called Kinect Fun Labs and everyone is invited to join. Whether you are a developer interested in the Kinect platform or a user who enjoys the latest creative projects, this is the place to go. </p><p> </p><p>Since the launch of Kinect and the open availability of the development tools, people all over the world have created unique ways to use the Kinect - many that Microsoft had never thought of themselves. This is why the Fun Lab was created - a centralized way to show off the crazy fun projects people have created using the Kinect. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know what has already been created? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1196-e3-2011-microsoft-kinects-us-to-our-consoles.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:47:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1196-e3-2011-microsoft-kinects-us-to-our-consoles.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1195-e3-2011-fifa-12-the-beautiful-game-now-also-plays-beautifully.html <p>Coming off of a wonderful year in 2010, with over 51 game awards and over 42 million copies of <i>FIFA 11</i> sold, it was almost a sure thing that <i>FIFA 12</i> was going to be impressive and even more ground-breaking. It also doesn't hurt that EA has had unimpressive press briefings at E3 for the past few years, so the anticipation for select titles was heightened. </p><p> </p><p>So what's new in <i>FIFA 12</i>? A whole lot of stuff, including the mission to make FIFA available everywhere. Because soccer is one of the world's most popular sports, EA wanted to connect every gamer to the world's sport and vice versa. </p><p> </p><p>First, a couple of new features to help the game along. We'll start with Tactical Defending, which allows you to not only control when and how you go in for a challenge or tackle, but also control where your body is in relation to the ball to make sure you are always goalside on defense. There was an issue in <i>FIFA 11</i> where you sometimes just couldn't get in the right position to make a play on the ball, even though last year's game was miles (or kilometers) ahead of the year before it. Along with that came Precision Dribbling. Tired of taking a touch too far forward and the defense immediately takes it? This year you can control exactly where and how hard each touch on the ball will be, so you can remain more in control and slip past defenders with ease just like the pros. The last enhancement added was the Player Impact Engine. Gone are the canned animations regardless of how a tackle appeared, but the good news is that they didn't go straight to rag-doll physics. Instead, a patented EA system will allow players to react realistically to where contact is made, which will allow for less arcade style playing and more accurate response. Soccer (football) is all about "feeling" the game, and these enhancements truly make you feel like you're in the game. </p><p> </p><p>There is one more thing that perfectly connects every <i>FIFA</i> fan in the 2012 version, though. Want to know what it is? We have the scoop after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1195-e3-2011-fifa-12-the-beautiful-game-now-also-plays-beautifully.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:29:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1195-e3-2011-fifa-12-the-beautiful-game-now-also-plays-beautifully.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1194-e3-2011-why-do-ea-keynotes-always-feel-like-battlefield-3.html <p>EA's E3 events have traditionally been a little difficult for me for various reasons over the years but I feel like they delivered some interesting things this time around. Of course <i>FIFA 12</i> and <i>Madden 12</i> were on the roster along with <i>SIMS Social</i>. If a new title for anyone of these wasn't released, it just wouldn't be an EA event and the universe would be torn asunder. There were some other things they showed us like <i>Overstrike</i> which is a witty combat game but I'm going to focus on my personal favorite of the keynote, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield3" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Battlefield 3</i>.</a> </p><p> </p><p>I guess there are a couple of reasons why this looks cool. Pretty much everything in the environment can be destroyed. Why is this important you ask? Because sometimes just killing people doesn't cut it. Been there, done that, a million times before. Not that it isn't fun but killing someone with a 40 story office building is new and exciting. It also adds an element of strategy to firefights when you can't bank on your cover to take mortar strikes and RPG fire like a champ. The massive scales also adds to the realism. When your freedom to move is restricted only by the things trying to kill you and not so much space limitations, the amount of people and intensity of events can only increase. This pretty much turns what would be a small firefight in other games into a large scale engagement for <i>Battlefield 3</i>. Karl Magnus did mention a huge variety of vehicles that would be available but the one they focused on for the demo was the tank. </p><p> </p><p>They embarked on a full out tank assault whose goal was to annihilate an enemy base and encountered a lot of resistance along the way which made for a couple close calls. It was easy to see what I meant about the gameplay elements I talked about previously. We did get to see an air strike called in on some artillery that was making it rain and I don't mean the dolla dolla bills kind. This alludes to their claim of a wide variety of weapons and vehicles. Overall the graphics were smooth as I would expect and they even introduced Battle Log, a free service that allows you to connect more easily with other players and keep up on your stats, even across platforms. <i>Battlefield 3</i> is set to release on October 25th this year and I'm guessing they meant for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. As far as multiplayer is concerned, it will go into beta September of this year. </p><p> </p><p>Am I just nuts or is anyone else excited to get their hands on this?</p> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:03:35 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1194-e3-2011-why-do-ea-keynotes-always-feel-like-battlefield-3.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1193-e3-2011-more-kinect-games-than-your-body-can-handle.html <p>The Microsoft Keynote at E3 this year was a bit different than last years. Not as exciting but still packed a punch with some sweet <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1192-e3-2011-the-xbox-360-really-does-equal-entertainment.html" class="UpStreamLink">Xbox Live announcements</a> and a ton of game related announcements, almost all of which were designed for the Kinect. This really is the year of the Kinect so I'm going to take a moment and highlight some of the most exciting ones. </p><p> </p><p>I suppose Microsoft had it right by starting off with the one major title which wasn't specifically designed for Kinect. That of course is the new <i>Tomb Raider</i> from Crystal Dynamics. Basically, Laura is shipwrecked on an island and has to use her skills to escape. The game seems very gritty and starts off with Laura getting impaled by a sharp bone fragment after falling 30 ft. The interactions at first are at key moments of the opening scene as most of this sequence played out like a movie. Her "survival instincts" light up pieces of the environment that you can use, kind of like in <i>Mirror's Edge</i> but not as obvious. The scenes are very intense and there is a boulder chase that is reminiscent of <i>Indiana Jones</i>. At the end she makes it out of the caves to an ocean view of shipwrecks. There isn't a lot more to say at this point but the availability is set for fall 2012. </p><p> </p><p>Get more on the newly revealed Kinect titles by hitting the break, because you know you want to. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1193-e3-2011-more-kinect-games-than-your-body-can-handle.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:47:30 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1193-e3-2011-more-kinect-games-than-your-body-can-handle.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1192-e3-2011-the-xbox-360-really-does-equal-entertainment.html <p>Last week when Microsoft posted that the "Xbox = entertainment" they really weren't lying. Today's E3 2011 Microsoft Event proved just that as they dove in to all of the media, social and Kinect aspects of the Xbox 360 that will definitely keep the console in the living room for years to come. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft's Marc Whitten took the stage to make it known that the television needed a new voice: yours. The goal was to keep the technology out of the way while still being able to enjoy the content you want. To help the cause, the Xbox 360 will feature a New Xbox Experience dashboard that looks absolutely stunning and explains why the small <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/898-xbox-360-dashboard-enhancements-are-a-go.html" class="UpStreamLink">refresh a few months back had the tiles looking clunky</a>. Instead of a shuffling of menus to navigate through, you can simply use your voice to pull up Games, Music, Movies and TV with ease. </p><p> </p><p>For more on what's going to keep you entertained well into next year, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1192-e3-2011-the-xbox-360-really-does-equal-entertainment.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:24:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1192-e3-2011-the-xbox-360-really-does-equal-entertainment.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1190-e3-2011-microsoft-keynote-liveblog.html <p><iframe src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=56255793c7/height=550/width=470" scrolling="no" height="550px" width="470px" frameBorder ="0" allowTransparency="true" ><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=56255793c7" >E3 2011 - Microsoft Keynote</a></iframe></p> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:56:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1190-e3-2011-microsoft-keynote-liveblog.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1188-soontobe-apple-store-gets-some-window-pains.html <p>What can you do if you wear an orange construction worker vest? Apparently anything you want to! The world's soon-to-be largest Apple Store in Hamburg, Germany fell victim to a team called the .WAV Collective. </p><p> </p><p>The group went to the construction site, with the storefront draped in the customary black covers, set up a safety fence, propped up a ladder and drilled pre-made Windows logo panels to the exterior wall of the store. Oh, by the way, it was in the middle of the day. </p><p> </p><p>You call it vandalism, I call it working for a cure. The cure to rid the world of anything Apple, including its potential customers, at least temporarily. I would also call it creativity at its finest. A piece that could even rival Da Vinci himself. Okay, I could also call it vandalism. </p><p> </p><p>Whatever color you want to paint it (hopefully Windows blue, yellow, red and green and not metallic Apple silver), we have the video after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1188-soontobe-apple-store-gets-some-window-pains.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:13:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1188-soontobe-apple-store-gets-some-window-pains.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1187-amd-decides-to-go-mobile-finally.html <p>Yes, finally an article about a chips manufacturer that doesn't start with an 'I' and end with 'ntel'. Most of us have been wondering if AMD would ever make an appearance in the mobile market so it was a delight to get some information on the Z-series chips that AMD plans on making a debut with. Better late than never, hopefully it's not too late. </p><p> </p><p>They call the architecture for this chip family 'Fusion' and it is meant to transplant the full PC experience to tablets. They are also doing something interesting by designing the Fusion chips to support Windows 7 and Android. The reasoning for this is that Android has a wide variety of applications and basically dominates the mobile space. On the other end of the spectrum you have Windows 7 which is a must for business. By focusing on the two they intend to cover their bases. According to Chris Cloran, Vice President and General Manager of the computing solutions group, the transition between both operating systems is seamless. </p><p> </p><p>Get ready for some specs after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1187-amd-decides-to-go-mobile-finally.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:11:21 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1187-amd-decides-to-go-mobile-finally.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1186-microsoft-says-xbox-entertainment.html <p>Since its inception, the Xbox and Xbox 360 have seen flocks of hardcore gamers flooding the Xbox LIVE network to play the latest Triple A FPS title. A couple of years ago at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/e32009.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3 '09</a>, after millions of frags were logged and countless hours of hailing Master Chief, Microsoft took the stage to say that while the gamers are the core of its existence, they wanted the Xbox 360 to be the center of your family entertainment and they wanted a console in every living room. With that came the announcement of Project Natal and good things to come in the future. </p><p> </p><p>At <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/e32010.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3 '10</a>, we saw the unveiling of the Kinect, Project Natal's permanent name, which proved to be the thing that accelerated Microsoft and the Xbox 360 beyond anyone's expectations, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/952-kinect-sells-25m-in-25-days-beats-move-and-ipad.html" class="UpStreamLink">outselling the Move and even the iPad</a>. We also saw an updated <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/683-e3-2010-microsofts-big-nonreveal.html" class="UpStreamLink">Xbox 360 Dashboard</a> that contained several media-centric features. With the existing add-ons of Facebook, Twitter, last.fm and Netflix, everyone was excited to see what was next. </p><p> </p><p>What came next happened in November, with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/898-xbox-360-dashboard-enhancements-are-a-go.html" class="UpStreamLink">another Dashboard refresh that included ESPN3, Netflix and Zune enhancements</a>. Then last month we saw the addition of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1144-hulu-plus-makes-its-way-to-the-360.html" class="UpStreamLink">the long-awaited Hulu Plus tile</a> on Xbox LIVE. </p><p> </p><p>All of these things are important because it is proof of Microsoft standing by the ideas and goals they want to set for themselves. After all of the updates and improvements, the Xbox 360 really has made itself the center for all of your family's entertainment. </p><p> </p><p>Where does this bring us to? Frank Shaw, the VP of Corporate Communications for Microsoft, posted a blog entry this week that indicated Microsoft's mission to further push the entertainment part of the console. </p><p> </p><p>We have what he said and what we expect to be the next phase of this plan after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1186-microsoft-says-xbox-entertainment.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 10:44:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1186-microsoft-says-xbox-entertainment.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1185-spotify-teams-up-with-facebook-were-still-waiting-on-the-us-launch.html <p>Spotify has shacked up with Facebook in a move that could launch a Facebook integrated music-streaming service on the social network in as little as two weeks. Word has it that the service is currently undergoing heavy testing, but once it goes live, Facebook's users in Finland, France, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK will see the green Spotify logo along the left of their newsfeed, with the familiar photos and events pages as well. </p><p> </p><p>Why just those countries? Well, as we know, Spotify has yet to launch in the US, despite the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1012-spotify-and-sony-come-to-a-musical-meeting-of-the-minds.html" class="UpStreamLink">deal signings with Sony and EMI</a>. Warner has still not <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1061-spotify-signs-more-deals-still-waiting-on-warner.html" class="UpStreamLink">come to their senses</a> and Universal hasn't been talking to the European-based streaming service very much. However, negotiations are continuing and Spotify is trying to surround the US by getting in with its popular websites in hopes that the attention will give them some deals. For now, the service on Facebook will only be available in areas where Spotify exists, and there's still no word on whether it will be called Facebook Music or Spotify on Facebook. </p><p> </p><p>However, there's still more to discuss on the Facebook front. Click the break to see how this partnership will play out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1185-spotify-teams-up-with-facebook-were-still-waiting-on-the-us-launch.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 09:25:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1185-spotify-teams-up-with-facebook-were-still-waiting-on-the-us-launch.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1184-a-kidney-for-an-ipad.html <p>Apple fanboys are willing to trade all kinds of crazy things for an iPad - tons of money, their integrity, but one Chinese boy was willing to trade even more - one of his kidneys. The boy, 17-year-old "Zheng," was searching for a way to raise enough money to purchase an iPad 2 but could not find a viable source. That is, until he met a broker online who offered to pay 22,000 yuan, or about $3,000, for one of his kidneys. </p><p> </p><p>The operation took place totally without his parents' knowledge or, obviously, consent. The only way they knew what had happened was when his mother realized her son had both an iPad and an iPhone and knew there was no way he could have afforded them. She questioned him and he folded and told her the whole story. She reported it and the cops are investigating. </p><p> </p><p>This really goes to prove the theory that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/5-jon-wurm.html" class="UpStreamLink">Jon</a> presented that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/406-iphone-syndrome-theres-a-phone-for-that.html" class="UpStreamLink">Apple users are delusional</a>, but this is a definite exaggeration of the theory. I hope this is an isolated incident and more people don't start doing this.</p> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 21:04:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1184-a-kidney-for-an-ipad.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1183-facebook-status-offends-vodafone-causes-legal-threat.html <p>You know that annoying guy at work who is always posting on Facebook about what a jerk his boss is? Well, we know a lot of companies have strict policies against it and some are known for firing those employees. However, most companies do not have such policies against their customers speaking ill of them. I will emphasize most because this week brings us an example of a company who apparently does have a policy against customer badmouthing. </p><p> </p><p>The company is Vodafone and the story goes like this - customer gets mad at Vodafone's handling of a legitimate complaint and does what all people do when they have no other options, he posts online. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Finally got Vodafone to admit that across Mumbai they have only 50% cell sites on 3G. Spoke to CEO (chief executive officer) and CMO (chief marketing officer). Told them that this is blatant cheating. </p><p>CMO in typical babu style told me if you aren't happy with service, you have choice to move to another operator. I told I choose to stay with Vodafone and give them grief if I don't get promised SLAs. Grudgingly he made 2 months 3G plan free worth 2500.</div> </p><p> </p><p>What was their response? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1183-facebook-status-offends-vodafone-causes-legal-threat.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 21:03:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1183-facebook-status-offends-vodafone-causes-legal-threat.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1182-sony-hacked-again-this-time-for-movies.html <p>2011 is going to be a really great year for sony. First, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1165-details-on-the-playstation-networks-welcome-back-program.html" class="UpStreamLink">the PlayStation Network was hacked</a>, then <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1171-sony-revises-financial-outlook-expects-disastrous-losses.html" class="UpStreamLink">they released financials showing a huge decline</a> and now this: Sony Pictures was hacked. This week's Sony hacking comes to us from a group called Lulz Security. The group is known for hacking into large companies' networks that should know better to demonstrate their believed superiority and to gain information. </p><p> </p><p>In this case, Lulz got out with a list of about 1,000,000 users personal information, including email/password combinations. They claim that their crime was carried out with a simple SQL injection. I am hoping that Sony is smarter than to use security-free platforms for web development, but based on past evidence, I am guessing this is correct. To prove their crime, Lulz released 50,000 email/password combinations in a RAR file, as well as around 20,000 Sony music coupons, plus the admin database for Sony BMG's Belgium offices. </p><p> </p><p>If this does not convince Sony that they are either an antique company that is ready to retire or that they need to start all of their endeavors over from scratch, then I don't know what will. At the very least, this should get them to reevaluate their position in the world. I can't wait to see what they say this week at E3.</p> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 21:02:14 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1182-sony-hacked-again-this-time-for-movies.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1181-al-queda-cooks-up-nonexploding-cupcakes.html <p>As we have proven over the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1165-details-on-the-playstation-networks-welcome-back-program.html" class="UpStreamLink">past few weeks with Sony</a>, hacking is bad. The question is, is hacking always bad? It turns out that the answer is no; hacking is not always bad. </p><p> </p><p>MI6, with help from James Bond, hacked into the computer system for the English-speaking terrorist magazine, <i>Inspire</i> last year with some pretty amusing results. They took files containing instructions for bomb-making and swapped them with content from the best possible source to infuriate Al Queda - the Ellen DeGeneres show. </p><p> </p><p>What did they publish instead of bombs? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1181-al-queda-cooks-up-nonexploding-cupcakes.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 21:01:15 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1181-al-queda-cooks-up-nonexploding-cupcakes.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1180-call-of-duty-wallet-at-war.html <p>Activision is looking to do something that so far only the PC gaming industry has been successful at: that of course is subscription-based gaming. Now there are some distinct differences between their subscription-based service and that of <i>World of Warcraft</i>, which serves as a good basis for comparison. If that seems confusing, just ignore the fact that <i>CoD</i> and <i>WoW</i> are on different platforms. </p><p> </p><p>The release of Activision's 'Call of Duty Elite' service is scheduled to launch this fall and will probably coincide with the November 8th release of <i>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3</i> since that is the game the Elite service is going to work with. Players are already used to shelling out $60 on a new title and the concept of DLC seems to be going over well so why would Activision try to milk the franchise even more with a subscription service? The short answer is, because they are Activision. Those of you who understand what I mean will be able to stop reading here. </p><p> </p><p>For those who need more on the concept, including possible price-point, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1180-call-of-duty-wallet-at-war.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 13:21:15 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1180-call-of-duty-wallet-at-war.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1179-microsoft-lets-us-peek-through-the-curtains-with-windows-8.html <p>In an keynote at the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://allthingsd.com/conferences/d/d9/schedule/" class="UpStreamLink">D9 Conference</a> Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky gave us a quick look through the glass of Windows 8. The user interface certainly seems to resemble Windows Phone 7 and will support touchscreen capabilities, as you would expect. A demonstration given by Sinofsky in the following video shows us that Windows 8 actually runs concurrently with Windows 7, giving you the ability to use the traditional interface and the new interface together, separately and at the same time. I could try to describe it here but Sinofsky does a way better job than I could. </p><p> </p><p>I will say this, though. Even just getting this little peek is exciting but one of the things I'm most excited about comes from a development standpoint. Windows 8 is being designed for desktops, laptops and tablets alike. Imagine being able to develop an app in an awesome IDE like Visual Studio and you only have to do it once because you will know how the app will behave across all Windows devices. What a concept. </p><p> </p><p>Don't take my word for it. Check out Sinofsky's demonstration below. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1179-microsoft-lets-us-peek-through-the-curtains-with-windows-8.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:17:00 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1179-microsoft-lets-us-peek-through-the-curtains-with-windows-8.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1178-wow-is-more-than-a-virtual-prison-for-some.html <p>Here is some confirmation on what WOW players have known all along. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/007586.html" class="UpStreamLink">Gold farming</a> has plagued the economies of countless servers causing inflation of goods and services as well as tempers. It's bad enough when a real player ninja loots you or steals your kill but when a gold farmer does it... that's enough to send you off the deep end. Ironically, it might be the reason they go off the deep end as well. </p><p> </p><p>When most WOW players think of gold farmers, they tend to think they are paranoid shut-ins that get off on exploiting video games from their own free will and are compensated monetarily for their unjust efforts. Many Chinese gold farmers are not that lucky according to Liu Dali who used to be a prisoner at Jixi labor camp located in northeast China. </p><p> </p><p>Basically, in some prisons, the guards are forcing prisoners to play MMOs like WOW to farm gold which they then sell for a profit. The way it worked at Jixi was the prisoners would work doing manual labor during the day then play these games in 12 hour shifts at night. Each prisoner had a quota and were physically beaten with plastic pipes if they failed to attain it. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things.</div> </p><p> </p><p>The guards would make around $930 USD a day and the prisoners would make $0 with potential benefits of not being beaten. Details on other benefits were not available but at least they are allowed to take breaks outside in the rock yards for some physical stimulation before going back at it. I'm not saying this is OK but I am not surprised. There seems to be a reoccurring theme of exploitation in China that leads me to believe many people there are more or less prisoners anyway. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/875-foxconn-cons-employees-yet-again.html" class="UpStreamLink">Foxconn</a> is just one other example. I will say that I don't agree with their exploitation but a full discussion of the ethics involved goes beyond the scope of this article.</p> Sun, 29 May 2011 16:22:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1178-wow-is-more-than-a-virtual-prison-for-some.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1177-microsoft-spill-the-beans-about-win-pho-7-mango-update.html <p>On the 24th of May, Microsoft mobile-products chief Andy Lees discussed the Windows Phone 7 'Mango' update at an event in New York. Basically, it's about being social and creating people-centric solutions though an aptly named 'People' hub. At least Andy Lees, the president of Microsoft mobile communications thinks so. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We wanted to provide the customer with less clutter, more clarity. This builds upon our mission to make the smartphone smarter and easier. With Windows Phone Mango, we're taking a people-centric approach to communications.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Some key elements involve the usual social suspects like Facebook integration as well as Bing and, of course, the recently acquired <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1146-microsoft-skype-press-conference-notes.html" class="UpStreamLink">Skype</a>. While these elements will change, the main point Microsoft wants to get across is that apps, as many are used to them, will act more as part of the OS which is quite different from what users of iOS and Android, most of the mobile market, are used to experiencing. The API will be available immediately and we can expect the Mango update to roll out this fall. </p><p> </p><p>For a Microsoft presentation about their ripening WinPho 7 update, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1177-microsoft-spill-the-beans-about-win-pho-7-mango-update.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 May 2011 14:35:45 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1177-microsoft-spill-the-beans-about-win-pho-7-mango-update.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1176-google-is-getting-sued-by-paypal-over-who-pays-with-digital-wallets.html <p>It's about time our wallets and purses started to shrink a little bit and at the rate mobile payments are gaining popularity you think they would have disappeared by now. I first heard reports of industry giants like Google and PayPal approaching this with the use of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/05/wired-nfc-faq/" class="UpStreamLink">NFC</a> last October, so I am a bit surprised it took this long for a huge lawsuit to pop up. I am not surprised, however, that intense competition in the market has led to some alleged breach of contracts and employee poaching concerning two key employees who moved from PayPal to Google and took their secrets with them. </p><p> </p><p>PayPal generally takes a stance of avoidance when it comes to lawsuits but the company said that, given the circumstances, you got to do what you got to do, it's the law. Amanda Pires, the senior director at PayPal for global communications said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Sometimes the behaviors of people and competitors make legal action the only meaningful way for a company to protect one of its most valuable assets — its trade secrets. We treat PayPal's 'secrets' seriously, and take it personally when someone else doesn't.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Find out who did what and hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1176-google-is-getting-sued-by-paypal-over-who-pays-with-digital-wallets.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 May 2011 13:50:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1176-google-is-getting-sued-by-paypal-over-who-pays-with-digital-wallets.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1175-lisa-lampanelli-turns-westboro-baptist-church-protest-into-good.html <p>It's not every day that you can hear a story including "Westboro Baptist Church" and feel good about it. This is one of those stories. Lisa Lampanelli, the Queen of Mean, the ruler of Comedy Central Roasts and an outspoken supporter of gay rights, performed in Topeka, Kansas last weekend. For those who do not know, Topeka is the home of the hate-spewing loudmouths that call themselves a church. </p><p> </p><p>WBC members had decided to protest Lisa's show in their city because of her support for equality. Somehow, Lisa got wind of this and made a decision to either end the protest or turn it into a positive - she announced that, for every protester who showed up, she would donate $1000 to the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gmhc.org/" class="UpStreamLink">Gay Men's Health Crisis</a>, the oldest AIDS prevention, treatment and care provider in the US. </p><p> </p><p>She told TMZ, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">It's gonna be hilarious to write out the checks to the GMHC and have them send thank you notes to the WBC for their 'generous contributions.' I'd love to see their inbred faces when they open those thank you notes! Hopefully their jaws will drop so fast that their three remaining teeth and cro-magnon foreheads will plummet to the floor.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Despite the counter-attack from Lampanelli, there were still 44 protesters who showed up to her show. That means $44k donated to a gay charity in honor of WBC. That just made my day.</p> Sun, 29 May 2011 10:11:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1175-lisa-lampanelli-turns-westboro-baptist-church-protest-into-good.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1174-twitter-buys-tweetdeck-not-3rd-party-anymore.html <p>In March, Twitter made the announcement that <a target="NewWindow" href="http:://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1073-twitter-dislikes-your-interface.html" class="UpStreamLink">they didn't want 3rd party interfaces anymore</a>. While that was a strange move for a company whose users almost exclusively use 3rd party interfaces to use their service, it was not unexpected from a company who <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/566-twitter-still-trying-to-figure-out-that-business-model-thingy.html" class="UpStreamLink">has no direction</a>, like Twitter. </p><p> </p><p>This week, in a strange combination of knowing how their service is used and spending money on things that make people use the service, Twitter purchased TweetDeck. For those who do not know, TweetDeck is a major player in the Twitter integration world, and one of the services Twitter was talking about ending through their API changes. The company describes the service this way, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">TweetDeck is your personal real-time browser, connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Google Buzz and more.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For more on this story, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1174-twitter-buys-tweetdeck-not-3rd-party-anymore.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 May 2011 09:53:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1174-twitter-buys-tweetdeck-not-3rd-party-anymore.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1173-comcast-to-compete-with-comcast-online.html <p>Comcast this week announced their involvement in a project called Xcalibur, whose "goal is to take everything we've learned from the web and tablets and bring it right back to your TV screen... As a network-based entertainment experience, the rich TV navigation and services will eventually carry over to many other TV devices including connected TVs and game consoles." That sounds like a direct attack on Netflix and Hulu to me. </p><p> </p><p>Comcast is currently testing this service in Georgia, but being an IP-based service, they definitely have plans to role the service out nationwide. Their plans are to make this service available anywhere you are - TVs, phones and tablets, similar to the capabilities of the competition, Netflix and Hulu. The feature that Comcast plans to add to this service that the other guys don't offer? Live television. </p><p> </p><p>Why is this the dumbest idea ever? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1173-comcast-to-compete-with-comcast-online.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 May 2011 22:59:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1173-comcast-to-compete-with-comcast-online.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1172-microsofts-android-profits-soar.html <p>You know how Microsoft has been making a big deal about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/495-windows-phone-7-series.html" class="UpStreamLink">Windows Phone 7</a>, including their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1034-nokia-announces-partnership-with-microsoft-for-windows-phone-7-handsets.html" class="UpStreamLink">partnership with Nokia</a>, but did you know that Microsoft also makes money on each Android phone sold? In fact, they make A LOT of money per handset sold. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft went on a lawsuit spree a while back, suing Android manufacturers ranging from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/862-microsoft-sues-motorola-for-general-stuff.html" class="UpStreamLink">Motorola</a> to HTC, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1118-htc-moves-up-in-rank-taking-nokias-spot-in-market-value.html" class="UpStreamLink">the most popular Android manufacturer</a>. HTC settled their suit by agreeing to pay $5 per handset sold to Microsoft. </p><p> </p><p>How much does that add up to? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1172-microsofts-android-profits-soar.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 28 May 2011 21:44:25 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1172-microsofts-android-profits-soar.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1171-sony-revises-financial-outlook-expects-disastrous-losses.html <p>This is something that even the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1165-details-on-the-playstation-networks-welcome-back-program.html" class="UpStreamLink">Welcome Back Program</a> isn't going to fix. For Sony, this year has been simply awful. From the earthquake to the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="UpStreamLink">PlayStation Network outage</a>, everything that could have gone wrong for them actually did go wrong. </p><p> </p><p>After those events, obviously their bottom-line was going to be affected immensely, so this week Sony decided to inform its investors on just how bad of a financial mess they are in. </p><p> </p><p>To see the damage, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1171-sony-revises-financial-outlook-expects-disastrous-losses.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 May 2011 23:48:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1171-sony-revises-financial-outlook-expects-disastrous-losses.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1170-duke-nukem-forever-makes-gold-status-we-dont-believe-it.html <p>It seems like it took 25 years for <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/23-spore-almost-ready.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Spore</i></a> to come out and about 10 or 15 to finally see the actual version of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/941-gran-turismo-5-is-finally-here-well-the-boxes-are.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Gran Turismo 5</i></a> to hit the shelves. Well, just like its fashionably late partners before it, <i>Duke Nukem For<del>Never</del>ever</i> has finally made gold status, which means that the production on the game itself is now completed and the master copies have been packaged up and sent out to the duplication machines to be turned from a little idea of a game into a big boy, ready-to-go-into-a-console game. Gold status really did mean something back in the day, but with the creation of online gaming and automatic updates, all it means is that now it's time to fix the bugs they didn't have time to fix before it went out to the dupe facilities. </p><p> </p><p>The good news here is the game should be out to stores soon! However, games teased forever like this one still tend to keep us suspicious until we see more than just empty boxes on display shelves in stores. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the excitement, check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1170-duke-nukem-forever-makes-gold-status-we-dont-believe-it.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 May 2011 23:05:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1170-duke-nukem-forever-makes-gold-status-we-dont-believe-it.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1169-xbox-live-update-may-cause-your-console-to-die.html <p>Remember the update I talked about last week? You know, the one that was going to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1153-xbox-360-update-for-the-spring-coming-on-may-19th.html" class="UpStreamLink">give us a lot of back-end updates</a> in preparation for some awesome things to come? Well, it appears that the upgrade that would <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1103-microsoft-teaches-an-old-disc-a-new-trick-and-adds-1gb-capacity.html" class="UpStreamLink">allow the XGD3 format</a>, the one that gives us a 1GB boost to an Xbox 360 disc (and enhanced piracy measures), is actually causing a problem among a number of Xbox consoles. </p><p> </p><p>Older Xbox 360s are locking up when the firmware actually installs onto the game system. Users have been reporting that they can no longer play games after the May 19th update and are seeing error messages like "disc unreadable" or "disc unsupported". </p><p> </p><p>For Microsoft's take and the light of the situation, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1169-xbox-live-update-may-cause-your-console-to-die.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 27 May 2011 22:42:32 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1169-xbox-live-update-may-cause-your-console-to-die.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1167-portal-2-review.html <p><i>Portal 2</i>, gaming company Valve's sequel to the popular first person puzzle game, takes place about 200 (unapproximately) years after the events of the first game. The first <i>Portal</i> game was compiled with two other games <i>Team Fortress 2</i> and the <i>Half-Life 2</i> franchise, on one disc. The story arcs of <i>Half-Life</i> and <i>Portal</i> are intertwined, and of course, continues on into <i>Portal 2</i>. Valve, being the clever geeses they are (that's right, I said geeses), their connections together are only hinted through lovely easter eggs throughout both games. Or you could just wiki the storyline... Your choice. </p><p> </p><p>Anyways, moving on with the review. The graphics are stunning, as they were on the first game, though that is how it should be since you are not doing things like fighting continent sized bosses nor conjuring up phantasmal displays of flashy black magic. You are a girl, with a gun, with a mission. GET THE H OUT! The gameplay keeps true to the first game - as I said before your mission is to get out, through the use of shooting multiple portals to make things happen, and then walk your (fine) self on through. GLaDOS does not skip a beat so I would highly suggest keeping your ears open because she has quite a lot to say about the things you did to her the first time around (LOL). The storyline is compelling and keeps you glued in 100% of the time. In addition, the puzzles get pretty clever and some will just plain ol' piss you off, helping to keep you focused on the game. Overall though, they keep your attention for hours, I just wish there were more. I finished the game fairly quickly, both the single player story and the online co-op mode. </p><p> </p><p>For the rest of my analysis of <i>Portal 2</i>, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1167-portal-2-review.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 May 2011 18:41:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1167-portal-2-review.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1166-riaa-warrents-not-required.html <p>The combination of RIAA being high off of it's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1154-record-labels-squeeze-limewire-for-105-million.html" class="UpStreamLink">recent and only victory over Lime Wire</a> and representatives from the state of California being crazy could spell disaster for optical disc plants and beyond. There is legislation already passed by two state senate committees that permits state law enforcement agencies to seize disc printing equipment and pirated discs from optical disc plants without a court warrant. So basically <a target="NewWindow" href="http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/text/288810" class="UpStreamLink">because they feel like it.</a> </p><p> </p><p>RIAA seems to think that 90% of illegal discs originate from these replicator plants. Apparently around 70 of these plants reside in California where an estimated 70 million illegal discs are printed each year. California reps seized more than 820,000 discs last year and insist piracy has a big impact on the state economy and retail sector. Accruing to state Senator Alex Padilla, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Fraudulent CDs and DVDs undermine our economy and California's role as a global leader in music and film. They steal revenue from artists, retailers, and our entertainment sector.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out more about the Gold Coast crackdown. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1166-riaa-warrents-not-required.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 May 2011 18:19:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1166-riaa-warrents-not-required.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1165-details-on-the-playstation-networks-welcome-back-program.html <p>To some PlayStation loyals, it seems like it was forever ago that the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="UpStreamLink">suffered massive hacking attacks, causing a complete shutdown of the system</a>. For the weeks that followed, Sony was rebuilding, moving and restructuring their servers and security protocols to prevent this from happening in the future. Unfortunately, it happened at a time where big events were about to happen to the PSN, specifically a <i>Black Ops</i> Double XP night and the release of some key games, like <I>SOCOM 4</I> and <i>Brink</i>. </p><p> </p><p>Last week we did see the Network come back online, at least in some limited matchmaking and gameplaying form, with the PlayStation Store and more enhanced services to follow very soon. Sony also announced that they would be offering a "Welcome Back" package to its PSN members. </p><p> </p><p>We now have the details of that package for North American and European users and that is after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1165-details-on-the-playstation-networks-welcome-back-program.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 May 2011 14:48:05 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1165-details-on-the-playstation-networks-welcome-back-program.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1164-nvidia-says-honeycomb-isnt-sweet-enough-to-overcome-pointofsale-problems.html <p>There have been a couple Android tablets that have hit the market so far like the Galaxy Tab and the Xoom but none of them have really made an impact compared to the iPad. Motorola released sales figures for April of this year that suggested they shipped 250,000 Xoom units but in fact <a target="NewWindow" href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20058430-64.html" class="UpStreamLink">that number is much lower</a>. Sanjay Jha, the CEO of Motorola Mobility, commented in an earnings call that part of the problem is that there aren't enough apps for Android. Of course, there is no way that could be the full story and Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang does a good job shedding some light on the real issues. </p><p> </p><p>Basically he sees the poor adoption rate as point-of-sale problems regarding marketing, price point, and retail expertise coupled with a "software richness of content problem." He highlighted the fact that most baseline models come with 3G when they should focus on WiFi instead. That speaks to the price point issue and makes sense because tablets are secondary consumption devices compared to laptops and smartphones. Odds are you're already paying for monthly data services for both of those devices as it is. Being required to activate another data plan is part of the reason why 3G activation rates for tablet devices is so low. There should definitely be another model for those who want the 3G with their tablet. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">It's a point of sales problem. It's an expertise at retail problem. It's a marketing problem to consumers. It is a price point problem.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Find out what Jen-Hsun has to say about the future of Android tablets by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1164-nvidia-says-honeycomb-isnt-sweet-enough-to-overcome-pointofsale-problems.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 May 2011 14:36:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1164-nvidia-says-honeycomb-isnt-sweet-enough-to-overcome-pointofsale-problems.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1163-building-portal-2-personality-cores.html <p>This was something I came across that was just too good to not share with everyone. If you haven't been able to tell from our shows yet, we are huge fans of the <i>Portal</i> series and have loved every minute of <i>Portal 2</i>. From every detail, to the voice acting and even down to the personality cores. I wanted to get VALVe to even make some cool prop merchandise to buy, but they are not yet inclined to do so. However, robot engineer Chris Myles has come up with some nifty little craftsmanship to bring Aperture Science's Personality Cores to life. </p><p> </p><p>Check after the break to see the two videos. One is a demonstration of the mechanics and one is a short tutorial on the crafting. If you want more pictures, check out the source link for the Flickr account. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1163-building-portal-2-personality-cores.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 May 2011 14:27:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1163-building-portal-2-personality-cores.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1162-mac-users-finally-admit-they-get-viruses-too.html <p>"Hello, I'm a Mac, and I don't get viruses." We've all heard that phrase before, right? Some of the crazier people even believed that. Well, for a long time here at the show, we've talked about the hows and whys of that statement. Whether it be a low popularity, lack of interest or all-around uncaring nature, hackers never seemed to want to bother creating viruses and malware on Apple devices. It surely wasn't because their operating system was indestructible or that their nonexistent virus protection was unbeatable. It simply was because, that with 90% of all computers having Windows on it, it seemed like a waste of time to build a separate malicious program for Mac. </p><p> </p><p>With the recent increase in popularity of all things <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1156-ill-buy-anything-if-its-shiny-and-made-by-apple.html" class="UpStreamLink">shiny in the Apple world</a>, hackers, now more than ever, have taken interest in the Mac OS. I mean, when you have so many mindless sheep who flock to a product because one latte-sipping schmuck at Starbucks says it's the best, why wouldn't you want to suck the confidence right from that "I wear clothes that make me look homeless but call it retro" individual, along with their money? </p><p> </p><p>So, that's exactly what is happening now. How are they doing it? We'll tell you after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1162-mac-users-finally-admit-they-get-viruses-too.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 May 2011 14:13:32 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1162-mac-users-finally-admit-they-get-viruses-too.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1161-rim-recalls-1000-faulty-playbooks.html <p>Ever since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/ces2011.php" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2011</a>, we have been excited about the release of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/989-ces-2011-blackberry-makes-a-power-play-with-playbook.html" class="UpStreamLink">BlackBerry's Playbook</a>, which should have won Best of CES, but we won't go there. We have speculated since the announcement that between the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1088-rumor-mills-achurnin-with-hp-touchpad-arrival-for-summer-at-499.html" class="UpStreamLink">HP TouchPad</a> and the PlayBook, the tablet market would be finally changed and made better with the addition of these smarter, better and actually useful devices. </p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, the release of the PlayBook has not come with just happy thoughts and good wishes. After a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/997-blackberry-is-looking-for-some-special-jobs.html" class="UpStreamLink">failed attempt at an employment site</a>, another small tragedy struck RIM this week, as over 1,000 of the new tablets have been recalled by BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the story and some good news about it, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1161-rim-recalls-1000-faulty-playbooks.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 May 2011 10:29:32 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1161-rim-recalls-1000-faulty-playbooks.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1160-android-is-a-security-disaster.html <p>In the past, we have discussed Android's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/755-apple-google-or-palm.html" class="UpStreamLink">overall security problems</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1059-androids-hijacked-by-innocentlooking-apps.html" class="UpStreamLink">Marketplace vulnerabilities</a>, but this week we have encountered a new set of problems, thanks to the researchers at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.uni-ulm.de/en/in/mi/staff/koenings/catching-authtokens.html" class="UpStreamLink">Ulm University</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Here is the problem: many Google apps, such as Calendar and Contacts, sync with the Google servers regularly when they have access to the Internet. They use an authentication service known as <a target="NewWindow" href="https://code.google.com/apis/accounts/docs/AuthForInstalledApps.html" class="UpStreamLink">ClientLogin</a>, which creates an authentication token on the device which is good for up to 14 days. This allows the device to sync data within that time period without having to reauthenticate. This is a fairly common practice, similar to checking "Remember me" on services like Facebook. The problem here is that the token is transmitted in clear text (no encryption) to Google's servers. </p><p> </p><p>How does this affect devices? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1160-android-is-a-security-disaster.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 May 2011 00:02:36 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1160-android-is-a-security-disaster.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1159-the-flintstones-are-back.html <p>In possibly the strangest news to come out of the recent big network upfronts is the return of <i>The Flintstones</i>. The oddity here is not that one of the most recognized series of all time will be returning to the airwaves, but more that it is being headed by <i>Family Guy</i> creator Seth MacFarlane. The deal has MacFarlane teaming up with FOX (of course) and Warner Bros Television, who owns the rights to the franchise. </p><p> </p><p>MacFarlane said that the first character he ever drew was Fred Flintstone and added, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">So it's appropriate that events have come full circle, allowing me to produce the newest incarnation of this great franchise. Plus, I think America is finally ready for an animated sitcom about a fat stupid guy with a wife who's too good for him.</div> </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about the new series, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1159-the-flintstones-are-back.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 21 May 2011 23:36:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1159-the-flintstones-are-back.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1158-netflix-makes-atts-data-caps-painful.html <p>According to a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.sandvine.com/news/pr_detail.asp?ID=312" class="UpStreamLink">Sandvine report</a>, it turns out that Netflix has become the largest consumer of Internet bandwidth. Formerly the position was held by BitTorrent and the fact that this trend has ended indicates that legal, paid content is becoming the norm instead. How much bandwidth is used by Netflix? </p><p> </p><p>On average, a Netflix user will use 40GB of bandwidth each month watching videos on their computers and televisions. If you separate the Xbox 360 users, they consume about 80GB each month just for Netflix. This does not include all of the other data usage for the console, including <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1144-hulu-plus-makes-its-way-to-the-360.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu Plus</a>, game and demo downloads, the Zune Marketplace, etc. </p><p> </p><p>How does all of this affect AT&T users? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1158-netflix-makes-atts-data-caps-painful.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 21 May 2011 22:20:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1158-netflix-makes-atts-data-caps-painful.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1157-us-secret-service-employs-a-human.html <p>It turns out that at least one member of the United States Secret Service is human, despite the evidence from their official Twitter account. After only 9 days in existence, the account had its first major PR blunder - a message was posted by an employee saying, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;"> Had to monitor Fox for a story. Can't. Deal. With. The. Blathering.</div> </p><p> </p><p>This was meant to be posted to the user's personal account, of course, but was not. The secret service, after saying an internal follow-up was in progress, released this statement: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;"> An employee with access to the Secret Service's Twitter account, who mistakenly believed they were on their personal account, posted an unapproved and inappropriate tweet. We apologize for this mistake, and the user no longer has access to our official account. Policies and practices which would have prevented this were not followed and will be reinforced for all account users.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Honestly, this was the first tweet from the organization that didn't feel like it was written by a robot. I'm disappointed that it was deleted so swiftly. Maybe people would have decided the organization was interesting, but we wouldn't want that.</p> Sat, 21 May 2011 21:42:59 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1157-us-secret-service-employs-a-human.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1156-ill-buy-anything-if-its-shiny-and-made-by-apple.html <p>It was just recently that Apple retail stores celebrated their 10th year anniversary with some staggering results. Q1 sales figures are up $1.5 billion to $3.2 billion, a 90% increase from Q1 last year. The iPad definitely had something to do with this as Apple sold about 4.7 million iPads in Q1 this year and unit sales estimates for 2011 are around 44 million and thanks to Apple's retail success their financial statements aren't the only things sparking like a <i>Twilight</i> movie. </p><p> </p><p>I know that making a pilgrimage to the nearest Apple store is a common occurrence for those enamored by shiny objects, so it comes as no surprise that shiny retail stores for shiny products has ended up a resounding success.<a target="NewWindow" href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Ron+Johnson" class="UpStreamLink"> Ron Johnson</a>, who is well known in the industry for his imagination, is credited with the success Apple is experiencing in the retail store department. He is also responsible for the ironically named "Genius Bar" that Steve Jobs wasn't a fan of right away. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Michael+Graves" class="UpStreamLink">Michael Graves</a> who is one of the "New York Five," a influential architect group, said that Johnson was way ahead of the game when it came to knowing what designs role would play in the future of retail stores. Apple analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray seems to agree, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">They basically took the old book of retail and threw it out and started over. The irony of the whole Apple retail story is that nobody believed it could work. Nobody believed a computer maker would make a good computer retailer.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Even non Apple people have taken risks by exposing themselves to dangerous amounts of Appleation, hit the break to find out more. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1156-ill-buy-anything-if-its-shiny-and-made-by-apple.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 19 May 2011 13:44:32 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1156-ill-buy-anything-if-its-shiny-and-made-by-apple.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1155-hulus-sticking-around-as-well-as-their-content.html <p>Is Hulu finally seeing some light through the dirt on top of the grave they dug themselves? It seems so, after first seeing the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1144-hulu-plus-makes-its-way-to-the-360.html" class="UpStreamLink">360 pick up Hulu Plus</a> and now we are hearing that after the trouble Hulu's been in with keeping some of its content, the company is nearing a deal with NBC, ABC and FOX to maintain their programming. </p><p> </p><p>Word is that an extension to the contract that Disney, News Corp. and NBC Universal signed two years ago should pan out in the next week or so. This deal is being headed by Hulu CEO Jason Kilar and reps from News Corp., Disney and Investor Providence Equity Partners. NBC Universal, part owners in Hulu, gave up their board and management positions earlier in the year and must accept the result of all this negotiating. </p><p> </p><p>We have a more in-depth look after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1155-hulus-sticking-around-as-well-as-their-content.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 May 2011 16:24:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1155-hulus-sticking-around-as-well-as-their-content.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1154-record-labels-squeeze-limewire-for-105-million.html <p>I had all forgotten about LimeWire since November of last year when <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/906-riaa-finally-wins-a-lawsuit.html" class="UpStreamLink">RIAA actually managed to win a lawsuit</a>. It was originally filed in 2007, two years after the Supreme Court ruled that file-sharing companies could be sued for illegal distribution even if the service could be used legally. This left LimeWire on the hook for for damages that could have exceeded $1 billion in regards to 10,000 recordings released after 1972. </p><p> </p><p>Arista Records LLC et al v Lime Group et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 06-05936 went before a jury trial the first week of May where Edgar Bronfman, the CEO of Warner testified that LimeWire not converting to a legal service was "devastating, frankly." The jury seems to have sided with Bronfman and the 13 record companies LimeWire was forced to settle with. Some of which were Atlantic, Capitol, Interscope, Arista, BMG Music, Motown, Elektra, UMG, Virgin, Sony and Warner. Damages were awarded in the amount of $105 million which is a win for both sides considering that the labels received compensation and LimeWire didn't have to shell out anywhere near $1 billion. All parties seem to be relieved that all this is behind them, even law firm Willkie, Farr & Gallagher who represented LimeWire, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Lime Wire and its founder, Mark Gorton, are pleased that this case has concluded.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Maybe everyone except RIAA which is basking in the glory of it's 0 for 10,000 record with lawsuits. Their CEO Mitch Bainwol said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We are pleased to have reached a large monetary settlement. He called the accord a victory for music providers that 'play by the rules.'</div> </p><p> </p><p>Do you think this is a fair settlement? Let us know in the comment section below.</p> Sun, 15 May 2011 15:28:25 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1154-record-labels-squeeze-limewire-for-105-million.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1153-xbox-360-update-for-the-spring-coming-on-may-19th.html <p>Coming off the heels of benefiting from the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1144-hulu-plus-makes-its-way-to-the-360.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu Plus service rolling into the Xbox 360 yard</a>, the Xbox, as per usual, is staying in the news. This week, being in the media certainly helps as we have gotten a hold of a couple of slides from a Microsoft tech support employee that hints to a new Dashboard update that will start to hit the consoles on May 19th. </p><p> </p><p>From the docs, we should expect to see six different rollouts of the update from May 19 through May 30, which probably means heavy users and previous beta testers will get their hands on it first, which seems to be the typical deployment plan for the 360. </p><p> </p><p>What's included? A bunch of cool stuff that's waiting for you after the break to find out about. We have the documents, too. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1153-xbox-360-update-for-the-spring-coming-on-may-19th.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 May 2011 15:07:08 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1153-xbox-360-update-for-the-spring-coming-on-may-19th.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1152-legendary-rpg-chrono-trigger-comes-to-wiiware.html <p>It seems like there's just less and less about Nintendo that gets my juices flowing, which is why reliving some of the old glory days is such a treat. Those of you born after 1990 probably won't have a clue why us veteran gamers are making such a big deal out of an old game coming to WiiWare and we don't really care. It's your loss that you weren't around to experience its glory in the good old days. Deal with it. </p><p> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrono_Trigger" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Chrono Trigger</i></a> was originally released in 1995 for the SNES and is definitely one of the highest regarded RPGs of all time. I fondly remember a compelling story mixed in with unique gameplay mechanics such as team attacks that required collaboration between two or more characters to deal some serious damage. Let's also not forget about being able to replay the game from the beginning with your characters starting out at the level they were when you finished the previous time. SPOILER!! I do remember your characters needed to be at least level 75 to have a chance at the last boss. </p><p> </p><p>To find out when you can get your hands on this legendary classic, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1152-legendary-rpg-chrono-trigger-comes-to-wiiware.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 May 2011 12:40:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1152-legendary-rpg-chrono-trigger-comes-to-wiiware.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1151-uk-developers-arm-less-fortunate-with-linux-power.html <p>I always like to see someone with a cause leverage technology to better mankind, especially when it's geared toward those that could use it the most. The last news of this nature that we had to report came from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1054-convergeus-is-atwitter-about-social-change-.html" class="UpStreamLink">ConvergeUS</a>, who is a conglomerate that finds ways to leverage technology to solve social problems. It seems that organization, and a lot more, could possibly benefit from what a UK developer has developed. </p><p> </p><p>David Braben from Frontier Developments has put together a nifty little prototype computer that consists of a USB port, HDMI port, 700Mhz ARM11 processor and 128MB of RAM. The mini-computer is the size of a flash drive and runs Linux Ubuntu for the OS. Did I mention it also has an SD expansion slot and a 12MP camera? Braben's goal is to have them mass produced and in the hands of every kid, especially those that are socially or economically disadvantaged. How much would this little delight cost you? If mass produced it would only cost about $25 USD. Sign me up! </p><p> </p><p>Watch Braben explain what he intends to achieve with this little device by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1151-uk-developers-arm-less-fortunate-with-linux-power.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 May 2011 10:49:03 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1151-uk-developers-arm-less-fortunate-with-linux-power.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1150-twitpic-a-photo-service-for-twits.html <p>If you have ever used the photo service TwitPic - popular for sharing photos through Twitter - you might want to consider removing the images you have posted. A change to their Terms of Service, in addition to an announcement with news agency WENN, will have TwitPic selling your images for their profit. </p><p> </p><p>While most of the photos shared through the service are mundane nonsense, like all data shared on Twitter, some have been socially impacting. The first photos of the Hudson River plane landing and protest photos from the Middle East. Those images will be sold for TwitPic's profit. </p><p> </p><p>The changes to the ToS include, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">...you hereby grant Twitpic a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of ... after you remove or delete your media from the Service provided that any sub-license by Twitpic to use, reproduce or distribute the Content prior to such termination may be perpetual and irrevocable.</div> </p><p> </p><p>TwitPic is not the only service to include these clauses, but they are the first to openly say they will be selling your images regularly to a particular news outlet. I guess <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1147-facebook-proves-they-are-not-as-smart-as-google.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google isn't the ones to fear, Facebook</a>.</p> Sat, 14 May 2011 22:43:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1150-twitpic-a-photo-service-for-twits.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html <p>It is official - just a few hours ago Sony finally relaunched the PlayStation Network. The relaunch was accompanied by a firmware update for the PS3 as well as a mandatory password change. Of course, not all functions are back online yet and it is not available to the entire country. If you are interested in finding out what states are back up and working, hit the source link. </p><p> </p><p>This restoration comes after weeks of outages because of an attack on Sony's PSN infrastructure. Much of the personal data was accessed, possibly including credit card data. Sony has assured their customers that even if the billing data was compromised, it is all encrypted. Of course, if someone is capable of breaking through Sony's defenses, they are probably capable of decrypting a little billing data. </p><p> </p><p>The attack was initially blamed on AnonOps, the group behind many of the DDoS attacks we have talked about in the past, who even threatened Sony over the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1131-sony-reaches-a-not-so-exciting-resolution-with-george-hotz.html" class="UpStreamLink">treatment of GeoHot</a>. They have, however, said they were not involved and this is an organization that claims every attack they are involved in proudly. </p><p> </p><p>To find out about Sony's resolutions, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 14 May 2011 22:05:45 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1149-sony-relaunches-the-psn.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1148-google-finally-launches-music-service.html <p>The worst kept secret in the media world has finally been launched officially - Google Music. Similar to Amazon's new music locker service, or MP3 Tunes or any number of similar services, Google Music gives you the ability to store your music on a remote drive and listen to it through the web, a desktop client (one would assume) or an Android app. No longer do you need to sync your music between your computers and phone - it is always available to you wherever you have Internet access. </p><p> </p><p>This seems like a great idea until you are driving down Alligator Alley and you have little or no Internet service plus no radio stations. That small problem aside, it is a nice concept. I have personally been using MP3 Tunes for a year or so now on my personal phone and it really does make it more convenient than having to keep my phone synced with the latest music I have collected. </p><p> </p><p>For the good and the bad, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1148-google-finally-launches-music-service.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 14 May 2011 21:55:14 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1148-google-finally-launches-music-service.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1147-facebook-proves-they-are-not-as-smart-as-google.html <p>The rivalry between Facebook and Google has been intense for those of us on the inside. Google sees Facebook as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/741-google-wants-more-face-time-than-facebook.html" class="UpStreamLink">a major threat</a> and has decided to make social networking a priority. The feud came into the public this week when Facebook made a pretty stupid mistake. They hired PR-firm Burson-Marsteller to start a smear campaign against Google. </p><p> </p><p>Let's start the story at the end: two representatives from the firm wrote to a blogger and offered to help him write an op-ed article about how Google's new Social Circle product was invading people's privacy. He refused and, instead of blowing off the ridiculous request, posted the communications between himself and the firm on his website. This caught the attention of USA Today, who had also been contacted about writing about the "privacy issue". They then accused Burson of what they caled a "whisper campaign" against the search giant. </p><p> </p><p>To find out the full tie to Facebook, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1147-facebook-proves-they-are-not-as-smart-as-google.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 14 May 2011 21:03:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1147-facebook-proves-they-are-not-as-smart-as-google.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1146-microsoft-skype-press-conference-notes.html <p>This morning Microsoft and Skype held a press conference that would outline the future of the formerly separate companies. There was a lot of exciting talk about integrating Skype into their 'Microsoft Skype Division' which would entail extending the Skype service to Win Pho 7, Xbox Live, Kinect, Outlook and more. It seems Microsoft and Skype hope to integrate devices and services that will bring together the users business life and personal life, as they become increasingly more mixed with one another. Take a look at my notes from the press conference for more in depth information. Just keep in mind that all of this is paraphrased for all of our conveniences. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Steve Ballmer:</strong> </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft creates a better life for millions of people and companies around the globe. Bing helps people make decisions, Xbox 360, and Kinect created an enjoyable entertainment experience. </p><p> </p><p>They dream about building experiences that aren't limited by distance or device. Microsoft sees more of this opportunity by combining Skype with them. </p><p>The Skype brand has become a verb that is synonymous with communication. Skype has 170 million users with 600k new registrations per day and more than 40% are on video. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft made an unsolicited offer to Silver Lake, finalized the price on Apr. 18th and sealed the deal on May 9th 2011. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft is dedicated to Skype and once integrated Tony will be in charge of running the Microsoft Skype Division. </p><p> </p><p>They want to optimize Skype for Xbox, Kinect, Win Pho 7 and the PC. They also want to extend the reach of Skype to Outlook, Messenger, Xbox Live and Hotmail. </p><p> </p><p>If you are a user or consumer how does this impact you? Skype fits the context in the way that people live to connect the devices and things they do at work with those they use and do at home. </p><p> </p><p>"Outlook is such a tool." - Steve Ballmer </p><p> </p><p>To catch the rest of the news from Tony Bates, Steve Ballmer and Peter Klein, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1146-microsoft-skype-press-conference-notes.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 10 May 2011 11:16:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1146-microsoft-skype-press-conference-notes.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1145-microsoft-acquires-skype-for-85-billion.html <p>The Internet was buzzing last night with rumors of Microsoft possibly acquiring VoIP company Skype for an amount in upwards of $7 billion. Well, this morning it was announced officially at a press event, which opened with a subtle, yet very blatant statement along the lines of, "since there isn't anything else going on today, we decided to give you guys something to talk about", clearing aimed at Google's I/O event. Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and Skype's Tony Bates, CEOs of each of their respective companies, joined the stage to announce the acquisition worth $8.5 billion in overseas cash. Clearly, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/888-intel-creates-jobs-plans-to-spend-8-billion-on-new-factory-upgrades.html" class="UpStreamLink">Intel isn't the only one</a> throwin' the Benjamins as of late. </p><p> </p><p>Ballmer started first by stating that their goal has always been to empower people around the world with new technology to bring people together and by creating that new technology it would make life better. Ballmer then said that Skype simply made sense to help strengthen their position. Microsoft has always been about making communications the most fundamental aspect of life and that although communication is changing rapidly, moving beyond text and email, Microsoft wants to make talking with people around the world as easy as talking with someone across a kitchen table or conference room. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft's CEO then went on to talk about Skype and how much of a great franchise the company is. Skype has had an accelerated user growth as of late, with 170 million users connected to the service at a 40% growth year over year. There are over 600,000 new registrations every day. Obviously these users are increasing the amount of use the software is getting as well. There was a recorded 207 billion minutes of voice and video used in the Skype service in 2010, and at peak times there were upwards of 30 million users on the servers. Skype has also seen an explosion in video, with that being over 40% of their use. The company has also seen overall revenue growth of 20% year-over-year. </p><p> </p><p>Steve Ballmer then went on to talk about the details of the deal, which we have after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1145-microsoft-acquires-skype-for-85-billion.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 10 May 2011 09:56:45 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1145-microsoft-acquires-skype-for-85-billion.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1144-hulu-plus-makes-its-way-to-the-360.html <p>Finally, after months of talk and seeing <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/946-microsoft-to-expand-xbox-tv-service.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu Plus</a> pop in and out of Xbox Dashboard tiles, we finally saw that this week, Hulu Plus has made its way onto the Xbox 360. In a time where, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1100-netflix-rules-the-internet-video-market-by-a-huge-amount.html" class="UpStreamLink">Netflix is making all other competition look foolish</a>, this is a perfect move for Hulu to try and get some attention. </p><p> </p><p>Now, you can finally get your current shows from ABC, FOX, NBC, Comedy Central and more on your console which we'd hope by now is connected to an HDTV. </p><p> </p><p>Currently, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/Live/Hulu-Plus/Launch" class="UpStreamLink">Xbox is offering a free week of Hulu Plus</a>, which Jack's Links Beef Jerky is providing (weird), for anyone who signs up before May 6th if you don't already have a Plus account. </p><p> </p><p>Here's what's also cool: Hulu Plus will be Kinectable right from the start. Enjoy waving and yelling at your TV to watch your latest <i>Parks and Recreation</i> antics right from your couch without the need of a controller. </p><p> </p><p>Pete Thompson, GM for Xbox LIVE said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We're proud to deliver the best in entertainment content like no other device in the living room. Hulu Plus is an important addition to support our continued effort to expand entertainment on Xbox Live. And by adding the magic of Kinect, we're truly transforming the way people enjoy their favorite entertainment.</div> </p><p> </p><p>I'm very curious to see if this gets Hulu out of the hole it was being thrown into.</p> Sun, 01 May 2011 11:28:58 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1144-hulu-plus-makes-its-way-to-the-360.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1143-nokia-to-cut-4000-jobs-move-another-3000-and-symbian-to-accenture.html <p>Nokia has been making some changes lately. Among many, the two big things were that they were going to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1045-nokia-makes-sure-you-know-theyre-not-losing-out-on-the-microsoft-deal.html" class="UpStreamLink">partner up with Microsoft and WinPho 7</a> and that they were going to stray away from Qt, which is the framework for Symbian and MeeGo. Well, this week we saw a large push towards doing away with the latter as the company announced it's transferring its Symbian development over to consulting and outsourcing company Accenture, who will now be taking over responsibility for the project. </p><p> </p><p>Along with that, Nokia said that Symbian's team of 3,000 developers will keep their jobs, working under the new Accenture name. Sadly, CEO Stephen Elop's statement that there will be job cuts is holding true. </p><p> </p><p>For more on that, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1143-nokia-to-cut-4000-jobs-move-another-3000-and-symbian-to-accenture.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 May 2011 10:12:08 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1143-nokia-to-cut-4000-jobs-move-another-3000-and-symbian-to-accenture.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1142-sirius-xm-satellite-20-now-with-dvr.html <p>Sirius XM 2.0: A bigger, better music experience with 60% more satellite per satellite. That sounds cool, right? Well, then this news should sound even better. We have received word from a few sources that we should see Sirius XM Satellite 2.0 this fall, and the service will sport larger storage space on portable units, a DVR-like recording ability and some sort of on-demand features. </p><p> </p><p>Right now due to licensing, as awful as it is, you can't record your favorite song or content, so if you miss out on your favorite programming due to whatever reasons, it's QQ for you. However, with the talk of an on-demand service, your problem may be solved. Various sports, talk radio, comedy and even music performances would be available for you to select from. </p><p> </p><p>Want to learn more? We got the scoop after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1142-sirius-xm-satellite-20-now-with-dvr.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 May 2011 09:37:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1142-sirius-xm-satellite-20-now-with-dvr.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1141-nintendo-to-show-off-its-better-wii-at-e3.html <p>Regardless if Nintendo thinks <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1109-nintendo-3ds-makes-a-note-here-huge-success.html" class="UpStreamLink">they rocked the 3DS sales</a> or if <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1125-nintendo-3ds-may-not-be-as-popular-as-first-thought.html" class="UpStreamLink">analysts seem to disagree</a>, all we know is that we <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1101-nintendo-3ds-is-here.html" class="UpStreamLink">love the one we have</a>. Unfortunately, because of the disaster in Japan, among other things, Nintendo seems to project their profits to fall short of spectacular and only end up flat this year. </p><p> </p><p>How will Nintendo recover? Details are after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1141-nintendo-to-show-off-its-better-wii-at-e3.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 May 2011 09:06:59 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1141-nintendo-to-show-off-its-better-wii-at-e3.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1140-chrysler-and-beats-by-dre-team-up-to-bring-beats-audio-to-cars.html <p>HP and the Beats by Dre audio technology has been a match made in heaven so far. Crisp, clear, 24-bit sound inside HP laptops and even inside the next <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1029-hp-introduces-2-webos-phones-1-tablet-and-no-palm.html" class="UpStreamLink">line of webOS devices</a>. Well, now Chrysler seems to also agree that they need some of the magical powers of Dr. Dre himself. Chrysler and Beats by Dre announced they are bringing pristine audio goodness to cars for the first time. </p><p> </p><p>For more, follow after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1140-chrysler-and-beats-by-dre-team-up-to-bring-beats-audio-to-cars.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 May 2011 08:26:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1140-chrysler-and-beats-by-dre-team-up-to-bring-beats-audio-to-cars.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1139-a-dangerous-cow-for-convicts.html <p>We all know that prison life is dangerous but even more so for one Alberta, Canada man. He was working on the farm that is part of the Bowden Institution property when he was "aggressed" by an "aggressive and dangerous" cow. That's right, cow. That's not the end of it, either. The man, Roland Johnson, is suing the Canadian Attorney-General for $500,000 because of the cow attack. </p><p> </p><p>The claims do go on to be a little more valid. For example, it took 2 months before he finally received X-rays to determine if there was truly a problem. Also, he was harassed by prison staff for not finishing his employment requirements. He also lost privileges related to his "faking his injuries." </p><p> </p><p>Still, though. Dude, you were attacked by a rogue cow. How do you think you're going to survive in the hole now? You should be glad that you were only attacked by a cow and not your cellmate that night. If you were in a US prison, you would have already gotten a human flu shot from a guy named Molly. Just sayin'. </p><p> </p><p>Want to see just how dangerous cows can be? Hit the break for a wonderful video. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1139-a-dangerous-cow-for-convicts.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:24:11 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1139-a-dangerous-cow-for-convicts.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1138-candles-being-recalled-because-they-can-cause-fires.html <p>I almost did a spit-take when I read this one. A recall has been issued for over 7 million candles because of a risk that the cup that holds the candle could catch fire. </p><p> </p><p>The brands Chesapeake Bay Candle and Modern Light were sold at Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods and other stores between July '09 and February of this year. They were produced in a wide range of different scents, shapes and designs. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has said that the candles could burn and ignite the cup, which, mind you, is plastic. So far, no injuries, burned houses or scorched ants have been reported. </p><p> </p><p>A plastic cup holding a candle could melt? Where was the quality check on this? Better yet, how come this idea didn't get nixed when it was put up on the whiteboard in the design meeting? "Hey, Bill, I've got a great idea to cut costs on these candles. We'll use the same plastic we wrap the candles in and make cups out of it to hold the candle! It's brilliant!" </p><p> </p><p>Hopefully the designer will get fired... and beaten. Also, I'd like to point out that the Halloween series of this candle features a skull and crossbones.</p> Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:12:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1138-candles-being-recalled-because-they-can-cause-fires.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1137-tickle-the-penguin.html <p>My love for animals, mostly penguins, sparked my desire to post this video. Cincinnati's Zoo is home to a little penguin named Cookie who is the mascot for the Zoo Bird House there. This video was shot after days of trying to get Cookie to go over to the trainer to let the trainer tickle the little bird. </p><p> </p><p>Ever wondered what a penguin's laughter sounds like? Click after the break to hear it! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1137-tickle-the-penguin.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:59:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1137-tickle-the-penguin.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1136-spidy-powers-as-nature-intended.html <p>That's right. This is not a joke. You can attain powers from spider bites in real life just like Peter Parker did in the Spider-Man comic book series and movies. Well, they aren't exactly the same powers that Peter Parker had so don't expect to be getting a birds eye view of New York City or French kissing hot girls while hanging upside down from your own silk rope. You will, however, gain a power in your pants that Parker might gladly trade all his other awesome powers for. Let's face it. Spider-Man is a hero on the streets but maybe not in the bedroom. Here's how you can be. </p><p> </p><p>Go out and find yourself a Brazilian wandering spider, also known as the banana spider or Phoneutria nigriventer. Next, have it bite you and let its potent venom work its happy pants magic. The wandering spider's venom actually contains toxins that have a variety of effects such as 4 hour erections which puts a whole new spin on "all natural male enhancement." According to Dr. Kenia Nunes, a physiologist at the Medical College of Georgia, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The venom of the P. nigriventer spider is a very rich mixture of several molecules. These molecules are called toxins, and then we have various toxins in this venom with different activity. Because of this, when a human is bitten by this spider, we can observe many different symptoms including priapism, a condition in which the penis is continually erect.</div> </p><p> </p><p>I feel I must insert this caveat before scores of "excited" men start filling aquariums with these things. The other effects of the bite are actually quite painful and result in difficulty breathing as well as lost muscle control. Odds are she probably wouldn't notice any of these symptoms anyway. I'm not advocating you should try this, I'm just saying. </p><p> </p><p>As you might have guessed, Dr. Kenia Nunes is hard at work formulating a pill to encapsulate the true nature of male enhancement. They have already enjoyed success with rats and are looking forward to the real thing. Eat your heart our Viagra. </p><p> </p><p><center><img src="http://www.plughitzlive.com/images/news/logos/onetime/spidervenomerectionpill.png" height="200px" /></center></p> Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:21:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1136-spidy-powers-as-nature-intended.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1135-the-fbi-is-lfg-to-ninja-loot-wow-players-stuff.html <p>I played WOW for a long time before Activision Blizzard decided to ruin the game by destroying the line that distinguished actual good players from recreational players. Also, my account was banned for "manipulating the economy," but that's not near as bad as getting raided by the FBI in real life. That this happened is indeed even more surprising than the fact that people still play WOW and yet another reason not to play. </p><p> </p><p>A few very unlucky University of Michigan students were raided by the FBI on March 30th due to suspicion of being involved in, "potentially fraudulent sales or purchases of virtual currency that people use to advance in the popular online role-playing game World of Warcraft." No one was arrested because the FBI really had no basis to do so but they did ninja loot their laptops, video game consoles, hard drives, credit cards and cell phones which would be quite upsetting. The FBI is also searching credit card statements and bank records for transactions involving the sale or purchase of virtual currency in an effort to validate their real life raid. </p><p> </p><p>No arrests have been made as of yet and the students have not been charged with a crime either. One of them went on the record with AnnArbor.com saying, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">They thought we were involved in some kind of fraud... I'm pretty sure they have the wrong people, but they took all my stuff.</div> </p><p> </p><p>I wish them luck in getting their stuff back. If petitioning the FBI for your things is anything like petitioning a GM after losing stuff in a server transfer then save yourself some time. Take out some more student loans then go buy some new computers and gold. Next, pay off a raid party to get your tier gear back; at least that way everybody wins.</p> Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:21:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1135-the-fbi-is-lfg-to-ninja-loot-wow-players-stuff.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1134-playstation-move-rides-success-tsunami-with-over-8-million-units-sold.html <p>In my continuing effort to seem impartial about next generation game consoles, I feel compelled to congratulate Sony on their monumental achievement of surpassing the 8 million unit mark in sales for the PlayStation Move. I would also like to congratulate them on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1112-countries-that-do-not-matter-say-the-ps3-is-better.html" class="UpStreamLink">selling more units worldwide than the Xbox 360</a> in almost every country except the U.S. The PS3 has over 50 million units worldwide now and it seems that hardcore and casual gamers alike are catching on to the entire Move environment which originally consisted of the navigation controller and camera. The addition of the Move Sharpshooter peripheral enjoyed a 40% attach rate to <i>Killzone 3</i> at GameStop regardless of a limited supply courtesy of the recent tsunami over in Japan. Senior vice president of merchandising, Bob McKenzie has high hopes about Moving into the future, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Due to the demand for the PlayStation Move motion controller, we've been struggling to keep units in stock in our U.S. GameStop stores. With big franchise titles set for release throughout the year for the PlayStation Move, we expect the remainder of 2011 to be a period of continued sales growth for PlayStation Move.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Get a move on reading about PlayStation Move by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1134-playstation-move-rides-success-tsunami-with-over-8-million-units-sold.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Apr 2011 15:23:30 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1134-playstation-move-rides-success-tsunami-with-over-8-million-units-sold.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1133-china-outlaws-time-travel.html <p>That's right, children. If you would like to travel to a time when advanced technology was an outhouse, China will not be the place to launch your adventure. That is, if your adventure involves TV, radio or film. China's State Administration for Radio, Film & Television has banned the production of anything interesting that involves the concept of time travel. </p><p> </p><p>You would think it has something to do with not encouraging their people to actually build time traveling technology and go back in time to prevent the communist party from taking over, but you would be sorely mistaken. It has everything to do with disrespecting the past and portraying it in ways that never happened. I assume this also means they will be banning the book, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.amazon.com/Those-Mysterious-Dinosaurs-Biblical-Approach/dp/0963504908" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Those Mysterious Dinosaurs</i></a>. </p><p> </p><p>We've got a quote from the SARFT, so hit the break to see how they are justifying this decision. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1133-china-outlaws-time-travel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:49:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1133-china-outlaws-time-travel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1132-netflix-is-supported-with-kinect-xboxs-success-is-supported-with-numbers.html <p>Wondered what that little update was that you received right before the weekend? It was Microsoft's little way of saying, "We still have the Kinect and it still does awesome things!" The update was released on the 14th which gave our <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1100-netflix-rules-the-internet-video-market-by-a-huge-amount.html" class="UpStreamLink">beloved Netflix</a> Kinect compatibility. Now with just the wave of your hand or the sound of your voice, you can make Netflix do jumps and flips and stuff, or, at least play your favorite movie or TV show. </p><p> </p><p>From Major Nelson, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">You'll be able to select movies and TV shows recommended for you by Netflix, as well as play, pause, fast forward and rewind using gesture or voice. Kinect support for Netflix on Xbox LIVE will also feature an exclusive new recommendation channel that is controller-free and uses a smart engine to suggest movies or TV shows based on your viewing habits and instant queue.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Very cool stuff and I can already say I've tried it out and it works like a champ! The ability to eliminate my remote and my controller (which turns off after 15 minutes of inactivity) was great as I was able to play and pause a movie with just my voice. </p><p> </p><p>More proof that not only Netflix, but Xbox as well, are both seeing success. So much, in fact, that Microsoft is bragging big about how well they're doing. We have the NPD numbers after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1132-netflix-is-supported-with-kinect-xboxs-success-is-supported-with-numbers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Apr 2011 10:35:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1132-netflix-is-supported-with-kinect-xboxs-success-is-supported-with-numbers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1131-sony-reaches-a-not-so-exciting-resolution-with-george-hotz.html <p>We've been following the Geohot/Sony lawsuit for quite some time now. Last time we checked in with the story, Sony was awarded the rights to The Hotz' <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1084-sony-continues-to-turn-up-the-heat-on-hotz.html" class="UpStreamLink">sensitive data on his hard drives</a>. We thought that Sony would throw down on Geohot after finding a whole bunch of illegal things on his drives and after they found him buying and selling various hacking tools and kits. </p><p> </p><p>We have the result after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1131-sony-reaches-a-not-so-exciting-resolution-with-george-hotz.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Apr 2011 10:17:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1131-sony-reaches-a-not-so-exciting-resolution-with-george-hotz.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1130-spotify-makes-you-wish-you-paid-for-their-service.html <p>If you've been following us for a while, you know I am a big proponent of the Spotify music service, who's been based in Europe for a while now but has been trying to make its way over to the States. Recently, I talked about how they were <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1039-spotify-inches-closer-to-being-spotted-in-the-us.html" class="UpStreamLink">inching closer and closer</a> but were just <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1061-spotify-signs-more-deals-still-waiting-on-warner.html" class="UpStreamLink">waiting on Warner Bros.</a> to really get things going. Well, we also knew that they had an awesome free service with 20 hours of listening and very limited ads. Unfortunately, just as we see Spotify docking into a US port, they have cut some of the awesomeness out of their free service. 20 hours have gone down to 10 per month and free users can only play a track five times. No reason from Spotify as to why, but we feel it's because of the major record labels making sure Spotify boosts their paid subscription rate. </p><p> </p><p>There's a couple of key points to note here. First, the change will happen at different times for different users, dependent on when they signed up. Brand new users signing up now (and those who signed up after November 1st of last year) will get 100% unlimited service for 6 months, then limited to the 10 hour/5 plays a track deal. Anyone who signed up November 1st or earlier will have the switch happen on May 1st. </p><p> </p><p>More on the details and what this means after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1130-spotify-makes-you-wish-you-paid-for-their-service.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Apr 2011 09:15:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1130-spotify-makes-you-wish-you-paid-for-their-service.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1129-status-suspended-facebook-post-gets-teacher-in-trouble.html <p>Leave it to my wonderful hometown of Paterson, NJ to let Facebook get a little out of hand. The school district has suspended a teacher of first-grade students when they learned from parent complaints that the kids' teacher was posting "derogatory" status updates about her students on Facebook. She wrote that she felt "like a warden" and labelled her young students as future criminals. Now, coming from someone who has lived there, I can understand what she was saying, and that she wasn't too far from the truth, but that's aside from the point. </p><p> </p><p>The first-grade teacher was suspended from her classroom when parents from Paterson School 21 came to the school board after reading the posts on Facebook and demanded that their children have a different teacher. </p><p> </p><p>How did the school district respond? Click the break to read more. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1129-status-suspended-facebook-post-gets-teacher-in-trouble.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Apr 2011 08:27:13 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1129-status-suspended-facebook-post-gets-teacher-in-trouble.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1128-tsunami-makes-waves-at-sony-ericsson-concerning-xperia-neo-phone.html <p>If you haven't managed to get your hands on the dangerously limited supply of Xperia Neo phones then I've got some more bad news for you. The phone that all Sony fanboys are salivating over will need to wait longer than intended to have their drool wiped off its pristine screen. The recent tsunami has made waves at Sony's factories in the land of the rising sun. This means that if the metaphorical sun in your life was the Xperia Arc, Xperia Play or Xperia Neo phones then QQ. The Xperia Neo was hit the hardest with its major released pushed back from end Q1 or early Q2 next year to Q3 at the earliest. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Xperia Neo has already been introduced to the marketplace in limited quantities. However, due to supply chain disruptions resulting from the situation in Japan, we have shifted the timing of Xperia neo's broader launch and it is now planned for early third quarter.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Sony also expects this to adversely affect sales on all product lines but lets face it, they are already used to losing hundreds of millions on the PS3 so this shouldn't be a big deal. Besides they have bigger things to worry about, like suing <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1084-sony-continues-to-turn-up-the-heat-on-hotz.html" class="UpStreamLink">GeoHot</a> for jailbreaking the PS3. Why not sue the tsunami while they're at it? </p><p> </p><p>This raises another interesting question. Who or what did more damage to Sony, GeoHot or the tsunami? Give us your answers in the comment section below and hit the break to see the Xperia Neo in action. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1128-tsunami-makes-waves-at-sony-ericsson-concerning-xperia-neo-phone.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Apr 2011 09:40:45 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1128-tsunami-makes-waves-at-sony-ericsson-concerning-xperia-neo-phone.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1127-cisco-cuts-the-cord-on-flip-video.html <p>Flip Video, the company that made it easy for kids and morons to film and publish YouTube videos of people falling down, will soon be no more. As part of Cisco's consumer-focus initiative a few years back, they purchased the then-popular video camera maker to have another major consumer-facing brand, in addition to its popular Linksys home networking products. They have proven over the past 3 years that they do not quite understand consumer products and they now know that. </p><p> </p><p>As part of a corporate revamp, the customer-facing brands will be phased out or re-evaluated. No evaluation is needed for Flip, apparently, as Cisco has already decided to end the brand. With the popularity of smartphones rising for average consumers, added to the fact that smartphone cameras are now about as powerful as the Flip, it is no surprise that the division saw a marked decline. In an industry it once led, it saw itself fall from the top spot to the likes of Sony and their Bloggie, which is essentially the same product. </p><p> </p><p>Is this a loss for the market or is this for the best? Hit the break to find out my opinion. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1127-cisco-cuts-the-cord-on-flip-video.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:51:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1127-cisco-cuts-the-cord-on-flip-video.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1126-amazons-new-adsupported-kindle.html <p>It's amazing how much Amazon has been in the news lately. First <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1064-amazon-instant-video-becomes-part-of-amazon-prime.html" class="UpStreamLink">Instant Video booming part of Prime</a>, then their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1091-amazon-android-app-store-is-not-on-googles-wishlist.html" class="UpStreamLink">Appstore</a> followed by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1096-apple-sues-amazon-for-using-their-stuff.html" class="UpStreamLink">an Apple lawsuit over said store</a> and now a new Kindle. That's right, there is another Kindle in the works. </p><p> </p><p>What does this model have that the others don't? Ads, of course! Yeah, the new Kindle that is currently in production will be ad-supported. The good news, I suppose, is that the device will be less expensive than previous Kindles. You can also assume it will be lacking in features as well. How much can you save for seeing ads on your eBook reader? A whole $25! </p><p> </p><p>Where and when can you expect ads on your new Kindle? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1126-amazons-new-adsupported-kindle.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:33:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1126-amazons-new-adsupported-kindle.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1125-nintendo-3ds-may-not-be-as-popular-as-first-thought.html <p>At this point, we all know <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1109-nintendo-3ds-makes-a-note-here-huge-success.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nintendo's 3DS has been a hit</a>. Nintendo, however, might be in for a rude awakening if research firm IHS iSuppli's numbers are correct. The firm believes that sales are going to stall out pretty quickly, leaving only 11.6 million units worldwide by the end of the year. </p><p> </p><p>Projecting those numbers out, they are anticipating 70 million units by 2015. While this number sounds big to you and I, it leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the 91 million the classic DS and DS Lite had at the same point in the sales cycle. As of right now, though, the whole family has a total of 136 million units, spread across the original DS, DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL and now the 3DS. The rest of the units have all suffered similar fates. </p><p> </p><p>What does Nintendo think about all of this? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1125-nintendo-3ds-may-not-be-as-popular-as-first-thought.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:09:51 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1125-nintendo-3ds-may-not-be-as-popular-as-first-thought.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1124-youtube-channels-set-to-take-the-spotlight-.html <p>The YouTube we have known since Google purchased them for $1.6 billion in 2006 is set to undergo some big changes by the end of 2011. The 3rd most visited site in the world made $544 million in revenue for 2010 according to Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney and executives have said it is almost profitable. The average time users spend on the site runs about 15 minutes and YouTube is working on a way to get that number up while increasing revenues to $800 million by the end of 2011. They plan to do this by taking the middle road between subscription-based services like Hulu and the structure they have now. The reorganization effort is based around 2 major things: center the users' experience around channels instead of clips and creation of original content rather than licensing it. </p><p> </p><p>Get more of the 411 by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1124-youtube-channels-set-to-take-the-spotlight-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:14:49 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1124-youtube-channels-set-to-take-the-spotlight-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1123-googles-employment-transition.html <p>This has been quite a week for Google as far as staffing is concerned. Larry Page, Google founder, returned as CEO on Monday after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1013-googles-eric-schmidt-resigns-as-ceo.html" class="UpStreamLink">Eric Schmidt's departure</a>. Page's intentions are to return Google to the start-up feel that created the innovation behind Google Search and Maps. Ironically, as part of that start-up attempt, he is asking execs to sign multi-year deals to stay with the company. It turns out not everyone is interested in doing that. </p><p> </p><p>One example is Jonathan Rosenburg, chief of product development for Google. He has always been open about the fact that he planned to leave Google when his children reached college age and signing a multi-year deal with our future Internet overlords interfered with that plan. He announced he will be leaving after the summer. He said it was only fair to the company to allow them to deal with the restaffing now when the shake-ups are already happening instead of waiting until plans were already being developed. </p><p> </p><p>Eric Schmidt, departed CEO and future coauthor with Rosenberg, said of the leader, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Jonathan is phenomenal–hugely energetic, strategic, a man of real principle who always puts the user first. He's been crucial to our success over the last nine years and I cannot thank him enough for everything he’s done. It's been wonderful working with him–and great fun.</div> </p><p> </p><p>To read what Larry Page had to say and to see what the future holds for Rosenberg, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1123-googles-employment-transition.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 15:54:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1123-googles-employment-transition.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1122-naked-software-company-looking-for-employees.html <p>Women - do you like to write software naked in your bedroom? Of course you do. Would you like to take the skills you have learned both being a software engineer and a nudist and implement them in a company that encourages both? That might not be as appealing. If it is, however, have I got the place for you. The company is called Nude House and they want to be the world's first entirely nude web software firm. </p><p> </p><p>Men - I know what you're thinking: "How can I get in on this naked work environment?" The answer is simple - you must be an amazingly skilled salesperson. While the nude women can code, the nude men have to sell. Seems like a sexist organization already. That aside, if you are looking for a "warm and private" office environment located in Buckinghamshire (I know, too many words crushed together) where you can spend all day naked trying to sell while preventing sexual harassment lawsuits, you might just want to submit your resume. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for a quote from a company spokesperson about the incredibly odd business concept. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1122-naked-software-company-looking-for-employees.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:46:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1122-naked-software-company-looking-for-employees.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1121-toshiba-serves-up-laid-back-passive-3d-tvs.html <p>Good news everyone. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.toshiba.com/tai/" class="UpStreamLink">Toshiba</a> is going to fix 3D TVs so that you don't need to wear <i>Revenge of the Nerds</i> style 3D glasses to give yourself a headache around April 2012. However, the passive 3D TVs they will be serving up in the next year will still take a load off your face. I'm guessing that of the 10,000 people who care about 3D TV 6,000 know the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.3d-tvbuyingguide.com/3dtv/active-vs-passive-glasses.html" class="UpStreamLink">difference between active and passive 3D glasses</a>, 4,000 don't know the difference and 0 like wearing 3D glasses. For those who don't know, there are some distinct differences that we be listed below. The biggest change to note here is that active 3D glasses require power and passive 3D glass do not. Hopefully, this should shave off a few ounces and some of the bulk. </p><p> </p><p>See if their upcoming line up of 3D TVs are worth the migraines and hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1121-toshiba-serves-up-laid-back-passive-3d-tvs.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:37:41 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1121-toshiba-serves-up-laid-back-passive-3d-tvs.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1120-poke-a-cable-end-the-internet.html <p>In our area of Florida we have recently had a problem with people breaking into power junction facilities and stealing copper wire to sell as scrap. We have even seen them try and cut down live wires for the copper. Apparently, this is not just a local problem. In Georgia, the country not the state, even elderly women will dig in the ground looking for abandoned copper wiring for scrap. Sometimes that process is not as easy as it sounds. </p><p> </p><p>This week, one elderly woman cut a line in this search that ended up having major consequences for a lot of people. This line was a main fiber optics line that controlled Internet access for more than 3 million people in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. It is reported that she managed to accomplish this impressive act with nothing more than a basic household spade shovel. </p><p> </p><p>How did she pull this off and what happened to her? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1120-poke-a-cable-end-the-internet.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 12:57:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1120-poke-a-cable-end-the-internet.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1119-do-silverlight-and-xbox-make-a-good-couple-microsoft-might-think-so.html <p>Microsoft is playing matchmaker and thinks Silverlight and Xbox would make cute little accessory babies. The company is looking to port over Silverlight to the 360 and make the announcement sometime this week at MIX11. We talked in the past about Microsoft looking for someone to integrate not only WinPho into Xbox 360, but also someone who could integrate some of their newer software into the gaming console. Leaks out of the Microsoft camp hint that this has been in the development phase for "some months" and would really drive home the Xbox/WinPho gaming combination to the next level. Another leak reports that we may see an application for the Xbox 360 that would allow you to copy over WinPho 7 programs over to the 360. </p><p> </p><p>For what we might see with this, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1119-do-silverlight-and-xbox-make-a-good-couple-microsoft-might-think-so.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 11:00:58 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1119-do-silverlight-and-xbox-make-a-good-couple-microsoft-might-think-so.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1118-htc-moves-up-in-rank-taking-nokias-spot-in-market-value.html <p>Nokia has always been the worldwide leader of market share in the mobile world but only was third in market value. This week, however, HTC's rapidly growing popularity has caused the company to overthrow Nokia in the third rank as HTC posted record profits this quarter, making them the third largest phone maker behind Samsung and Apple. </p><p> </p><p>HTC brought in a net income of $513 million in the first quarter, almost triple of last year and 20% higher than what analysts projection for the company. </p><p> </p><p>Sales had a lot to do with this, too. HTC was one of the biggest benefactors of the Android operating system and sales were doubled because of it. HTC projects their sales to continue and their profits to soar this quarter as they are releasing their first tablet. </p><p> </p><p>Will HTC's success continue after Android's announcement last week that they're <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1113-android-shuts-their-formerly-open-door.html" class="UpStreamLink">moving to a more strict guideline for their platform</a>? My speculation lies after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1118-htc-moves-up-in-rank-taking-nokias-spot-in-market-value.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 10:07:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1118-htc-moves-up-in-rank-taking-nokias-spot-in-market-value.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1117-thq-and-random-house-put-transmedia-on-their-homefront.html <p>Those of you who still read bound pages of paper with words on them, otherwise known as books, should be familiar with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.randomhouse.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Random House</a> who is known for their content creation and publishing of fiction, nonfiction and children's books. About a year ago they started expanding their horizons by entering into the video game industry with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.homefront-game.com" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Homefront</i></a>. The game has enjoyed some success and had <a target="NewWindow" href="http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/115/1155414p1.html" class="UpStreamLink">average reviews</a>, which considering it was their first video game ever, they do deserve some credit. </p><p> </p><p>The content is what made <i>Homefront</i> a deep and immersing experience despite some lacking and sometimes funny gameplay mechanics courtesy of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.kaosstudios.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Kaos Studios</a>, a division of THQ. The story is adapted from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/104690-Homefront-Novel-Tells-Story-of-Korea-Invading-U-S-in-2027" class="UpStreamLink">the novel</a> which has lead them to expand their partnership with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.thq.com/us#" class="UpStreamLink">THQ</a> to translate their written content across many different media types. </p><p> </p><p>To find out if this transmedia adventure goes both ways, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1117-thq-and-random-house-put-transmedia-on-their-homefront.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 08:52:36 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1117-thq-and-random-house-put-transmedia-on-their-homefront.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1116-gamestop-and-facebook-create-an-app-for-a-store.html <p>This week, GameStop and Facebook tied the knot online as the gaming retailer launched an app on Facebook through the ShopFans platform that will act as a storefront for the company for its 1.8 million Facebook fans. In the midst of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1019-facebook-forces-crafty-creators-to-use-credits-as-their-currency.html" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook looking to monetize their user base using their service</a>, GameStop is the first gaming company to launch a full-on store on the networking site, completely with videos, reviews, ratings, a store finder and the usual Like button. </p><p> </p><p>Analysts are intrigued by the idea. Lou Kerner from Wedbush thinks this will start a new trend in social media. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Companies are feeling a lot more comfortable about leveraging social media with commerce on Facebook, compared with commerce on their own site. Things are early, and people typically don't view Facebook as a commerce destination, but it's our belief that will rapidly change.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Will Facebook start yet another popular commodity? We'll talk about it more after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1116-gamestop-and-facebook-create-an-app-for-a-store.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 01:21:11 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1116-gamestop-and-facebook-create-an-app-for-a-store.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1115-best-buy-pushes-allin-on-web-sales-starts-to-fold-on-their-storefronts.html <p>Occasionally <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1106-best-buy-connect-4g-is-4g-but-not-best-buy-connect.html" class="UpStreamLink">Best Buy will come up with a good idea</a> but most of the time they will copy from other companies because the ideas they come up with internally usually produce poor results. This week, Best Buy has announced that they've ignored the success of their web sales for far too long and are going to restructure to a new business model that tailors to web sales, to compete with Amazon.com. </p><p> </p><p>Additionally, Best Buy will also look to bring more selection to their web-only inventory and will lower the prices on those items, clearly to match the competition in order to not fail on another idea. The company has also said they will be shrinking the footprint of their storefronts as the leases expire, more than likely due to placing emphasis on the high dollar, low margin end-products like their Magnolia TV selection. Best Buy has also said they will be considering closing some of their larger stores completely. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know more on how this will all play out? Click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1115-best-buy-pushes-allin-on-web-sales-starts-to-fold-on-their-storefronts.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:38:13 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1115-best-buy-pushes-allin-on-web-sales-starts-to-fold-on-their-storefronts.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1114-dish-network-blockbuster.html <p>After waiting since its initial <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/848-blockbuster-finally-files-for-blockbusting-bankruptcy.html" class="UpStreamLink">bankruptcy filing in November</a> the long wait is over to find out the ultimate destination of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1078-blockbuster-officially-up-for-sale-and-not-liquidation.html" class="UpStreamLink">Blockbuster Video's auction</a>, and the winner is - Dish Network. Why, you may wonder, would the country's third largest provider of subscription television want to purchase a bankrupt, irrelevant business concept? The answer is branding, of course. </p><p> </p><p>While Blockbuster may not have relevance in the current video-streaming market, it has a name that everyone knows. In addition, the word is synonomous with something large and amazing - the summer blockbuster films. Combine that name with the pure size of Dish Network and you have quite a powerhouse. </p><p> </p><p>However, how might Dish use the Blockbuster name and the existing stores? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1114-dish-network-blockbuster.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:33:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1114-dish-network-blockbuster.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1113-android-shuts-their-formerly-open-door.html <p>Google has always been known for starting their projects as open (and in beta) to attract as many people away from the competition as possible. They do this until the product or service gains enough popularity to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1072-h264-remains-strong-with-this-war-on-webm.html" class="UpStreamLink">finally pull the open plug</a> and put the item on a closed circuit. This happened recently with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1072-h264-remains-strong-with-this-war-on-webm.html" class="UpStreamLink">Chrome and their removal of the accepted and soon-to-be standard H.264 support</a>. This week, Google has decided to close up the shop to the public with their Android operating system, citing reasons like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/665-the-bogeyman-is-here-for-your-phone.html" class="UpStreamLink">fragmentation</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/517-another-open-source-operating-system-opens-its-doors-to-severe-problems.html" class="UpStreamLink">confusion on the market</a>. Companies will now have to have their design changes to the OS approved by Google before they will be able to receive Google's latest updates and nod. </p><p> </p><p>Not only did we mention those issues would cause problems for The Goog in the future, we also called it that Google would do this, like they do everything else, in an effort to control everything on the web. Put forth a "people-friendly" front and then lock them into whatever they are using because they made a complete transition seems to be Google's continued M.O. and theme of their business. That and hiring an entire staff to come up with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1110-april-fools-pranks-2011.html" class="UpStreamLink">April Fool's Jokes</a> year after year, of course. </p><p> </p><p>This is a huge issue that affects companies ranging from LG, Toshiba, Samsung and HTC to even Facebook. Why? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1113-android-shuts-their-formerly-open-door.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Apr 2011 17:58:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1113-android-shuts-their-formerly-open-door.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1112-countries-that-do-not-matter-say-the-ps3-is-better.html <p>I knew this day would come when some data would surface suggesting that the PS3 has a larger worldwide market share than the Xbox 360 and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/33842/GameStop_Details_Europe_US_Installed_Base_For_Consoles.php" class="UpStreamLink">IDG Strategy Analytics</a> is suggesting just that. The Wii still sits on top with 75.5 million active units worldwide with the PS3 at 43.4 million followed by the Xbox 360's 42.9 million units worldwide at the end of 2010. So who is responsible for this crime against the gaming community? Everyone but the U.S. of course! While the Xbox 360 leads the US, as it should everywhere in the world, the PS3 enjoyed a million unit advantage over the Xbox 360 with 14.7 million to 13.7 million in 2010 and is also ahead in Asia. Strategy Analytics' Digital Consumer Practice analyst Jia Wu said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">While the Kinect peripheral has given a boost to Microsoft's Xbox 360 strategy, the console's performance outside of the U.S. continues to disappoint.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Find out more about this travesty by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1112-countries-that-do-not-matter-say-the-ps3-is-better.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:52:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1112-countries-that-do-not-matter-say-the-ps3-is-better.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1111-bring-your-girlfriend-to-the-cloud.html <p>Hey, all you Internet people out there. Remember when a judge decided that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/facebook-friends-not-real-judge/2008/03/27/1206207279597.html" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook friends weren't really your friends</a>? Well the judge never said anything about a Facebook girlfriend not being real! Because of that, company Cloud Girlfriend looks to deliver a girlfriend right to your Facebook page with ease. No social abilities, physical attractiveness or common decency required. Sounds like somebody we know. </p><p> </p><p>For a fee, Cloud Girlfriend will create a Facebook profile of your e-g/f and will write on your wall and appear through various social media outlets. The company has yet to launch officially but has already gained the interest of the web, encouraging users to sign up now to save a spot. </p><p> </p><p>Want to sign up? Did you know Facebook disallows certain ideas like this? Hit the break for more. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1111-bring-your-girlfriend-to-the-cloud.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:48:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1111-bring-your-girlfriend-to-the-cloud.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1110-april-fools-pranks-2011.html <p>It's that time of year again where the Internet giants pull some of the best jokes out there. This year was no different from past years, with Google leading the way with "product announcements" and "feature enhancements." Here is a list of some of the best pranks of the year. </p><p> </p><p><b>Virgin Pluto</b> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.virgin.com/travel/news/branson-buys-pluto-reinstates-as-planet/" class="UpStreamLink">Virgin Corporation announced that Richard Branson has purchased Pluto</a>. Yes, that's right, the former planet has an owner who plans to return it to planetary status. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Sir Richard Branson is setting his sights on the final frontier in his latest business venture announced today. In a universal first Sir Richard has revealed that he has bought the former planet of Pluto for an undisclosed sum.</div> </p><p> </p><p><b>Apple Playset</b> </p><p>ThinkGeek announced a partnership between Playmobil and Apple to produce an Apple Store Playset, complete with pretentiousness and shininess. According to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/looflirpa/e8bb/?pfm=Carousel_20110401_Apple_Store_2" class="UpStreamLink">the site</a>, the product features include: </p><p><ul><li>Amazing PLAYMOBIL&trade; set introduces children to the magic of Apple technology</li><li>Ground floor of Apple store features product demo tables, software shelves and kids corner</li><li>Top floor includes Genius Bar and Keynote Theater with mini Steve Jobs figure</li><li>Purchase the optional Line Pack and stage your own Apple Device launch party!</li></ul> </p><p>The only way to really appreciate this and the other pranks is to hit the break and watch some videos. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1110-april-fools-pranks-2011.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:11:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1110-april-fools-pranks-2011.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1109-nintendo-3ds-makes-a-note-here-huge-success.html <p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1101-nintendo-3ds-is-here.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nintendo 3DS</a> hit shelves in the US last week and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/staff/13-allante-sparks.html" class="UpStreamLink">Allante</a> was able to report on the event from both the retail and analyst side of things. It was very exciting to have one of the devices on our set last week and some of the features are worth spending the money for. So much so, in fact, that day-one sales were record-breaking for Nintendo. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">U.S. day-one sales numbers for the Nintendo 3DS were the highest of any Nintendo handheld system in our history.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Nintendo hasn't released official numbers but that first-week sales will be delivered when NPD releases their March report for the industry. The need to play and enjoy 3D content without glasses has definitely <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1097-sprint-takes-another-page-from-nintendo-with-3d-devices.html" class="UpStreamLink">gained popularity in recent weeks</a>, and consumers seemed to agree by spending $250 and scooping up these 3DS systems in droves. </p><p> </p><p>We were curious if the 3DS really was successful after seeing them available online and in stores after launch day, but Nintendo claims that they had more than enough product ready for this, unlike during the Wii launch. We were surprised by this considering how little advertisement we saw prior to launch day. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the success, plus news of thinking with an object that alludes to the article title, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1109-nintendo-3ds-makes-a-note-here-huge-success.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:09:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1109-nintendo-3ds-makes-a-note-here-huge-success.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1108-netflix-closes-in-on-another-deal-this-time-with-miramax-and-paramount.html <p>Netflix has been trying to stay in the news a lot recently. The company pretty much does <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1035-netflixs-stream-turns-into-a-2-billion-river.html" class="UpStreamLink">anything and everything right</a>. Netflix also <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1100-netflix-rules-the-internet-video-market-by-a-huge-amount.html" class="UpStreamLink">dominates the Internet video streaming market</a> in a time where other companies like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1064-amazon-instant-video-becomes-part-of-amazon-prime.html" class="UpStreamLink">Amazon</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1095-2-digital-streaming-of-new-films.html" class="UpStreamLink">Zediva</a> are trying to stream some video of their own. Because of the competition, Netflix keeps looking for more companies to strike deals with, like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1062-netflix-locks-in-cbs-for-more-shows.html" class="UpStreamLink">CBS</a>. This week, they are working on bringing Miramax and Paramount to their ever-expanding library and service. </p><p> </p><p>For details on the latest deals and more, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1108-netflix-closes-in-on-another-deal-this-time-with-miramax-and-paramount.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:57:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1108-netflix-closes-in-on-another-deal-this-time-with-miramax-and-paramount.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1107-georgia-institute-of-technology-captures-the-heartbeat-of-technology.html <p>You've seen <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/" class="UpStreamLink"><i>The Matrix</i></a>, right? Of course you have. Remember laughing at the silly concept of turning people into batteries? Well, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology didn't feel the same way when seeing the film. They, in fact, decided to give our future robot overlords a head start and develop the technology for them. </p><p> </p><p>They have developed a tiny chip that can harness the movements of the human body, both voluntary and involuntary, to produce electricity, like a series of very small generators. So far the technology has been able to power small LCD panels and diodes, and even send radio transmissions (after charging a cell first). That isn't where it stops, though. These guys want to be able to power everyday electronics with the technology. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to hear what one of the researchers has to say about the project. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1107-georgia-institute-of-technology-captures-the-heartbeat-of-technology.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:36:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1107-georgia-institute-of-technology-captures-the-heartbeat-of-technology.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1106-best-buy-connect-4g-is-4g-but-not-best-buy-connect.html <p>Best Buy seems to have lost their way. At one point they were the store you thought of when you wanted to purchase home appliances and large electronics. Now, the product that made them who they were has become almost an after thought. Even their brand is a disaster. We've talked in the past about their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/210-the-zune-hd-is-here.html" class="UpStreamLink">clearance tag logo</a> and even their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/211-best-buy-price-limbo-how-low-they-wont-go-but-how-low-they-are.html" class="UpStreamLink">pricing often doesn't match reality</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Recently, they have been trying to make some changes to stores to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.pe.com/business/local/stories/PE_Biz_D_bestbuy03.2045abe.html" class="UpStreamLink">make their employees look knowledgeable</a> by designing the store to show off how products work together. This week, they have started offering Best Buy Connect branded 4G wireless Internet access. While you might see the Best Buy name and assume that they are lying about 4G <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="UpStreamLink">T-Mobile and AT&T</a>, but you would be wrong. They are lying about it being Best Buy Connect. </p><p> </p><p>To find out what it is, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1106-best-buy-connect-4g-is-4g-but-not-best-buy-connect.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Apr 2011 11:50:08 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1106-best-buy-connect-4g-is-4g-but-not-best-buy-connect.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1105-gamestop-makes-a-spindash-toward-digital-distribution-acquisitions.html <p>Specialty media retailers have been hit hard by the growing popularity of digital media. All you need to do is take a look at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1078-blockbuster-officially-up-for-sale-and-not-liquidation.html" class="UpStreamLink">Blockbuster</a> and there is no dispute about it. They also make a great case study for what not to do with a brick and mortar niche media retailer that is expanding into the digital distribution business. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=GME" class="UpStreamLink">GameStop</a> seams to have realized this and has begun taking action to prevent an impending game over scenario. </p><p> </p><p>GameStop is taking a different approach to entering digital distribution than failed Blockbuster by acquiring two companies that already have some of this figured out instead of just trying to figure it out themselves. They have $100 million put to the side for these acquisitions as a company that totally screws its customers should have available for that purpose. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.spawnlabs.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Spawn Labs</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.impulsedriven.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Impulse</a> are their first victims in this process and probably not the last. Spawn Labs is very similar to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/953-onlive-playpack-offers-monthly-subscription-for-unlimited-gaming.html" class="UpStreamLink">OnLive</a> in that they provide a cloud based gaming service you can use through your TV and Impuse is like Steam who allows you to purchase PC games online and download them to your computer. GameStop exec Paul Raines explained that these acquisitions are in line with the needs of their hybrid consumers. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We've got a hybrid consumer, and we are now a hybrid company. We've become more and more a technology company.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Click the break to continue. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1105-gamestop-makes-a-spindash-toward-digital-distribution-acquisitions.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Apr 2011 10:16:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1105-gamestop-makes-a-spindash-toward-digital-distribution-acquisitions.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1104-apple-vs-the-world.html <p>We all know how much fun lawsuits can be and Apple is certainly the company who likes them the best, so let's see what they have been up to this week. Two of Apple's current legal projects have taken major steps this week. We <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?story_ref=323" class="UpStreamLink">first spoke of the battle between Apple and Nokia</a> nearly 18 months ago and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/staff/3-nick-woodward.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nick</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/staff/8-kyria-gianos.html" class="UpStreamLink">Kyria</a> have kept us up to date 5 more times since then: </p><p> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/527-it-never-endsapple-and-nokia-at-it-again.html" class="UpStreamLink">Round 1</a> | <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/332-part-2-first-imitating-fruits-now-animals-apples-a-bunch-of-copycats.html" class="UpStreamLink">Round 2</a> | <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/395-apple-turns-the-tableswatch-out-nokia.html" class="UpStreamLink">Round 3</a> | <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/416-back-for-round-4-the-nokia-apple-debacle-continues.html" class="UpStreamLink">Round 4</a> | <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/451-back-in-the-ring-apple-retaliatesyet-again.html" class="UpStreamLink">Round 5</a> | <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/527-it-never-endsapple-and-nokia-at-it-again.html" class="UpStreamLink">Round 6</a> </p><p> </p><p>This week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules in favor of Apple, saying that the manufacturer had not infringed on any of Nokia's stated patents. You might remember that Nokia filed the complaint with the FTC, which is secondary to the lawsuit still pending in federal court, as an attempt to get Apple's products to be blocked for import. That would have certainly stopped Apple in its tracks since their phones are fabricated by Foxconn in China. It is hard to sell a phone to Americans when it is stuck in China. </p><p> </p><p>This ruling does not affect the other side of the coin, however. Apple had filed a counter claim against Nokia to the FTC claiming the same types of patent infringement, not to block the import of Nokia phones, but to prolong the process as long as possible. They probably assumed that the FTC would rule against them and they could then make an offer between the companies to get both phones back into the America market. That is no longer required, so if Nokia loses the next one, Apple will have the upper hand. It's kind of like a legal tango, isn't it? </p><p> </p><p>We also have news regarding the ongoing <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/600-apple-vs-htc-google-nokia-kodak.html" class="UpStreamLink">Apple vs Kodak</a> battle. For the details, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1104-apple-vs-the-world.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 02 Apr 2011 23:28:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1104-apple-vs-the-world.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1103-microsoft-teaches-an-old-disc-a-new-trick-and-adds-1gb-capacity.html <p>Only 6 long years after the debut of the worlds best game console the day has come where Microsoft was forced to address the storage capacity of DVDs. Compared to Blu-ray discs, which can hold upward of 50GBs, the DVD's 7.95GB limit was quickly running short as Xbox 360 games were confined to 6.8GB. The other gig was partitioned off and reserved for anti-piracy purposes until a new version of <i>Halo: Reach</i> that uses the extra capacity surfaced. The details of what the extra capacity is being used for is uncertain but Xbox 360 scene hacker commodore4ever broke the news to the world in a tweet, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">MS will introduce xgd3 – this will add more ap checks, cvi (content integerity) checks, increase the disc size and adds a new layer for protection issues – all in the 20500 sdk! bring it on.</div> </p><p> </p><p>There is currently no announced change over date and assuming things work out there will definitely be a Xbox 360 dashboard update that will allow consoles access to the extra space. </p><p> </p><p>Some people might be disappointed that Blu-ray didn't make the cut but there is no way that could happen since Xbox consoles have never been equipped with Blu-ray disc readers. Yes, Blu-ray discs have around 6.3 times the capacity of DVDs and Microsoft was aware of that but read speeds for Blu-ray drives are significantly slower which is why most PS3 games have to be installed on the HDD instead of being run from the disc.</p> Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:43:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1103-microsoft-teaches-an-old-disc-a-new-trick-and-adds-1gb-capacity.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1102-look-around-you-3d-media-is-more-engaging.html <p>DVD has been around for ages compared to Blu-ray which made <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/408-itll-be-a-blu-christmas-without-you.html" class="UpStreamLink">its debut</a> in May 2006. We also can't forget the new format on the block, 3D, that is still in the infant stages of development, even if we might want to</a>. For several years we have seen <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.homemediamagazine.com/disney/iger-dvd-is-not-dead-23272" class="UpStreamLink">DVD sales decline</a> and Blu-ray sales double in some instances. The same can be said for 3D TVs which are expected to be <a target="NewWindow" href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20040089-17.html?tag=mncol;title" class="UpStreamLink">in 15 million homes</a> by the end of 2012. </p><p> </p><p>There are a number of factors that have contributed to the slow decline of DVDs, such as increased competition from the other physical formats as well as the increasing popularity of digital media. Research company <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.themindlab.org/" class="UpStreamLink">Mindlab</a>, however, suggests that we might be drawn to higher quality media because our brains like it better. </p><p> </p><p>Decide for yourself and hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1102-look-around-you-3d-media-is-more-engaging.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:29:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1102-look-around-you-3d-media-is-more-engaging.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1101-nintendo-3ds-is-here.html <p>At last year's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/e32010.php" class="UpStreamLink">Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3)</a>, one of the phenomenons of the show was Nintendo's 3DS. As of today, it has officially hit our shores and made its way into our stores. The 3DS is everything Nintendo promised, plus some really cool surprises. Working in retail myself, as well as purchasing one, I had the unique experience of being both behind and in front of the counter on launch day. </p><p> </p><p>Women and children, grandparents and parents, people of all ages all showed up to pickup and see the wonders that are the Cosmo Black and Aqua Blue 3D handheld systems. After a half day of selling the devices to overjoyed customers, I finally got to get my hands on a live model, care of one of my fellow employees. Getting to play with features such as the 3D slider for adjusting the depth of the 3D experience, photo integration with the AR (or alternate reality) Cards and a peek at the overall interface, such as the home screen and photo application was incredible to say the least. </p><p> </p><p>To hear about my full experience with the 3DS, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1101-nintendo-3ds-is-here.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Mar 2011 18:15:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1101-nintendo-3ds-is-here.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1100-netflix-rules-the-internet-video-market-by-a-huge-amount.html <p>We all know that digital video is becoming increasingly popular, which means that the market is becoming more competitive and expanding rapidly. So far, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1035-netflixs-stream-turns-into-a-2-billion-river.html" class="UpStreamLink">Netflix keeps doing things right in their world</a> and continues to reign supreme among the masses. This week, research study and numbers wizards NPD Group released a report that says 61 percent of all streaming video content online is coming from Netflix, at least legally. Geez, good luck with your <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1064-amazon-instant-video-becomes-part-of-amazon-prime.html" class="UpStreamLink">new project Amazon</a>! Netflix just seems to be everywhere from online to Xboxs to set-tops. </p><p> </p><p>NPD reported that the next closest competition was Comcast, which held 8 percent of the market with its digital movie united and coming in at 4 percent was Time Warner, Apple and DirecTV. NPD collected its data from Jan to Feb of 2011 with 10,618 United States Internet users. </p><p> </p><p>Oddly enough, NPD also gave credit to the average consumer, stating that they know the difference between downloaded movies, Internet video on demand, cable video on demand and streaming services. They also understand the difference between services like iTunes, that get the current releases, and Netflix, that gets releases a bit later but gives you overall value for the product you're paying for. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1100-netflix-rules-the-internet-video-market-by-a-huge-amount.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:50:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1100-netflix-rules-the-internet-video-market-by-a-huge-amount.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1099-sprint-announces-google-nexus-s-4g-with-wimax-and-google-voice-integration.html <p>CTIA 2011 was crazy for Sprint. Not only did they announce <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1097-sprint-takes-another-page-from-nintendo-with-3d-devices.html" class="UpStreamLink">a pair of 3D devices on a voice and data network</a>, they are now moving on to partner up with Google. Sure, the 3G version for AT&T is cute and everything, and I'm sure the Sidekick 4G is going to work wonders on the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="UpStreamLink">fake 4G network of AT&T-Mobile</a>, but this is the real deal right here. </p><p> </p><p>The Google Nexus S 4G is going to rock the Android Gingerbread OS and will come in at a couple of millimeters and grams heavier than its T-Mobile counterpart, but that's because inside this phone is the wondrous aroma of CDMA/EV-DO and WiMAX. (The WiMAX part means it's actually real 4G.) If battery life is an issue, you will have the option to even turn off the WiMAX radio. </p><p> </p><p>Sprint announced that this phone will be launching in the Spring, so sometime soon, for $199. However, the cooler thing they announced is a deal with Google that's going to let you use Google Voice without porting your number over! </p><p> </p><p>For that announcement, a cool video, some pictures and the press release, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1099-sprint-announces-google-nexus-s-4g-with-wimax-and-google-voice-integration.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:33:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1099-sprint-announces-google-nexus-s-4g-with-wimax-and-google-voice-integration.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1098-sennheisers-hd-515-headphone-really-is-headphone-of-the-month.html <p>If you were following us during our <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/ces2011.php" class="UpStreamLink">Internation CES 2011</a> coverage, you know that we had a great time working with Sennheiser and all of the cool products they had on display. From Adidas Original products to gaming headsets, they had it all. Recently, Sennheiser has started a "Headphone of the Month" campaign that displays a great pair of headphones at an awesome price. For the month of March, that headphone is the HD 515, an introduction to the Audiophile 500 series of headphones at a ridiculously low price. </p><p> </p><p>I was able to get a pair of these at a price lower than their MSRP, and I for one, was blown away by the quality without having to shell out $600. To read about my thoughts, learn about a free offer you can get when you buy these and as well as see a picture of this set and our video from CES, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1098-sennheisers-hd-515-headphone-really-is-headphone-of-the-month.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:15:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1098-sennheisers-hd-515-headphone-really-is-headphone-of-the-month.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1097-sprint-takes-another-page-from-nintendo-with-3d-devices.html <p>Since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/ces" class="UpStreamLink">International CES 2011</a> is over, I bet you didn't think you were going to have to hear about 3D again until next year (except Sunday's launch of the Nintendo 3DS). You were wrong! Sprint announced at CTIA Wireless in Orlando two new devices - a 3D smartphone, named the HTC Evo 3D, and a 7" tablet, the HTC Evo View 4G. </p><p> </p><p>Both devices will offer a Nintendo-style glasses free 3D experience running on surprisingly different hardware. Clearly eating lunch off of HTC's Evo name, which CEO Dan Hesse says is Sprint's most successful smartphone to date, they hope to have better success with these devices than they did with the Evo Shift, which was a downgrade to the original. </p><p> </p><p>Both devices will run on Sprint and Clearwire's joint 4G WiMax network, the first and only WiMax network in the US, bringing the 4G lineup to 22 devices for Sprint Nextel. Dan took a swipe at AT&T and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="UpStreamLink">T-Mobile's rebranding of their 3G+ networks as 4G</a> by calling his network, "4G and not faux G." No wonder they keep putting him in front of cameras and crowds. </p><p> </p><p>To get the details on the devices and to see a video of the Evo View 4G, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1097-sprint-takes-another-page-from-nintendo-with-3d-devices.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:20:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1097-sprint-takes-another-page-from-nintendo-with-3d-devices.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1096-apple-sues-amazon-for-using-their-stuff.html <p>It didn't take long for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1091-amazon-android-app-store-is-not-on-googles-wishlist.html" class="UpStreamLink">Amazon Appstore</a> to come under fire from Apple for the name of their new service. Back in 2008, Apple filed for a trademark on the name "App Store" and somehow were granted the trademark. Since then, whenever someone comes close or wants to come close, a lawsuit ensues. Microsoft has filed a complain with the patent office and is awaiting a hearing as we speak. </p><p> </p><p>Apple, on the other hand, took action against their newest rival, Amazon, for the use of the name. Their claim, as it always is with trademark infringement, was, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Consumers of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon's mobile software download service is sponsored or approved by Apple.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Wait, how could someone get confused about whether or not Apple endorses an Android marketplace? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1096-apple-sues-amazon-for-using-their-stuff.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:02:03 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1096-apple-sues-amazon-for-using-their-stuff.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1095-2-digital-streaming-of-new-films.html <p>We've talked a lot about the deals services like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1062-netflix-locks-in-cbs-for-more-shows.html" class="UpStreamLink">Netflix</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1064-amazon-instant-video-becomes-part-of-amazon-prime.html" class="UpStreamLink">Amazon Prime</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/907-hulu-plus-open-to-all-us-residents-bravia-and-ps3-users-included.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu Plus</a> have to go through to get their content. What if there was a way that a content provider could stream digital content right to your computer, TV or mobile device without having to go through all of these hoops? What if it was perfectly legal, too? </p><p> </p><p>The answer, my friends, is <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.zediva.com" class="UpStreamLink">Zediva</a>. This company has developed a very interesting business model that allows them to stream brand new movies straight to you without the need to sign any deals with the movie studios. How are they accomplishing this? They are actually streaming DVDs, not files, from their servers. When you rent a movie, for $2, the DVD is taken out of inventory. Because it is not an unending supply, there seems to be nothing the studios can do about it. </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about the process, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1095-2-digital-streaming-of-new-films.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 19 Mar 2011 14:10:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1095-2-digital-streaming-of-new-films.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1094-barnes-noble-sued-by-microsoft-for-android.html <p>While Amazon continues to see great successes and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1091-amazon-android-app-store-is-not-on-googles-wishlist.html" class="UpStreamLink">launches new ideas</a>, Barnes & Noble seem to be having some problems. Their Nook device, similar to Amazon's Kindle, minus the sales numbers and easy-to-read screen, has gotten them into trouble with Microsoft. The tech giant has filed suit against the bookstore for patent infringement in the Android-based Nook eReader. </p><p> </p><p>The patents range from the way the apps show download progress to the way webpages are loaded. This isn't the first time Microsoft has sued an Android backer for features of the Google-developed operating system. In October, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/862-microsoft-sues-motorola-for-general-stuff.html" class="UpStreamLink">they took on Motorola</a> for equally generic reasons. Neither time has Google been named directly, but this time the brand (Barnes & Noble) and the manufacturers (Inventec and Foxconn) are all named as defendants. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out how the companies arrived at a lawsuit solution. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1094-barnes-noble-sued-by-microsoft-for-android.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 25 Mar 2011 23:43:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1094-barnes-noble-sued-by-microsoft-for-android.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1093-netflix-hulu-and-more-plan-for-original-online-content.html <p>As the lines between Internet television and cable or satellite continue to blur, companies like Netflix, Hulu, AOL and Yahoo have begun to position themselves to replace traditional television. Similar to the early days of cable networks, these content providers have filled their "air time" with a back catalog of existing content while gaining momentum to allow them to produce original content themselves. Some of the big players have now gotten to that point. </p><p> </p><p>Last Friday, Netflix announced the beginning of production on a new drama based on the book <i>House of Cards</i>. The series will star Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, with <i>Fight Club</i> director David Fincher as Executive Producer. Clearly Netflix is not holding back here and is really going for this. </p><p> </p><p>Netflix isn't the only company starting high-profile custom content, however. To find out who else is joining the boat, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1093-netflix-hulu-and-more-plan-for-original-online-content.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:52:59 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1093-netflix-hulu-and-more-plan-for-original-online-content.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1092-thanks-to-wysips-lcds-are-not-completely-useless-outside.html <p>The awesome guys at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.laptopmag.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Laptop Magazine</a> proved once again that they are the pulse of mobile tech by breaking the news that LCDs have a new, totally amazing capability at CTA Wireless this year. I know what you're thinking and no, you still won't be able to see what's happening on the screen in direct sunlight but you will know that your phone is powered on thanks to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wysips.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Wysips</a>. The French company has challenged traditional AC/USB charging methods with their new film that captures solar energy from any light source. </p><p> </p><p>For some technical information and an awesome first hand look at the future, courtesy of Mark Spoonauer, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1092-thanks-to-wysips-lcds-are-not-completely-useless-outside.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:33:25 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1092-thanks-to-wysips-lcds-are-not-completely-useless-outside.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1091-amazon-android-app-store-is-not-on-googles-wishlist.html <p>It was only about 1.5 months ago that Google finally rolled out their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1028-google-brings-android-market-to-the-cloud-i-mean-the-web.html" class="UpStreamLink">web-based Android Marketplace</a> and Amazon has been quick on the draw as they are scheduled to open up their Android App Store on March 22nd. This isn't exactly a surprise as we first found out Amazon had this <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/09/amazon-to-launch-android-app-store/" class="UpStreamLink">in the works last september</a> but a nosy Android enthusiast did get a peek at the new app store and what he saw was interesting. </p><p> </p><p>Take a look at the premature Amazon Android app store webpage and find out why this could be bad news for Google by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1091-amazon-android-app-store-is-not-on-googles-wishlist.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:43:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1091-amazon-android-app-store-is-not-on-googles-wishlist.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html <p>In the midst of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="UpStreamLink">3G/4G advertisement confusion of T-Mobile lying about their network</a> and AT&T following suit, this news just added to the craziness surrounding the two companies. AT&T has purchased T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion, $25b in cash and $14b in stocks and bonds. This gives DT a stake in AT&T of 8% after the dust will inevitably clear. </p><p> </p><p>This has happened because, as we have talked about on our show in the past, a foreign company cannot own more than 10% of a US-based company that owns or operates wireless spectrum. The FCC gave T-Mobile and DT a deadline to meet and they decided to sell off the T-Mobile USA brand today. </p><p> </p><p>The acquisition will give 130 million customers nationwide to this new beast of a network, once it goes through the routine regulation board approvals and government checks. AT&T says it will take about 12 months to move through the entire ordeal and once completed, will become the only GSM carrier in the States. </p><p> </p><p>Does this mean T-Mobile will get the iPhone? For more on this breaking news, including a press release, video from the chairman of AT&T, PDF factsheets, and how this affects you, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Mar 2011 18:19:51 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1090-breaking-att-buys-tmobile-usa-from-deutsche-telekom-for-39-billion.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1089-kojima-opens-together-japan-to-help-earthquake-victims.html <p>To say the magnitude 8.9 earthquake in northeastern Japan has done more damage and claimed more lives than Godzilla ever could, would be an understatement. I am glad that everyone I know there and their families are safe but for many that will not be the case. Hideo Kojima, founder of the <i>Metal Gear</i> video game franchise has taken up the cause by starting a special website called <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/together_japan/" class="UpStreamLink">"Together Japan"</a> which contains illustrations, staff messages, and Twitter icons that offer comfort and support for the victims and their families. Kojima Productions will also donate 100 million yen and be initiating an employee donation fund soon that will be for victims as well. </p><p> </p><p>Others are joining in on the cause as well, hit the break to find out who. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1089-kojima-opens-together-japan-to-help-earthquake-victims.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:46:25 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1089-kojima-opens-together-japan-to-help-earthquake-victims.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1088-rumor-mills-achurnin-with-hp-touchpad-arrival-for-summer-at-499.html <p>You better start calling the rumor mill employees to come on back to work and put some long overnight hours in! This week we got word from Pre Central about our beloved <del>Palm</del>TouchPad that finally came to reality last month at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1029-hp-introduces-2-webos-phones-1-tablet-and-no-palm.html" class="UpStreamLink">HP-Palm's event</a>. </p><p> </p><p>We don't have much other than a picture, in the source link, of a product line information sheet, but that doesn't change how excited we are to report on anything that has to do the with old Palm brand. Some major retail chain has the sheet in their hands of upcoming tablets and on that list is a June release for a 10 inch webOS tablet with a price-point of $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi edition and $599 for 32GB. </p><p> </p><p>We haven't seen anything yet in regards to the 3G/4G TouchPads but we'd expect those to be priced competitively with the enemy's, Apple's, tablets as well. </p><p> </p><p>As we discussed last month, we should also keep in mind the 7-inch sister with the codename of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1017-hppalm-webos-notebook-netbook-training-more-webos-tablet-news.html" class="UpStreamLink">Opal</a>. Again, no word on pricing but some people are rumoring it to be released sometime in September. Of course, we'll keep you posted.</p> Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:35:47 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1088-rumor-mills-achurnin-with-hp-touchpad-arrival-for-summer-at-499.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1087-mortal-kombat-finishes-pax-and-challenges-the-web-with-a-series.html <p>This year at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://east.paxsite.com/" class="UpStreamLink">PAX East 2011</a> Mortal Kombat made a glorious 15th-coming thanks to WB Games and Netherrealm Studios who were very pleased with the fact that the game has gone back to its roots after a few attempts at 3D versions of the franchise. To be fair the last iteration of the game was rated "T" for teen and was very mild compared to what we've come to expect. I'm happy to say that problem has been solved as special moves and fatalities are augmented more than ever by slow motion cut scenes that don't interrupt game play and take fatalities to the next level. There is also a new "tag mode" where you can switch characters back and forth similar to almost any other fighting game that's been around forever. If that wasn't awesome enough, a new web series is on the horizon that just might make up for all those terrible movies over the years. </p><p> </p><p>Sci Fi fans and game enthusiasts, hit the break to find out why the web series has a chance at flawless victory over the web and see the first video. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1087-mortal-kombat-finishes-pax-and-challenges-the-web-with-a-series.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:32:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1087-mortal-kombat-finishes-pax-and-challenges-the-web-with-a-series.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1086-icann-now-use-xxx-for-pornographic-domains.html <p>It wasn't very long ago that ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Named and Numbers, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/712-icann-youcann-we-all-cann.html" class="UpStreamLink">finally approved the use of any dot extension</a>, like iam.nick or youarenot.awesome. This week they went a step further when they gave .XXX top-level domain status and approval. This was done to give pornographic sites their own clear space as to no longer confuse web users. Of course, this was done after an 11 year debate over the matter and didn't stop there. 9 members of the board voted in favor, 3 opposed and 4 abstained the decision. </p><p> </p><p>The .XXX domain was proposed back in 2000 and again in 2004, but of course had a lot of people opposing the entire idea. After the proposal was approved in 2005, we had the Family Research Council launch an entire campaign that said pornographers would be able to "expand their evil empires on the Internet". It then went on to go back and forth on top-level domain status until June of 2010 and the final vote happened this week. </p><p> </p><p>For more on what this means for the web, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1086-icann-now-use-xxx-for-pornographic-domains.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:07:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1086-icann-now-use-xxx-for-pornographic-domains.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1085-flash-get-nailed-with-major-exploit-as-xoom-gets-funtionality.html <p>At a time where the Motorola Xoom would finally be getting Flash functionality, Adobe has released a security advisory about a major flaw discovered in its Flash Player. This exploit affects Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris and Android and the authplay.dll file found in Acrobat and Reader X. </p><p> </p><p>This flaw could potentially crash a computer that it infects or let the hacker take control of the system. Adobe has reported that the exploit is being used all over the world at this time in SWF Flash files and in Excel spreadsheets with Flash attached. So far, Acrobat and Reader X has not been affected and Adobe reports that using Protected Mode in Reader X would stop the exploit from loading. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this and what to expect for a fix, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1085-flash-get-nailed-with-major-exploit-as-xoom-gets-funtionality.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Mar 2011 10:01:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1085-flash-get-nailed-with-major-exploit-as-xoom-gets-funtionality.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1084-sony-continues-to-turn-up-the-heat-on-hotz.html <p>This week there has been a further development in the Sony vs. Hotz lawsuit. It seems that Sony has been awarded further access to sensitive information following a previous round of granted subpoenas by Magistrate Joseph Spero. The previous ones gave Sony access to the Twitter and Youtube accounts of anyone who watched the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1032-pirates-come-at-sonys-kevin-butler-and-sink-his-battleship.html" class="UpStreamLink">PS3 Jailbreak Tutorial</a> or followed him on Twitter, as well as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1063-sony-subpoena-bad-news-for-geohot-and-us.html" class="UpStreamLink">everyone who visited his website since 2009</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Now Sony is acquiring documents from Hotz's Paypal account in an attempt to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/03/hotz.pdf" class="UpStreamLink">prove that he accepted monetary donations</a> from people in the state of California in regards to his PS3 hack and tools. Anyone who has done business associated with the geohot@gmail.com Paypal account from January 1st 2009 to February 1st 2011 seems to be fair game as Sony has threatened to sue anyone involved for a variety of reasons. </p><p> </p><p>GeoHot has complied with a court order to remove the encryption key and tools from his website which is classified as a "circumvention device" by the DMCA. Sony doesn't have to prove that Hotz accepted money for his stuff to sue him but it would help them move the case from New Jersey to California where laws concerning this matter fall more in their favor.</p> Sun, 20 Mar 2011 09:33:56 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1084-sony-continues-to-turn-up-the-heat-on-hotz.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1082-global-warming-solved-sort-of.html <p>It isn't often that I have the great opportunity to announce world-changing news but today is that day. Global Warming has been solved for good and we have the United States House of Representatives to thank. In a unanimous vote, House Republicans agree that there is no such thing as global warming and that CO2 emissions have no effect on the climate. Crisis averted. </p><p> </p><p>In reality, what happened is Henry Waxman of California proposed a bill that would acknowledge that "warming of the climate system is unequivocal." There was no specific reasoning included, just a nod that yes, the temperature of the Earth is rising. This was the first step in trying to prevent the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, which would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating CO2 emissions. </p><p> </p><p>For a pretty humorous quote from Ed Markey of Massachusetts and the results of the vote, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1082-global-warming-solved-sort-of.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 19 Mar 2011 13:55:30 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1082-global-warming-solved-sort-of.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1081-free-stuff-for-using-free-software-what-could-be-better.html <p>You know you've been curious about exactly what <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/926-hulu-plus-slashes-its-monthly-price-for-real-this-time.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu PLUS</a> has to offer since we started talking about it and you know you've been wanting to try <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1070-ie9-to-join-your-computer-live-from-sxsw.html" class="UpStreamLink">Internet Explorer 9</a> to see what all the hype is about. If you are willing to give both a try at once, Hulu will give you one month of its PLUS service for free. </p><p> </p><p>That's right. Hulu and Microsoft have teamed up to help gain acceptance of both of their products by offering a full-featured month of Hulu PLUS to any and all Internet Explorer 9 users. Think that's great? Well, Microsoft is just getting started. </p><p> </p><p>Want access to a free Xbox 360 Kinect bundle? How about free stuff from eBay? Hit the break to read about the other deals coming to IE9 users. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1081-free-stuff-for-using-free-software-what-could-be-better.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:10:42 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1081-free-stuff-for-using-free-software-what-could-be-better.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1080-michigan-changes-the-way-cars-work.html <p>Michigan State University researchers presented a prototype propulsion system that could completely replace the internal combustion engine in vehicles. The design, called a shock wave generator, does away with the crankshafts, pistons and valves in favor of a rotating round disc with wavy grooves. </p><p> </p><p>This prototype uses 60% of the fuel for motion, compared with standard engines which only use 15% of the fuel for motion. Add to this the fact that it would reduce the weight of vehicles by up to 20% by removing the transmission and cooling system and you get one hell of a fuel efficient vehicle. </p><p> </p><p>To read a description about how this thing works, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1080-michigan-changes-the-way-cars-work.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 18 Mar 2011 23:43:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1080-michigan-changes-the-way-cars-work.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1079-microsoft-might-discontinue-zune-player-but-zune-software-will-live-on.html <p>Microsoft's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.zune.net/en-US/" class="UpStreamLink">Zune</a> enjoyed a relatively short life since it was first introduced to us in 2006 and might be discontinued according to a Microsoft statement made to Bloomberg that there will be no future models, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We have nothing to announce about another Zune device -- but most recently have introduced Zune HD to Canada via the Zune Originals store and remain committed to supporting our devices in North America.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Fear not, the Zune may be discontinued but it's not dead. Hit the break to find out how. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1079-microsoft-might-discontinue-zune-player-but-zune-software-will-live-on.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:04:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1079-microsoft-might-discontinue-zune-player-but-zune-software-will-live-on.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1078-blockbuster-officially-up-for-sale-and-not-liquidation.html <p>Here is some quick follow up news on the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1053-blockbuster-video-is-a-box-office-bust.html" class="UpStreamLink">fate of Blockbuster</a> which was attempting to gain federal court approval to be auctioned off instead of liquidated. Judge Burton R. Lifland with the Manhattan U.S. Bankruptcy Court signed off on an auction that will have a starting bid of $290 million by Monarch Alternative Capital for all the company's assets. </p><p> </p><p>This only came after very intense negotiations between Blockbuster's lawyers and movie studio lawyers who felt a liquidation of the company would be the only way they could recoup the millions of dollars Blockbuster currently owes them. Dennis McGill, Blockbuster's financial chief, is happy about the auction approval and is hoping for an overbid which would aide in the paying off creditors more quickly than the agreed upon terms that Judge Lifland spent all day getting both sides to agree on. </p><p> </p><p>There are currently six parties interested in purchasing Blockbuster and the interest helped persuade debtors and creditors that Chapter 7 isn't the only option for them to recuperate their losses. We can expect the final sale to be completed by April 20th this year.</p> Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:33:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1078-blockbuster-officially-up-for-sale-and-not-liquidation.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1077-anonymous-rebels-against-the-empire-state.html <p>If you've been following us for a while, you know that we cover most of the topics and events that involve the widely-known and feared hacker group Anonymous, referred to as Anon. When we last talked about them, the group was engaging cyber war with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/856-operation-payback.html" class="UpStreamLink">Operation: Payback</a> and more recently involved in the takedown of security firm HBGary Federal, including the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://hbgary.anonleaks.ch/" class="UpStreamLink">hacking, distribution and documentation of 50,000 emails of their top-level executives</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Now, things have gotten a little more interesting and intense. We have been informed that on Monday, the 14th of March, we should see evidence of fraud by Bank of America. </p><p> </p><p>Anon member OperationLeakS claims, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">I seen some of the emails... I can tell you Grade A Fraud in its purest form. </p><p> </p><p>He (insider in Bank of America) Just told me he have GMAC emails showing BoA order to mix loan numbers to not match it's Documents.. to foreclose on Americans.. Shame</div> </p><p> </p><p>If this is true, we should see something hit the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://anonleaks.ch/" class="UpStreamLink">Anon site</a> on Monday. This has also created their newest initiative, billed as their #1 priority communication, Operation Empire State Rebellion. Their mission is to cause civil, nonviolent disobedience at every Federal Reserve site next week for several days, until Ben Bernanke steps down and the "primary Dealers within the Federal Reserve banking system be broken up and held accountable for rigging markets and destroying the global economy effective immediately." </p><p> </p><p>For more on this very important and definitely large and concerning this operation, including video, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1077-anonymous-rebels-against-the-empire-state.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:22:47 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1077-anonymous-rebels-against-the-empire-state.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1076-foursquare-will-tell-you-what-you-like.html <p>In the two short years Foursquare has been around they have managed to attain almost 7.5 million users that have made over 500 million check-ins at an estimated 10 million venues worldwide. That puts the average number of check-ins at 50 per venue which Foursquare thinks is enough to justify moving forward with real-world recommendations. The technology is far from perfect and will present some interesting engineering challenges for them to overcome. These types of recommendations go far beyond what services like Netflix use in their recommendation process and have a much larger application which has prompted big boys like Facebook and Google to also look into perfecting this technology that bears high risks but also great rewards. </p><p> </p><p>Foursquare recommends you hit the break for details. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1076-foursquare-will-tell-you-what-you-like.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Mar 2011 16:48:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1076-foursquare-will-tell-you-what-you-like.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1075-nickelodeon-brings-the-90s-back-with-retro-programming-block.html <p>Remember the 90s? Those were good times of MC Hammer pants, cassettes, real mixtapes, hightops, Surge, the third-coming of the McRib and of course, kick ass programming on Nickelodeon. </p><p> </p><p>Well, the cable station is bringin' it back to the old school, as TeenNick will be airing episodes from <i>Rugrats, Kenan & Kel, Pete & Pete, The Amanda Show, All That</i> and </i>Clarissa Explains it All</i> from midnight to 2 AM in a block aptly titled <i>The '90s Are All That</i>. Apparently the company finally realized the Internet existed and they figured out what those Facebook Pages were all about that clamored for the return of these shows. </p><p> </p><p>Keith Dawkins, senior VP and general manager of TeenNick, on the matter, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">At the time, we were completely devoted to that audience ages 9, 10, and 11. It was ground-breaking and for the young viewers, a powerful and pivotal time in their lives. Those kids who are now 22, 23 and 24 want to bring that back.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hopefully they will expand the selection to include shows like <i>Doug, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Salute Your Shorts, Goosebumps</i> and <i>Hey, Dude!</i> in the future. Perhaps we'll even see some of those classic Nickelodeon made-for-TV movies. Maybe Snick, anyone? I'm starting the petition for the return of Stick Stickly starting now! Of course, he'd have splinters and stuff from old age, but I digress.</p> Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:33:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1075-nickelodeon-brings-the-90s-back-with-retro-programming-block.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1074-technology-invades-your-bedroom-and-steals-your-zzzz.html <p>This week I came across some news that was not shocking but still disturbing. The National Sleep Foundation came out of hibernation this week to let us know that there was a culprit sneaking into our bedrooms and stealing our precious sleep. My suspect list consisted of the NFS, since they seemed to be well rested, the underpants gnomes and perhaps the most disturbing of all, your cell phone. My research indicates that underpants gnomes are in-fact not real and while still suspicious, the NFC doesn't seem to be responsible either. This leaves only one plausible suspect, the one you would most likely suspect, since it knows all your secrets and wakes you up repeatedly at night... your cell phone. </p><p> </p><p>Protect yourself by hitting the break for more details. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1074-technology-invades-your-bedroom-and-steals-your-zzzz.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:18:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1074-technology-invades-your-bedroom-and-steals-your-zzzz.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1073-twitter-dislikes-your-interface.html <p>In one of the strangest moves that Twitter has ever made, Twitter has decided that third-party apps are a bad idea and damage the user experience of their service. They claim that "the top five ways that people access Twitter are official Twitter apps" but also that "consumers continue to be confused by the different ways that a fractured landscape of third-party Twitter clients display tweets and let users interact with core Twitter functions." </p><p> </p><p>Here is Twitter's response to the perceived threat, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;"> Twitter will provide the primary mainstream consumer client experience on phones, computers, and other devices by which millions of people access Twitter content (tweets, trends, profiles, etc.), and send tweets. If there are too many ways to use Twitter that are inconsistent with one another, we risk diffusing the user experience. In addition, a number of client applications have repeatedly violated Twitter’s Terms of Service, including our user privacy policy. This demonstrates the risks associated with outsourcing the Twitter user experience to third parties. Twitter has to revoke literally hundreds of API tokens / apps a week as part of our trust and safety efforts, in order to protect the user experience on our platform. </p><p> </p><p>We need to ensure that tweets, and tweet actions, are rendered in a consistent way so that people have the same experience with tweets no matter where they are.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Now, that seems counter-intuitive for a couple of reasons. To find out why and to see how this might affect you, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1073-twitter-dislikes-your-interface.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:45:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1073-twitter-dislikes-your-interface.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1072-h264-remains-strong-with-this-war-on-webm.html <p>The ongoing battle between WebM and H.264 high definition video formats continues as this week we received some interesting stats in favor of Apple and Microsoft's side, H.264. If you remember back in January, we discussed <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/999-chrome-hides-its-head-in-the-sand.html" class="UpStreamLink">that Chrome decided to discontinue the use of H.264 in their Chrome browser</a> in order to defend the side of "open source" and their WebM format. Mozilla also stood by the side of Google and supported their decision. This led Apple and Microsoft, who are in the patent membership for H.264, to do something they never usually do, agree on a topic and help each other out. </p><p> </p><p>Let's quickly recap the importance of this war between the two video formats. The browsers are going to decide which format they choose to go with and developers, like us, are going to have to create their videos in both formats to allow all users to see our content. HTML5 and the H.264 HD video codec will become the standard and Google is going to try to make WebM the more widely used format by forcing Chrome to not read H.264. Then, Google will turn their formerly open source codec into a closed internal project, further proving that they are really trying to control the Internet instead of trying to empower the people with options. </p><p> </p><p>However, I did mention that H.264 stats have been released by video-sharing site MeFeedia that may help swing things back to the good side. For those stats, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1072-h264-remains-strong-with-this-war-on-webm.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:40:05 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1072-h264-remains-strong-with-this-war-on-webm.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1071-zombies-are-real-sort-of.html <p>We all knew that one day the zombie apocalypse would be upon us but we all thought it would be a virus that would infect people and take over their minds and alter their desires. Apparently we were wrong - the true cause will be a fungus from the Brazilian rainforest. It will not be a quick or painless death, either. Hint: it ends with a mushroom growing out of your head. </p><p> </p><p>Here's the situation - a condition originally thought to be caused by a single type of fungus has been discovered to be caused by a variety. The condition is a type of zombie mindset. These fungus can infect a creature, most notably the ant, and take over the creature's mind and change its behaviors. The desired behavior is for the creature to wander to a place which is conducive for the fungus to grow and then stop and wait for the fungus to kill the creature and grow until it can sprout spores to then take over other creatures. </p><p> </p><p>I am a little scared by this concept and want to stay as far away as possible. David Hughes, the study leader, has other ideas. Hit the break to find out what they are or to see a video of these things. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1071-zombies-are-real-sort-of.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Mar 2011 22:54:16 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1071-zombies-are-real-sort-of.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1070-ie9-to-join-your-computer-live-from-sxsw.html <p>South by SouthWest (SxSW) has become a major event. Originally it was a place for musicians and filmmakers to get together and show off their skills. Now, it has become one of the world's largest interactive media festivals, with everyone from RadioShack to GM in attendance. To ensure that it is all that it can be this year, Microsoft has decided to use this event to launch its next generation web browser, Internet Explorer 9. </p><p> </p><p>IE9 is the first Microsoft browser to support the upcoming HTML5 standard, which has been <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/999-chrome-hides-its-head-in-the-sand.html" class="UpStreamLink">causing some controversy from Google</a>. It also includes hardware acceleration, which allows the browser to render video better than any current browser. If you want to experience the magic now, you can head over to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/" class="UpStreamLink">Internet Explorer Test Drive</a> and get the Release Candidate, or wait until it launches fully next week and then check it out. </p><p> </p><p>For some of the best features of the new browser, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1070-ie9-to-join-your-computer-live-from-sxsw.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:05:27 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1070-ie9-to-join-your-computer-live-from-sxsw.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1069-samsung-goes-invisible-and-off-the-grid.html <p>Samsung displayed an interesting prototype product at CeBit in Germany this week - a transparent LCD screen. As if that wasn't enough, the device can run entirely independent of the power grid. It is capable of running entirely off of the power generated from its internal solar panels. </p><p> </p><p>Now, these features sound cool but not terribly useful, right? Well, here is why it is a big deal. First, let's talk about the fact that the screen is transparent. This particular product will probably never serve a huge role in an average home, but it does open up some cool capabilities outside. First, imagine if part of the windshield of your car was an LCD-based heads-up display. You could see reverse cameras, speed, direction and other vehicle information right in your windshield - no need to look away. It also gives us the ability to write obscene messages to the moron driver in front of you. </p><p> </p><p>The screen could also be used in stores or banks as part of the display security. Imagine if, while looking at a display of expensive watches you could see information about the product right in front of them. Or the ability to display a bank's promotions next to the teller while waiting for your money. There are so many possibilities here. </p><p> </p><p>For details about the power possibilities and to see a short video, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1069-samsung-goes-invisible-and-off-the-grid.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:42:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1069-samsung-goes-invisible-and-off-the-grid.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1068-fractal-design-breaks-into-the-us-market.html <p>If you were able to catch our <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/ces2011.php" class="UpStreamLink">CES 2011 coverage</a>, you saw that we were very excited about a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/986-ces-2011-the-swedish-sensations-fractal-design.html" class="UpStreamLink">Swedish computer case company</a> that was looking to emerge themselves into the American market, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.fractal-design.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Fractal Design</a>. We were able to talk to many of the important people of the company, including the founder, Hannes Wallin, who was even willing to talk on camera about his products, goals and projections for the company in 2011 (video after the break). One of those goals was to make Fractal Design products available to the US without having to order them from Canada. </p><p> </p><p>Well, let that dream become a reality as this week, Fractal Design has announced a deal with Newegg, one of the leading PC component retailers with 13 million registered users, that will allow US computer users to purchase the award-winning Define R3 and Define XL Silent PC series cases. </p><p> </p><p>For more on Fractal Design picking up their first US reseller, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1068-fractal-design-breaks-into-the-us-market.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:19:35 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1068-fractal-design-breaks-into-the-us-market.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1067-microsoft-tired-of-internet-explorer-6-longevity.html <p>This isn't the first we've heard Microsoft grumbling about IE6, which is at least just as annoying to them as it is developers. There's nothing like designing a website for IE8 when up to 34% of your audience might sill be viewing it with IE6. It is also annoying when companies cling to IE6 for fear of their enterprise applications not working properly. I do recognize that the UI is much brighter and more user friendly with IE8 but that's still no reason to cling to the darkness with IE6. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft is on the offensive to rid the world of IE6, find out how you can help by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1067-microsoft-tired-of-internet-explorer-6-longevity.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:21:51 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1067-microsoft-tired-of-internet-explorer-6-longevity.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1066-gmail-back-in-beta.html <p>Do you remember when Google first launched Gmail and EVERYONE had to have one? Well, many of those people experienced another of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/767-wave-goodbye-to-google-wave.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google's failures</a> when 150,000 Gmail accounts were reset to new. All of these people started their day signing into their Gmail accounts to find only the "Welcome to Gmail" message. Years of emails, Gtalk chat logs, contacts and anything else stored in their accounts - gone. </p><p> </p><p>While Google was working on solving the problem, a spokesperson said, "Affected users will be temporarily unable to sign in while we repair their accounts." I guess if all of your content is gone it doesn't matter if you cannot access your information. During the process, Google kept its users updated via its <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.google.com/appsstatus" class="UpStreamLink">App Status Dashboard</a>. One of the initial statuses said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Our team is continuing to investigate this issue. We will provide an update by February 28, 2011 8:36:00 AM UTC with more information about this problem. Thank you for your patience.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Not that anyone really has patience for Google's disasters anymore, but at least we all expect them. The good news is, as of March 3, the new status says, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The problem with Google Mail should be resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Apparently someone at Google made a tape backup before the system failed.</p> Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:12:09 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1066-gmail-back-in-beta.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1065-nintendogs-not-enough-security-3ds-hacked-.html <p>There's not a whole lot so say here that isn't already in the title but it only took about 4 hours for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://r4idsn.com/" class="UpStreamLink">R4i team</a> to hack the 3DS after launch. You can't play pirated 3DS games on the device yet but you can play Gameboy Color and original DS games so things are starting off pretty well but you can expect Nintendo to push out a firmware update that will set R4i back temporarily. They did offer up an explanation about their accomplishment on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXU2W0ZOyNo" class="UpStreamLink">their YouTube channel</a>, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Let me just clear things up. This is not a 3DS flashcart. It is the R4 used on DSi. It is not possible to play 3DS games from it. You can't use your current DS flashcart (no matter what brand) on it. The R4 team has managed to hack the 3DS in order to make it run. Nintendo has made a "whitelist", built into the 3DS. It's a list that contains the names of all games that can be played on the 3DS, and guess what; the R4 is not on that list. These guys have modified this list, making it possible to run their flashcart. Therefore, YOU can not do this, unless you hack the system yourself. Expect Nintendo to release a firmware update to block the R4 cards once again.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Check out a video of the hack in action by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1065-nintendogs-not-enough-security-3ds-hacked-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:09:24 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1065-nintendogs-not-enough-security-3ds-hacked-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1064-amazon-instant-video-becomes-part-of-amazon-prime.html <p>Media analysts are very strange people. In a market where competition drives creativity and uniqueness, they are quick to downplay certain companies yet promote others as revolutionary and breakthrough before they even launch, or better yet, when they weren't doing too well and relaunch. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1012-spotify-and-sony-come-to-a-musical-meeting-of-the-minds.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify is an example of the former</a> and the new and improved Amazon Prime is an example of the latter. </p><p> </p><p>Prime was a service where you could buy pretty much any and everything with free two day shipping to anywhere in the US. We're talking things from soup cans to nuts and bolts, and it included a lot of the Amazon.com inventory. All of this was available to any interested consumer for an annual rate of $79 per year, similar to Sam's Club or Costco's membership packages. </p><p> </p><p>Amazon Prime is now looking to enter into the video streaming market at a time where <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1062-netflix-locks-in-cbs-for-more-shows.html" class="UpStreamLink">Netflix is doing more and more good for themselves</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1021-hulu-looks-to-restructure-itself-into-an-ondemand-subscription-product.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu can't seem to catch a break</a>. The relaunched Prime service is looking to go right after Netflix with over 5,000 shows and movies for its customers. Also, the added video streaming options won't cost existing Prime members any more money, which means the price of the service is $20 cheaper than the lowest Netflix plan. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the story, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1064-amazon-instant-video-becomes-part-of-amazon-prime.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 Mar 2011 15:29:07 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1064-amazon-instant-video-becomes-part-of-amazon-prime.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1063-sony-subpoena-bad-news-for-geohot-and-us.html <p>Sony continues to turn up the heat on GeoHot this week when a Federal Magistrate, Joseph Spero, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/03/speroruling.pdf" class="UpStreamLink">allowed Sony access to sensitive information</a> concerning GeoHot and anyone who seems to have had contact with him in almost any way. If you have visited <a target="NewWindow" href="http://geohot.com/" class="UpStreamLink">GeoHot's website</a> anytime after 2009 then congratulations because odds are you will be included somewhere in the IP logs, server logs and account records they are legally obligated to turn over to Sony. </p><p> </p><p>Some of the other subpoenas that were approved require Google to remit information about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/" class="UpStreamLink">GeoHots's blog</a>, his YouTube account and anyone who has posted or published a comment in regards to his <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1032-pirates-come-at-sonys-kevin-butler-and-sink-his-battleship.html" class="UpStreamLink">"Jailbroken PS3 3.55 with Homebrew"</a> video will also be caught up in the mix. If you follow him on Twitter don't feel left out, Sony is getting all the information associated with his Twitter account as well. </p><p> </p><p>To find out what's next for GeoHot, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1063-sony-subpoena-bad-news-for-geohot-and-us.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 06 Mar 2011 11:14:29 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1063-sony-subpoena-bad-news-for-geohot-and-us.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1062-netflix-locks-in-cbs-for-more-shows.html <p>Netflix has been doing some great things as of late. On top of them already hitting the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1035-netflixs-stream-turns-into-a-2-billion-river.html" class="UpStreamLink">$2 billion mark</a> and adding an <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/971-netflix-and-disney-a-piece-of-heaven.html" class="UpStreamLink">exclusive deal with Disney</a>, they've been getting help indirectly from their main competitor, Hulu, who has seen some <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1021-hulu-looks-to-restructure-itself-into-an-ondemand-subscription-product.html" class="UpStreamLink">serious troubles in recent weeks</a>. </p><p> </p><p>This week Netflix hooked up with CBS to stream some of the shows on its network, though none seem to be current on-air episodes. This two-year deal will include shows like <i>Medium</i>, <i>Flashpoint</i>, <i>Frasier</i>, <i>Cheers</i> and <i>Hawaii Five-O</i> and includes a two-year extension option for CBS when the deal nears its completion. CBS seems to be excited about this deal, which could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the company. </p><p> </p><p>At a time where the next deal could be the make-or-break for either company, it seems like Netflix keeps going up and Hulu is just down in the dumps at this point. Things could turn around in the blink of an eye, especially in this new market with lots of potential. Good streaks can either come to an end abruptly or see a ton of success for a very long time. I hope Netflix can keep doing what's got them to the dance and I wish Hulu would get back on the ball and start making some better moves forward.</p> Sat, 05 Mar 2011 22:27:45 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1062-netflix-locks-in-cbs-for-more-shows.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1061-spotify-signs-more-deals-still-waiting-on-warner.html <p>It seems like every week I have Spotify updates for everyone. Starting in January, I mentioned <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1002-spotify-might-be-spotted-in-the-us-very-soon-with-the-help-of-sony.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify would make its way from Europe to the US very soon</a>. So far, the streaming music company has <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1012-spotify-and-sony-come-to-a-musical-meeting-of-the-minds.html" class="UpStreamLink">finalized a deal with Sony and EMI</a> and has even hinted at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1039-spotify-inches-closer-to-being-spotted-in-the-us.html" class="UpStreamLink">arriving the the US sooner than we think</a>. The only problem holding them back was the ability to land a significant deal with another big record label, which would force analysts to consider Spotify as a serious competitor. That is, until now. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know who Spotify scooped up this week? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1061-spotify-signs-more-deals-still-waiting-on-warner.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 05 Mar 2011 22:14:02 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1061-spotify-signs-more-deals-still-waiting-on-warner.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1060-forrester-report-suggests-mobile-apps-are-just-getting-started.html <p>Mobile Apps started to become advertised around 2007 along with the iPhone and the concept was adopted very quickly resulting in mobile apps spreading to almost every mobile OS imaginable. Today iOS has over 350,000, Android has <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.androlib.com/appstats.aspx" class="UpStreamLink">around 270,000</a>, BlackBerry <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.berryreview.com/2011/03/04/does-the-playbook-really-need-65000-plus-apps-to-be-successful/" class="UpStreamLink">boasts over 65,000</a> and let's not forget about WebOS or Windows Phone 7 who are continuously climbing the ladder. According to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.forrester.com/rb/research?cm_guid=1-_-100000000000000001401-_-3044605868&cm_mmc=google-_-branded-_-us-_-forrester_research&gclid=CNWFguvlt6cCFYnt7QodimizAQ" class="UpStreamLink">Forrester Research</a>, revenue generated by customers purchasing apps will hit $38 billion in 4 years. The current revenue generated is around $5.5 billion, meaning that Forrester expects a 7 fold increase by 2015. They also attribute part of the mobile apps future success to a new category of apps that will store information via the cloud making the information easily accessible on many devices. There are already some Apps utilizing the cloud such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.evernote.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Evernote</a>, but the trend is just beginning. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to get the 411 on the future of mobile apps. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1060-forrester-report-suggests-mobile-apps-are-just-getting-started.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 05 Mar 2011 08:40:31 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1060-forrester-report-suggests-mobile-apps-are-just-getting-started.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1059-androids-hijacked-by-innocentlooking-apps.html <p>We've talked in the past about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/755-apple-google-or-palm.html" class="UpStreamLink">the benefits and issues from Android's lack of approval process for apps</a>. This week, the fears we had about the process came true when Google was forced to remove 50+ apps from the Android Marketplace for containing malware. Yes, there are now distributed viruses and bots for Android. </p><p> </p><p>While other OS developers have known that anytime data can be installed to a device from outside the developer's direct control there can and will be malware, Google seemed to think that they were above it. Microsoft doesn't include a web browser on their Xbox 360 console just for this reason. Google, however, was brought kicking and screaming into the real world when as many as 200,000 devices became infected with DroidDream, a rootkit malware, installed through these apps. </p><p> </p><p>To find out what happened and how Google responded, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1059-androids-hijacked-by-innocentlooking-apps.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 04 Mar 2011 23:10:24 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1059-androids-hijacked-by-innocentlooking-apps.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1058-blackberry-on-android-and-ios.html <p>Here's a story for the crazy bin - according to sources inside RIM, the company is planning on launching its BlackBerry Messenger service on Android and iOS devices in the near future. My first thought in hearing this news was that it seemed like nonsense. BBM is what keeps BlackBerry handsets in customers' hands at this point. It's certainly not handset design, minus the Torch, or OS design. </p><p> </p><p>So, what would BBM on Android or iOS mean for RIM? It would certainly mean they would have the ability to completely own the messaging space on 3 of the top 5 mobile platforms. Companies like WhatsApp and Kik wouldn't stand a chance against the powerful features that BBM brings to the table. Their success, however, is entirely based on how well they market the product. </p><p> </p><p>Wait, that seems to be all they are advertising lately. Every time I turn around I am seeing a commercial on television touting the benefits of BBM in the real world. Could this be an indication that they are going to be expanding the application's reach? How about the disastrous <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/997-blackberry-is-looking-for-some-special-jobs.html" class="UpStreamLink">hiring portal</a> that RIM created only 2 months ago? Are they expecting to hire a lot of new people to develop these apps? </p><p> </p><p>How could RIM fail at this? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1058-blackberry-on-android-and-ios.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:45:42 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1058-blackberry-on-android-and-ios.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1057-man-upgrades-from-msdos-50-to-windows-7-with-video.html <p>Sometimes in wandering the Interwebz, I encounter things I just need to share. This week, I encountered a video where a man with WAY too much time on his hands decided to create a virtual machine in VMWare and try to install every version of Microsoft Windows, in order, straight through and see what happened. </p><p> </p><p>He started with an installation of MS-DOS 5.0, which was required for most of the early Windows installations to work. He then installed Windows 1.0 over top, since Windows was merely a GUI shell until Windows 2000. From there, it was upgrade after upgrade; never a clean installation. </p><p> </p><p>At Windows 2.0 he set a desktop and titlebar color scheme that was definitely unique, and that scheme was carried through right up until Windows XP. In Windows 3.0, he created a program group from some DOS applications he had installed, like <i>Monkey Island</i> and <i>Doom II</i>, which were surprisingly carried through the modern Windows 7. That's over 25 years of software compatibility. You can't say that for all computers. </p><p> </p><p>If you're a big Windows fan and have 10 minutes to watch the process, hit the break and see the compatibility wonderment. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1057-man-upgrades-from-msdos-50-to-windows-7-with-video.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:21:59 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1057-man-upgrades-from-msdos-50-to-windows-7-with-video.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1056-wizard-worlds-miami-comic-con-2011-recap.html <p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/" class="UpStreamLink">staff of PLuGHiTz Live!</a> have had the opportunity to attend <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/" class="UpStreamLink">a lot of events</a> around the country since we started this thing 4 years ago. Some are great, some are terrible, most are tolerable. It is very unusual for a first-time event to be a huge success, but if someone could pull it off, it's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wizardworld.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Wizard World</a>, and they certainly did. </p><p> </p><p>If you don't follow the convention world, you may never have heard of them, but you have probably heard of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wizardworld.com/wizcon.html" class="UpStreamLink">their events</a>. From Big Apple Comic Con to Atlanta and Anaheim Comic Cons, this group certainly gets around. They have finally gotten around to Florida and we got Miami Comic Con. Taking place at the newly renovated Miami Airport Convention Center (MACC, formerly the DoubleTree Miami Mart Convention Center), where other Florida conventions have taken place, but never one of this calibur. </p><p> </p><p>To find out who was there and what to expect from future Wizard World cons, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1056-wizard-worlds-miami-comic-con-2011-recap.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Feb 2011 18:43:09 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1056-wizard-worlds-miami-comic-con-2011-recap.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1055-wizard-worlds-miami-comiccon-3000-brigade.html <p>This weekend was the first <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1056-con.html" class="UpStreamLink">Miami ComicCon</a>, Wizard World's first Florida event. Regular Florida con-goers and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/radio" class="UpStreamLink">PLuGHiTz Live! Radio</a> subscribers will know <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.3000brigade.com" class="UpStreamLink">the 3000 Brigade</a>. If you don't, they are "a troupe of performers committed to creating enjoyable Nintendo/Video Game-parody shows, rated "M" for mature!" </p><p> </p><p>They have been he highlight of some of our past convention coverage, so we knew we would have to go see their newest show, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://3000brigade.com/show.php?ShowId=8" class="UpStreamLink">The Almost Got-em - Villains Unite Show</a> and, as always, we were not disappointed. Their newest show, debuted at the convention, was the best yet. With new some characters and old favorites, there were more characters than ever before. </p><p> </p><p>If you're still not sure who they are and what they do, hit the break to see the 3000 Brigade Epic History video. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1055-wizard-worlds-miami-comiccon-3000-brigade.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Feb 2011 18:42:57 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1055-wizard-worlds-miami-comiccon-3000-brigade.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1054-convergeus-is-atwitter-about-social-change-.html <p>All of us here at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/index.php" class="UpStreamLink">PLuGHiTz Live!</a> have been or are currently involved in projects that have great potential to effect social change. We understand first hand the power and potential that technology has to make a positive impact in countless lives and are always grateful to find more and more groups taking up arms to do so. </p><p> </p><p>One such group is <a target="NewWindow" href="http://convergeus.com/" class="UpStreamLink">ConvergeUS</a> which aims to take on problems with early childhood education and families, healthcare, as well as emergency preparedness and sustainability, by using the power of collaboration and technology. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.technet.org/about/who-we-are/" class="UpStreamLink">TechNet</a> founded ConvergeUS in Spring 2010 and is partnering with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone to create a real-time 24/7 platform where producers and consumers can meet to focus on solving specific problems. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Our three-pronged approach is patterned after the intense focus deployed in solving specific problems like the need to create the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project and the national imperative to put a man on the moon in the Apollo Space Mission</div> </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about how ConvergeUS will tackle tough social issues, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1054-convergeus-is-atwitter-about-social-change-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Feb 2011 07:28:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1054-convergeus-is-atwitter-about-social-change-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1053-blockbuster-video-is-a-box-office-bust.html <p>The last time Blockbuster did something relevant enough to make the news they were <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/848-blockbuster-finally-files-for-blockbusting-bankruptcy.html" class="UpStreamLink">filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last September</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/892-netflix-not-just-dvds-anymore.html" class="UpStreamLink">getting owned by Netflix</a>. It seems like they finally decided to "shut it down" after 6 months of failing to rent relevance to their customers. Their courtship with bankruptcy reminds me of a movie called <i>The Hours</i>, it should have happened in 90 minutes or less but felt like it had taken months to finish. I'm sure it feels that way to creditors as well which is why four landlords asked a Manhattan bankruptcy judge to make Blockbuster pay rent for 38 locations or give them the authority to evict them. Summit Distribution LLC was told by Blockbuster they will not be compensated for the $6.8 million they are owed for DVDs that include but are not limited to <i>The Twilight Saga: Eclipse</i>, which is a double win as far as I'm concerned. Their financial fiasco can be partially contributed to no details being given about a restructuring plan that they promised after filing for bankruptcy last year. Seems to me like the #125 million they borrowed from billionaire investor Cal Icahn, in exchange for ownership, served another purpose that did not include them continuing business... and after all this they still had the nerve to charge me late fees. </p><p> </p><p>To find out the thrilling conclusion to this made for TV drama about failed business ventures, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1053-blockbuster-video-is-a-box-office-bust.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:06:14 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1053-blockbuster-video-is-a-box-office-bust.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1052-blizzard-brings-the-heat-to-consoles-with-diablo-iii.html <p>PC gamers, go ahead and take a deep breath, and now let it out slowly. There is only a really good chance that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://us.blizzard.com/diablo3/" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Diablo III</i></a> will find it's way to consoles, I promise. Blizzard <a target="NewWindow" href="http://us.blizzard.com/diablo3/community/" class="UpStreamLink">dropped the hint</a> last November and since then many veterans of the <i>Diablo</i> franchise have been waiting in anticipation to find out if one of the few remaining PC/Mac exclusive games will spread it's fiery, hellacious wings, and fly to other platforms. For hardened PC gaming veterans, it's not about holding on, it's about letting go. </p><p> </p><p>To find out when we might see a console version on store shelves, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1052-blizzard-brings-the-heat-to-consoles-with-diablo-iii.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:21:27 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1052-blizzard-brings-the-heat-to-consoles-with-diablo-iii.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1051-sony-lays-the-ban-on-any-pirated-software-pirates-unban-themselves.html <p>Sony's cage has been shaken up a lot lately. First, George "Geohot" Hotz, or as we call him The Hotz, went after the PlayStation 3 after learning that they chose to remove OtherOS and other fun things out of the firmware. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1015-hotz-in-hot-water-with-sony-but-microsoft-cools-him-down.html" class="UpStreamLink">He disclosed security flaws and the PS3's security codes</a>. It got so much attention that Microsoft started to take notice. Then a rare flub by Sony's fictionally named but not fictionally employed face of the PlayStation 3, Kevin Butler, when he accidently <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1032-pirates-come-at-sonys-kevin-butler-and-sink-his-battleship.html" class="UpStreamLink">retweeted a post by user "exiva" that contained the PlayStation 3's METLDR root key</a>, which jailbreaks the PS3 and allows you to use Homebrew. That tweet reached 70,000+ followers and was immediately taken down, but the effects have been tremendous. </p><p> </p><p>Because of all this, Sony became very angry to the point where they wanted to get IP information of every person who saw the tweet or watched The Hotz' video on YouTube and wanted to take those people to court. They are even going after anyone who decides to talk about or distribute the first full jailbreak code. When the Internet decided to laugh at them for those insane ideas, they chose a different route. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know what they're going to do if you don't play nice with their hardware? You do? Want to know how to circumvent what they're going to do? That's an even better reason to hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1051-sony-lays-the-ban-on-any-pirated-software-pirates-unban-themselves.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Feb 2011 16:34:34 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1051-sony-lays-the-ban-on-any-pirated-software-pirates-unban-themselves.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1050-investors-bet-the-farm-on-zynga.html <p>Zynga, one of the largest social gaming companies, has well over 80 million users and is best known for <i>FarmVille</i>, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/514-the-wow-killer-is-here-with-a-hoe-in-hand.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>WoW</i> equivalent of social games</a>. Despite their great success it seems that Zynga is close to bringing in another $250 million from big-time investors like Fidelity Investments, Morgan Stanley, and T. Rowe Price. According to Zynga, there is no need for the extra capital even after acquiring <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/us/ks/derby/challenge_games/2861736/" class="UpStreamLink">Challenge Games Inc</a> and once they secure the $250 million, their valuation will fall somewhere between $7 and $10 billion. </p><p> </p><p>To find out why they might even consider raising more outside capital, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1050-investors-bet-the-farm-on-zynga.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Feb 2011 16:08:06 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1050-investors-bet-the-farm-on-zynga.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1049-the-amazing-spiderman-revealed.html <p>Not a lot of information here, but certainly a lot to discuss. We are more than a year out, but that hasn't stopped Sony Pictures from starting the teasing early. The next series of Spider-Man films will lose the generic title and go for a more classic-styled title: <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i>. A good way to differentiate it from the last 3 films while giving us the hope of seeing a more classic storyline, as well. </p><p> </p><p>In addition to the new title, we also get a shot at the new costume. This is the exact opposite of classic Spider-Man. It's sleek, it's stylish and it has a absolutely none of the homemade feel to it. It should be fun to see how Peter Parker pulls this one off, but unfortunately we will have to wait until the film's release, July 3, 2012. </p><p> </p><p><center><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/images/news/logos/onetime/newspidermancostume.jpg" class="UpStreamLink"><img src="http://www.plughitzlive.com/images/news/logos/onetime/newspidermancostume.jpg" height="200px" /></a></center></p> Sun, 20 Feb 2011 12:11:41 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1049-the-amazing-spiderman-revealed.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1048-apple-audits-and-supplier-shortcomings.html <p>Last year Foxconn brought some unwanted attention to Apple with a string of strange deaths that occurred at one of its productions facilities. Apple looked into incidents and discovered some employees were overworked but <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/642-one-bad-apple.html" class="UpStreamLink">dismissed the other complaints</a>. Apple also supported Foxconn with their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/657-foxconn-employees-pledge-not-to-kill-themselves.html" class="UpStreamLink">unusual efforts</a> to prevent more employee mistreatments. Apple's annual supplier responsibility report has raised concern with Chinese environmental groups and the media which has generated some tension between Apple, the media and suppliers. </p><p> </p><p>What will this souring relationship mean and what can Apple do about it? To find out, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1048-apple-audits-and-supplier-shortcomings.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 20 Feb 2011 11:41:49 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1048-apple-audits-and-supplier-shortcomings.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1047-news-corp-is-done-with-myspace-could-become-yourspace-for-50-million.html <p>A couple of weeks ago we were confused when we learned that after a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/908-myspace-finally-admits-facebook-is-superior-changes-focus-to-media.html" class="UpStreamLink">huge redesign and content focus shift of Myspace</a> (little m, big space), that the company, owned by News Corp., was laying off several hundred of its employees. This week we uncovered the answer: News Corp. is done with Myspace. Their COO Chase Carey announced that they are "actively engaged" in talks regarding "strategic alternatives". I read between the lines. </p><p> </p><p>The interesting thing about this is that he mentioned it in an earning call and not during your usual press conference or through a press release. When one of the market analysts asked for an estimated loss projection for Myspace, Carey simply reiterated the same sentence. Basically, they are shopping around for offers. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">With a new content focus and structure in place, we believe now is the right time for News Corp. to consider strategic options. We have seen some encouraging traffic metrics in the last several weeks. However, we recognize that the plan to allow MySpace to reach its full potential may be best under a new ownership structure.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For more on the breakup, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1047-news-corp-is-done-with-myspace-could-become-yourspace-for-50-million.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 19 Feb 2011 22:28:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1047-news-corp-is-done-with-myspace-could-become-yourspace-for-50-million.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1046-nvidias-super-mobile-processor-kalel.html <p>Nvidia has been trying to make a real name for themselves in the mobile space and they have done a pretty good job of it. Their Tegra 2 processors are the standard in dual-core mobile technology, powering everything from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/975-the-worlds-first-dualcore-phone-from-lg.html" class="UpStreamLink">LG's Optimus 2X</a> to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1040-playstation-certified-s1-tablet-come-at-us-.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sony's S1 PlayStation tablet</a>. That, however, is not good enough for them. </p><p> </p><p>At Mobile World Congress this week, Nvidia revealed the first quad-core mobile processor, appropriately named <a target="NewWindow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman" class="UpStreamLink">Kal-El</a>. Now, we knew they had this processor in development but no one thought it would be ready this soon. It's not just ready, but it was on display, running a live device. Who needs a press release, right? When you have specs like these, paper just won't do the job: </p><p> </p><p><ul><li>First mobile Quad-core CPU</li><li>12-core GPU with 3D stereo support</li><li>Extreme HD - 2560 x 1600</li></ul> </p><p>For more info on the new processor, including benchmarks and demo video, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1046-nvidias-super-mobile-processor-kalel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 19 Feb 2011 21:30:40 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1046-nvidias-super-mobile-processor-kalel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1045-nokia-makes-sure-you-know-theyre-not-losing-out-on-the-microsoft-deal.html <p>The 2011 Mobile World Congress was this week and news came in from any and every mobile developer and manufacturer who was boasting the newest, latest and greatest handset and features. Of course, we expected to see Nokia and Microsoft also make their presence known during the event, especially after critics were skeptical if <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1034-nokia-announces-partnership-with-microsoft-for-windows-phone-7-handsets.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nokia may have gotten the bad end of the deal when they partnered up with Microsoft's WinPho 7 handsets</a>. In an effort to dispel any notion of that sort, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was very quick to note that the deal will be beneficial for both parties involved. Elop announced payouts and benefits that Nokia will receive for deciding to stick by the Window-side. </p><p> </p><p>Obviously we know that Nokia will have to pay an undisclosed royalty fee every time they choose to use the operating system but Elop said Nokia will get "very substantial reductions" when it comes to what their spending on their everyday operations, including layoffs, since they no longer need to employ a workforce to develop an in-house OS. </p><p> </p><p>Want to hear more thoughts from the adamant Elop? Click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1045-nokia-makes-sure-you-know-theyre-not-losing-out-on-the-microsoft-deal.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 19 Feb 2011 21:18:35 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1045-nokia-makes-sure-you-know-theyre-not-losing-out-on-the-microsoft-deal.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1044-aol-buys-another-company-huffington-post-for-315-million.html <p>I'm not quite sure where AOL is getting the money to purchase all the companies that they are frightened by but they are sure doing a good job at creating a huge cluster of big brands underneath their umbrella. With TechCrunch, Engadget, Joystiq, Moviefone, Mapquest and Switched already under their belt, AOL has now purchased Huffington Post for $315 million, $300 million of it in cash. Co-founder Arianna Huffington will become president and editor-in-chief. Since its inception in 2005, the HuffPo has been ever-growing in popularity and now reaches an average of 25 million visitors and over 4 million comments each month. AOL and Huffington Post's board of directors have agreed on the transaction as have the shareholders and the finalization of the deal should happen no later than early Q2. </p><p> </p><p>From AOL and Huffington Post we have a press release: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Acquisition Will Solidify AOL's Strategy of Creating a Premier Content Network With Local, National and International Reach </p><p> </p><p>Arianna Huffington To Lead Newly Formed The Huffington Post Media Group Which Will Integrate All Huffington Post and AOL Content, Including News, Tech, Women, Local, Multicultural, Entertainment, Video, Community, and More </p><p> </p><p>The New Combined Media Group Will Reach 117 Million Americans and 270 Million Globally </p><p> </p><p>Group Uniquely Positioned To Redefine the Future of Brand Advertising and Marketing For an Engaged and Influential Audience</div> </p><p> </p><p>Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL spoke highly of the acquisition and of Arianna Huffington. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The acquisition of The Huffington Post will create a next-generation American media company with global reach that combines content, community, and social experiences for consumers. Together, our companies will embrace the digital future and become a digital destination that delivers unmatched experiences for both consumers and advertisers. ... Arianna is a singularly passionate and dedicated champion of innovative journalistic engagement, and a master of the art of using new media to illuminate, entertain and enhance the national conversation. Arianna is a remarkable person and she will continue to create remarkable outcomes for the combined company.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For more on this move, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1044-aol-buys-another-company-huffington-post-for-315-million.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:37:20 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1044-aol-buys-another-company-huffington-post-for-315-million.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1043-google-digital-subscription-service-aims-high-by-shooting-lower-than-apple.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1041-apple-subscribes-to-the-death-of-subscriptions.html" class="UpStreamLink">Apple's new iTunes based subscription service</a> barely made it off the tree before Google stepped in to try and steal their sunshine with their new digital subscription service called One Pass. The service will consist of the usual suspects, e-books, newspapers, and magazines but there are some distinct differences between One Pass and Apple's service that Google CEO Eric Schmidt made light of in Barcelona. A significant decrease in the cut Google takes from publishers and a less strict policy about relinquishing user info to them could help Google stick it to Apple in a different way than at the grocery store. </p><p> </p><p>Satisfy your thirst for details by hitting the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1043-google-digital-subscription-service-aims-high-by-shooting-lower-than-apple.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:55:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1043-google-digital-subscription-service-aims-high-by-shooting-lower-than-apple.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1042-us-government-seizes-websites-for-child-porn.html <p>Ever since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/883-the-day-the-interwebz-fell.html" class="UpStreamLink">the FCC considered taking over the Internet</a>, the government has been taking more of a role in managing the Internet. We have seen several instances of the federal government seizing control of websites, primarily over copyright issues. This week we had an interesting seizure - 84,000 domains in regard to child pornography. The only problem? They were seized on accident. </p><p> </p><p>In an attempt to remove a single site, mooo.com, the Department of Justice's "Operation Save Our Children" wrongfully shutdown 84,000 domains all hosted through the same DNS, FreeDNS. Last Friday, if you had visited any one of the personal or small business sites hosted through FreeDNS.afraid.org, they were greeted with this image: </p><p> </p><p><center><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/images/news/logos/onetime/dojbanner.jpg" class="UpStreamLink"><img src="http://www.plughitzlive.com/images/news/logos/onetime/dojbanner.jpg" height="200px" /></a></center> </p><p> </p><p>For more information on the sites shut down and their response, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1042-us-government-seizes-websites-for-child-porn.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:52:46 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1042-us-government-seizes-websites-for-child-porn.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1041-apple-subscribes-to-the-death-of-subscriptions.html <p>Apple this week announced a new subscription service for the iTunes library, wherein you can subscribe to services like News Corp.'s <i>The Daily</i>, the first and currently only iOS-based newspaper. This announcement, however, certainly paves the way for other publications to come behind and be successful. From the press release, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will be sold using the same App Store billing system that has been used to buy billions of apps and In-App Purchases. Publishers set the price and length of subscription (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly). Then with one-click, customers pick the length of subscription and are automatically charged based on their chosen length of commitment (weekly, monthly, etc.). Customers can review and manage all of their subscriptions from their personal account page, including canceling the automatic renewal of a subscription. Apple processes all payments, keeping the same 30 percent share that it does today for other In-App Purchases.</div> </p><p> </p><p>This sounds like a great idea, except for the publishers. Let's take into consideration Pandora. This is, generally, a free service. They do, however, offer a subscription service that allows for no advertisements, more skips, etc. Their margins are probably in the 5% range when you consider the service they offer and the cost they offer it for. Under this new subscription package, they will lose money on each subscription they sell - by quite a lot. Now, let's look at a magazine subscription through Amazon Kindle. There might be 10% margin on that, but they will also lose money under this new plan. </p><p> </p><p>Why would Apple setup a subscription product that will bankrupt the subscription services? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1041-apple-subscribes-to-the-death-of-subscriptions.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:41:01 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1041-apple-subscribes-to-the-death-of-subscriptions.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1040-playstation-certified-s1-tablet-come-at-us-.html <p>It seems Sony is finally coming out from behind the curve with the announcement of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1027-sony-to-bring-nextgeneration-portability-to-your-pants.html" class="UpStreamLink">PSP2</a> and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/955-rumored-playstation-phone-filmed-in-natural-habitat-possibly.html" class="UpStreamLink">Xperia Play</a> smartphone. Of course, it only seems that way because Sony never intends to be a first mover in the industry which could work to their advantage if they spent more of their time addressing some fundamental issues instead of just cramming more and more power into their devices. </p><p> </p><p>In the effort of fairness, Sony is getting rid of the XCrossMediaBar user interface that has been around forever and the thumb sticks on the PSP2 have been reported to be much more user friendly. Their adoption of Android has opened up some interesting possibilities for expansion of the PSP2 and Xperia Play devices to include things like social games thanks to the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/27/sony-announces-playstation-suite/" class="UpStreamLink">PlayStation Suite</a>. It has also opened up the possibility of a Sony tablet running Android 3.0, which has been recently confirmed by inside sources with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/16/exclusive-sony-s1-brings-qriocity-to-9-4-inch-honeycomb-table/" class="UpStreamLink">engadget</a>. </p><p> </p><p>To find out what Sony has in store for the new tablet, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1040-playstation-certified-s1-tablet-come-at-us-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:12:21 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1040-playstation-certified-s1-tablet-come-at-us-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1039-spotify-inches-closer-to-being-spotted-in-the-us.html <p>Everybody should care about Spotify. Not only for the reason that it's an awesome service that's slowly creeping its way to the US very soon but also because I'm talking about it! Just a couple of weeks ago we talked about the European-based music streaming service <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1012-spotify-and-sony-come-to-a-musical-meeting-of-the-minds.html" class="UpStreamLink">inking a deal with Sony</a>. It turns out that there may be more hints of the service touching down on American soil sooner than we thought. </p><p> </p><p>Some Americans have been given free Premium access to Spotify early; VIPs, music industry analysts, record label heads and press. That select group of individuals received an email from Spotify this week hinting at a launch of the service in the "coming months" and that they're gonna have to be paying soon. </p><p> </p><p>To see the letter and find out more, click that break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1039-spotify-inches-closer-to-being-spotted-in-the-us.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:09:21 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1039-spotify-inches-closer-to-being-spotted-in-the-us.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1038-catholic-church-likes-digital-confessions.html <p>Everyone likes being pardoned for their sins, but who has the time to go to a church and sit down with a priest to do it? Well, the Catholic church has, assumedly in an attempt to get back some of those kids they scared off, approved a new iPhone app that helps Catholics through the process of absolution. </p><p> </p><p>The app, Confession: A Roman Catholic app, is the first ever to be officially sanctioned by a church authority. The creators, Little iApps, said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Taking to heart Pope Benedict XVI's message from last years' World Communications Address, our goal with this project is to offer a digital application that is truly 'new media at the service of the word... Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Of course, an app designed to bring people to the faith will be an outreach ministry, right? Wrong. It sells for $1.99 in the iTunes App Store. At least paying for salvation here is cheaper than a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.fisheaters.com/papalblessing.html" class="UpStreamLink">Papal Blessing</a>.</p> Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:08:55 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1038-catholic-church-likes-digital-confessions.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1037-audiovox-buys-premium-audio-company-klipsch-for-166-million.html <p>With the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.digitalmusicforum.com/east/" class="UpStreamLink">Digital Music Forum East</a> coming up in just a few days, it's time for some news to shift towards the audio industry. We usually expect big names to show up to the event and this year CEA's President Gary Shapiro is also expected to make an appearance, complete with a fire-side chat about his latest book, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0825305624" class="UpStreamLink"><i>The Comeback</i></a>. It's also the time of year where we see big things happening with some of the major players in the field. </p><p> </p><p>Well, after rumors at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/ces2011.php" class="UpStreamLink">International CES</a> about a possible acquisition, audio hardware manufacturer Audiovox wanted to get into the mix and bring themselves back to life as a serious name in the music world as they announced this week that they were going to officially buy out high-end speaker company Klipsch for $166 million, as well as brands Jamo, Mirage, Energy and Athena. Klipsch will end up being a subsidiary of Audiovox. </p><p> </p><p>For more on what this means, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1037-audiovox-buys-premium-audio-company-klipsch-for-166-million.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Feb 2011 23:28:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1037-audiovox-buys-premium-audio-company-klipsch-for-166-million.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1036-like-something-facebook-will-exploit-you.html <p>Over the past couple of weeks, Facebook has rolled out some new changes like it seems to do without warning, rhyme, reason or usefulness. Aside from the one cool ability that we use on our <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/PLuGHiTz-Live-Radio/163522722735" class="UpStreamLink">Fan Page</a>, everything else that's been changed seems to just further the frustration and proof that Facebook <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1018-will-facebook-fall-on-its-face.html" class="UpStreamLink">may not be here in a few years.</a> </p><p> </p><p>One of the things you may or may not have noticed just yet is the "sponsored stories", where Facebook takes the Check-ins from Places - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/902-facebook-wont-be-checkingin-to-foursquare.html" class="UpStreamLink">which you shouldn't be using anyway</a> - and turns them into advertisements. Because your friends' profile pictures show up as part of those ads, the idea is that you'd be more inclined to relate, be interested and click on the ad. This also applies to any Likes from websites that have the Facebook Like system integrated into their content. </p><p> </p><p>Facebook is trying to spin it into a good thing but the effects from this could be disastrous. For more on Facebook farming your friends' favorites for fortune, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1036-like-something-facebook-will-exploit-you.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Feb 2011 21:42:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1036-like-something-facebook-will-exploit-you.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1035-netflixs-stream-turns-into-a-2-billion-river.html <p>In a time where their primary competitor, Hulu, is suffering from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1021-hulu-looks-to-restructure-itself-into-an-ondemand-subscription-product.html" class="UpStreamLink">financial loss, a failed launch of a new service and possible restructuring</a>, Netflix is on the other end of the see-saw. If the company in red were to have a Gamerscore, it'd have to be over 9,000 as Netflix keeps breaking records and getting new achievements, one after another. </p><p> </p><p>Reports have come in that after their fiscal year ending on December 31st, Netflix has eclipsed the $2 billion mark in total revenue, at $2.16 billion, which is 29% higher than last year's numbers. The company also raked in $160 million in net income, up $45 million from last year. </p><p> </p><p>Those are pretty impressive numbers. To see how else Netflix was awesome last year, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1035-netflixs-stream-turns-into-a-2-billion-river.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:52:55 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1035-netflixs-stream-turns-into-a-2-billion-river.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1034-nokia-announces-partnership-with-microsoft-for-windows-phone-7-handsets.html <p>Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has certainly made a lot of news since he left Microsoft and took over the company in September of last year. Little to none of it has been received well by the industry, or at the very least the market. This week, his latest announcement once again shook the tech world when he and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that they had formed a partnership that would see Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 take over as Nokia's chief operating system on future handsets. </p><p> </p><p>Up until now, Nokia has used primarily their own OS, Symbian, on their phones. They have also been working on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/493-maemo-and-moblin-become-meego.html" class="UpStreamLink">MeeGo, a partnership with Intel</a>, which is a supposed to be the most user-friendly operating system ever. We knew something might be a little fishy when we learned a few weeks back from PhoneArena that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nokia-might-have-scrapped-the-N9-something-else-running-MeeGo-leaks-out_id16165" class="UpStreamLink"> Nokia might have scrapped the N9</a>, which was to be the first device running MeeGo. Now, it appears, Nokia has changed their tune and plans to invest their time and money into WinPho7. </p><p> </p><p>To find out why everyone is in an uproar about this, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1034-nokia-announces-partnership-with-microsoft-for-windows-phone-7-handsets.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 12 Feb 2011 15:29:33 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1034-nokia-announces-partnership-with-microsoft-for-windows-phone-7-handsets.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1033-guitars-are-no-longer-the-hero-activision-needs.html <p>It wasn't long ago that rhythm games were the talk of the town. The leader of the craze was <i>Guitar Hero</i>, a silly game where people stood in front of their televisions and pushed primary colored buttons on a fake plastic guitar. It seemed like no one should have cared, but almost everyone did. You couldn't go to a friend's house without seeing one of those guitars next to the TV. As Jon announced earlier, however, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1031-guitar-hero-disbanded.html" class="UpStreamLink">the franchise has now been disbanded</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, 9 mixes of the game in, <i>Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock</i> sold as little as 89,000 copies total. This compared to the 1.4 million copies of <i>Guitar Hero III</i> that were sold opening week and it's no wonder Activision has cut the franchise loose. But, what happened? <i>Dance Dance Revolution</i> has had <a target="NewWindow" href="http://ddrlover.com/game_mixes.php?g=3" class="UpStreamLink">many more than 9 mixes</a>, and somehow that franchise has survived well over a decade, whereas <i>Guitar Hero</i> is dead in just 6 years. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for some ideas on what went wrong. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1033-guitars-are-no-longer-the-hero-activision-needs.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 11 Feb 2011 09:47:00 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1033-guitars-are-no-longer-the-hero-activision-needs.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1032-pirates-come-at-sonys-kevin-butler-and-sink-his-battleship.html <p>Kevin Butler is the fictional Sony employee that is the spokesperson for the PS3's "It can do everything" marketing campaign. There's a good chance you've seen some of his work but if you think the PS3, Sony and/or Kevin Butler are figments of my imagination then <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/941-gran-turismo-5-is-finally-here-well-the-boxes-are.html" class="UpStreamLink">check here</a> to see him in action. Unfortunately for Sony and Butler the fake employee made a very real and funny mistake. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out who, why, and how. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1032-pirates-come-at-sonys-kevin-butler-and-sink-his-battleship.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:45:35 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1032-pirates-come-at-sonys-kevin-butler-and-sink-his-battleship.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1031-guitar-hero-disbanded.html <p>I have what will be widely regarded as good news for those of you haven't put a second mortgage on your house to keep up with the 7 major versions of <i>Guitar Hero</i> and the 4 expansion packs for game consoles, not to mention the 20+ different guitars Activision Blizzard has spewed out since 2005. The game franchise is officially axed after losing Activision Blizzard hundreds of millions since 2009. The most recent losses suffered in Q4 2010 were 233 million, which is down from a 286 million loss in Q4 2009. With losses like that it is no surprise they decided to cut the franchise before the planned release of another game later this year. This also means that we managed to dodge a bullet and that Activision Blizzard is only about 2 years behind everyone else. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to watch a YouTube video that pays homage to the fallen franchise. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1031-guitar-hero-disbanded.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:31:24 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1031-guitar-hero-disbanded.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1030-alien-dalvik-expands-the-android-platform-to-other-platforms.html <p>Early this week Google unveiled the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://market.android.com/" class="UpStreamLink">web-based Android Market</a>, which allowed Android users a <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1028-google-brings-android-market-to-the-cloud-i-mean-the-web.html" class="UpStreamLink">more comprehensive app marketplace experience</a> and helped bridge the gap between the web and mobile applications. The web isn't the only other platform Android has its eye on either. Having just dethroned Symbian as the leading mobile OS worldwide that might not be so surprising, but something very surprising is that Google isn't behind the expansion this time. </p><p> </p><p>To find out who is and what they have planned for Android, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1030-alien-dalvik-expands-the-android-platform-to-other-platforms.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:20:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1030-alien-dalvik-expands-the-android-platform-to-other-platforms.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1029-hp-introduces-2-webos-phones-1-tablet-and-no-palm.html <p>HP decided that their big webOS unveiling should not take place at the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/ces2011.php" class="UpStreamLink">International Consumer Electronics Show 2011</a>, but instead at a separate event a month later. That event just ended in an old military building at Fort Mason in California and it was everything we had hoped for and more. </p><p> </p><p>We'll start with the bad news - Palm is dead. In a giant room full of brightly colored posters and screens, nothing was marked with the Palm logo. In all of the announcements, only the HP logo was to be seen. Now, while this is not a surprise, it is a disappointment. Palm is the company that started handheld computing and the loss of the brand is a loss for the industry. </p><p> </p><p>Moving on to the positive, we were pleased to see 3 great new devices. The first and simplest is the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/veer/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">HP Veer</a>. This handset is designed to be the replacement for the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pixi/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Palm Pixi</a> without and of the design flaws of its sister phone. Measuring at only 3.25 inches tall and weighing in at 3.63 ounces, this will be the perfect smartphone for people who do not want a full smartphone. </p><p> </p><p><center><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/images/news/logos/onetime/hpveer.jpg" class="UpStreamLink"><img src="http://www.plughitzlive.com/images/news/logos/onetime/hpveer.jpg" height="200px" /></a></center> </p><p> </p><p>While the Veer is small, it is still mighty. With an 800Mhz Qualcomm processor, 8GM of storage, integrated Touchstone capability and 5MP camera, there is little the device won't be able to do, except weigh you down, of course. And it is all packed into a miniature version of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/preplus/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Palm Pre Plus</a> form. </p><p> </p><p>For details on the other 2 new devices, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1029-hp-introduces-2-webos-phones-1-tablet-and-no-palm.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:32:43 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1029-hp-introduces-2-webos-phones-1-tablet-and-no-palm.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1028-google-brings-android-market-to-the-cloud-i-mean-the-web.html <p>The new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://market.android.com/" class="UpStreamLink">web-based Android Market</a> might not be as shiny as the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/951-google-to-open-shiniest-store-ever-on-december-7th.html" class="UpStreamLink">Chrome Store</a> but it will certainly mean more to about one-third the global mobile market since people actually use Android. <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> reported that Android recently <a target="NewWindow" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110131-705538.html?mod=dist_smartbrief" class="UpStreamLink">surpassed Symbian as the leading mobile OS</a> by a margin of 2.3%, meaning Android has 32.9% global market share and Symbian has 30.6%. Previously, the only access to Android apps was from an Android phone or tablet and the new web store will not just offer another platform to access apps but will serve as an interface between your phone and the web. </p><p> </p><p>To find out how, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1028-google-brings-android-market-to-the-cloud-i-mean-the-web.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:34:54 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1028-google-brings-android-market-to-the-cloud-i-mean-the-web.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1027-sony-to-bring-nextgeneration-portability-to-your-pants.html <p>Sony Computer Entertainment recently announced their PlayStation Portable 2 and gave us some neat hardware specs to drool over. This device is basically a PS3 for your hands and if that excites you, here is a list of what we can expect to see by the end of 2011. </p><p> </p><p>- 5 inch OLED </p><p>- multitouch pad (backside) </p><p>- 1 front camera, 1 rear camera </p><p>- Quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor </p><p>- SGX543MP4+ gpu </p><p>- 960 x 544 pixel resolution, 16 million color </p><p>- 3 axis accelerometer </p><p>- 3 axis gyroscope </p><p>- Wifi (probably g and n) </p><p>- 3G Aircard (likely GSM, so AT&T) </p><p>- electronic compass </p><p>- GPS </p><p>- mic </p><p>- stereo speakers </p><p>- 182mm x 18.6mm x 83.5mm </p><p> </p><p>To find out if Sony will put this hardware to good use, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1027-sony-to-bring-nextgeneration-portability-to-your-pants.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:38:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1027-sony-to-bring-nextgeneration-portability-to-your-pants.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1026-wii-would-like-to-kirby.html <p>Good news everyone, Nintendo has a game coming out for the Wii that is part of an awesome series not related to <i>Mario Bros.</i> or <i>Zelda</i>! After many years only making appearances in games like <i>Super Smash Bros.</i> and pretty much skipping an entire console Kirby is back on Nintendo's roster with a new title of his own. So far, there is no title for the game but it is still being developed by HAL Laboratory and based on the game footage released Kirby seems to be back to his old self, kicking ass Kirby style with black hole-like sucking, sword powers that would make Link turn green with envy, and just general badassery. The game play appears to be closer to the SNES games which should make it feel like a true sequel. </p><p> </p><p>To see Kirby in action, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1026-wii-would-like-to-kirby.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:00:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1026-wii-would-like-to-kirby.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1025-verizon-confirms-unlimited-data-tradein-program-details.html <p>With the Verizon Wireless iPhone launch only a few days away, it is a very busy time for the Verizon execs. They have announced plans to entice AT&T subscribers over to their network as well as details about the iPhone data package. </p><p> </p><p>Verizon's trade-in program has been increased to allow AT&T customers to trade in their working AT&T iPhone for as much as $285 in credit towards the purchase of a new Verizon iPhone 4. You can even get $28 for trading in an original iPhone. Of course, you can trade in just about any other working phone as well. For a valuation, you'll need to head over to the <a target="NewWindow" href="https://www.trade-in.vzw.com/AppraisalPage.aspx" class="UpStreamLink">device appraiser</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Data information has also become available. For details on the packages available, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1025-verizon-confirms-unlimited-data-tradein-program-details.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:43:47 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1025-verizon-confirms-unlimited-data-tradein-program-details.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1024-spam-saves-lives.html <p>Spam is usually a pain in the butt, whether it come in your mailbox, your email or as a text message. On some very rare occasions it can be a blessing. And, in one very odd situation, spam saved hundreds of lives. </p><p> </p><p>On New Year's Eve in Central Moscow there was a suicide bomber whose plans were foiled by a spam text message. A common way for these suicide bombings to go down involves 2 people - one with a bomb and one with a detonator. Recently, the detonators have been cell phones. The bomber will move until in a place where they will do maximum damage and the detonator will send them a text message. This didn't quite go as planned. Before she was able to get to Red Square, she received a text message wishing her a happy new year several hours before she was supposed to arrive. </p><p> </p><p>Who would have ever guessed that one day spam would save so many lives.</p> Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:48:04 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1024-spam-saves-lives.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1023-will-ferrell-to-join-steve-carells-the-office-departure.html <p>NBC's hit sitcom, <i>The Office</i> is going to be getting a big shakeup later this season when Steve Carell, Michael Scott, leaves the show. To ensure the transition is as erratic as possible, <i>Anchorman</i> co-star Will Ferrell will be joining the cast for a total of 4 episodes. He will be playing a branch manager who is as clueless as Michael himself. </p><p> </p><p>After 7 years as the district manager of Dunder Mifflin, Carell leaves the series 4 episodes before the season finale and Ferrell will join the cast 3 episodes before that, leaving one episode after Carell leaves. Speaking about Ferrell's guest role, Paul Lieberstein, executive producer, said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;"> We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star, and we turned him into a television star. We are proud to continue The Office's tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they'll see what we see: tremendous raw sexuality.</div></p> Sat, 29 Jan 2011 23:00:17 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1023-will-ferrell-to-join-steve-carells-the-office-departure.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1022-intel-spends-another-100-mil-this-time-in-us-university-research.html <p>Intel's just been doing everything right lately. It seems that when they said they were going to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/888-intel-creates-jobs-plans-to-spend-8-billion-on-new-factory-upgrades.html" class="UpStreamLink">spend $8 billion to open new manufacturing plants that would create over 1,000 jobs</a> that something in their brain set them off on a helping spree. More recently, Intel pledged to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/932-intel-to-help-nfl-analyze-concussions-with-chips-place-inside-helmets.html" class="UpStreamLink">help the NFL analyze quarterback concussions with real-time data</a> and even teamed up with rival company AMD to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/963-rivals-intel-and-amd-declare-in-unison-death-to-vga.html" class="UpStreamLink">rid the world of the pesky blue analog input known as VGA</a>. Well, let the good karma roll, because this week Intel said that it is going to invest $100 million through the next five years in US university research. </p><p> </p><p>For more on Intel's good deeds, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1022-intel-spends-another-100-mil-this-time-in-us-university-research.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 29 Jan 2011 22:33:42 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1022-intel-spends-another-100-mil-this-time-in-us-university-research.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1021-hulu-looks-to-restructure-itself-into-an-ondemand-subscription-product.html <p>Hulu has tried to stick to their guns as long as it possibly could, with creators of the service doing everything in their power to get users to support the free-with-ads business model they have been running with. Unfortunately, the bigger guns behind the content Hulu provides is threatening to back out and pull shows and movies unless Hulu can find a way to monetize the users that come to the site, and fast. We have heard rumors of Hulu considering restructuring their business model and moving towards an Internet-based television provider that users would subscribe to, similar to the way they would for satellite or cable TV. With providers like Disney and News Corp threatening to pull their free broadcasting, Hulu better do something quickly, especially when these companies are able to make money with services such as Netflix, Apple and Microsoft. </p><p> </p><p>That repackaging, however, is just one of the options we've heard tossed around the Inter-tubes this week. Follow after the break for more on the other possibilities. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1021-hulu-looks-to-restructure-itself-into-an-ondemand-subscription-product.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 29 Jan 2011 22:13:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1021-hulu-looks-to-restructure-itself-into-an-ondemand-subscription-product.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1020-google-censors-the-internet-on-their-own.html <p>One of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1005-oracle-might-want-to-read-this-google-might-not.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google's biggest problems has been the relevancy of their search results</a>. Apparently, someone at Google HQ decided that the best way to solve that problem was to start censoring the results available in Autocomplete and Instant. The first target of their wrath? The word "torrent." </p><p> </p><p>Starting this week, a search for any word combination containing "torrent" will not return results for instant search and will not autocomplete in standard search. In addition, other terms have been removed, such as "RapidShare" and "Megaupload." This comes as pressure from RIAA and MPAA has apparently gotten so strong that the company that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/561-google-finally-pulls-the-plug.html" class="UpStreamLink">abandoned China over censorship laws</a> caved. </p><p> </p><p>BitTorrent Inc. and RapidShare are not pleased about this move. Hit the break to read their reactions. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1020-google-censors-the-internet-on-their-own.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 29 Jan 2011 22:06:03 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1020-google-censors-the-internet-on-their-own.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1019-facebook-forces-crafty-creators-to-use-credits-as-their-currency.html <p>Facebook always seems to find a way to put itself into the news. This time, with their not-so-beloved Facebook Credits currency system. In the past, we have talked about companies like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/627-farmville-a-thing-of-the-past.html" class="UpStreamLink">Zynga that were trying to be coerced to solely use Facebook Credits</a>. It now appears that the idea will actually hold water. Amidst a time where Facebook is looking to prove itself to investors and analysts that it is a commercially viable and money-making creature, the company has made it a mandatory policy beginning July 1, 2011 that all games use Facebook Credits as the only way to include real money purchases into games. Developers will still be able to use their in-game currencies but only as an exchange, i.e. Facebook Credits for Farmville Coins. </p><p> </p><p>This change applies to Canvas games only and games used with Facebook Connect do not have to make the change. </p><p> </p><p>Why does this move have such an impact? Follow the break to learn more. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1019-facebook-forces-crafty-creators-to-use-credits-as-their-currency.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:19:39 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1019-facebook-forces-crafty-creators-to-use-credits-as-their-currency.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1018-will-facebook-fall-on-its-face.html <p>Take a look at the progression of popular social media sites from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.friendster.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Friendster</a> to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook</a>, and you will find that despite the thousands and thousands of competitors out there, a select few will compete for the top spot. If you remember Friendster then you will probably remember <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.myspace.com" class="UpStreamLink">MySpace</a> taking them down and later Facebook devouring them along with all the others. In fact Facebook beat MySpace down so badly they changed their logo and were <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/908-myspace-finally-admits-facebook-is-superior-changes-focus-to-media.html" class="UpStreamLink">forced to revert to their only remaining strength, social media</a>. Today, they are the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/facebook.com#keywords" class="UpStreamLink">2nd most visited website in the world</a> behind Google and boast over 500 million users. So why will Facebook fail with so much going for it? </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out why. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1018-will-facebook-fall-on-its-face.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:52:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1018-will-facebook-fall-on-its-face.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1017-hppalm-webos-notebook-netbook-training-more-webos-tablet-news.html <p>You know, having your entire company's mobile device fleet operate on the webOS platform and following the HP-Palm merger from the beginning has made us pay close attention to what's been going on with our favorite mobile operating system. Not only did we bring you news last year that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/795-hppalm-webos-tablet-coming-in-.html" class="UpStreamLink">we should be seeing an HP-Palm webOS Tablet sometime in the near future</a> but we also presented you news that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/867-hp-says-new-webos-phones-coming-sometime-early-next-year.html" class="UpStreamLink">HP-Palm wanted more webOS devices as well.</a> Well now snooping through the HP website led me to the webOS Central, which contains webOS 10x training videos for stores carrying those products. A problem that has plagued Palm from the beginning was differentiating themselves and presenting it in a way that the average consumer can understand. Luckily, the HP merger has done a lot of good for the Palm brand and this training site certainly is one of the benefits. </p><p> </p><p>The site contains videos starting with webOS 101, which is a basic overview and explanation of the platform, and also includes a lot of subliminal messages hinting towards more devices to come with webOS on them (which we've all pretty much expected already). The exciting part about it is that some of the videos explain a world in which a mobile phone, tablet and netbook could all live as a "friendly little product family". </p><p> </p><p>Want to learn more about the webOS Central and see some cool pictures of a possible webOS tablet that could be announced at the HP-Palm Feb 9th event? Click after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1017-hppalm-webos-notebook-netbook-training-more-webos-tablet-news.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:23:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1017-hppalm-webos-notebook-netbook-training-more-webos-tablet-news.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1015-hotz-in-hot-water-with-sony-but-microsoft-cools-him-down.html <p>Let's all raise our glasses to a guy known as George "Geohot" Hotz. Some of you may know this infamous Internet deviant as one of the key guys who hacked the Apple iOS and aided in showcasing the jailbreaking process to the masses. </p><p> </p><p>More recently, some of you may know him as the guy that Sony has taken to court. After learning about Sony's move to take out OtherOS functions to further secure the PS3, Hotz decided enough was enough and released exploits and security flaws that allow a user to reinstall OtherOS. Hotz has even disclosed the PS3's security codes, which was finally the straw that broke Sony's back, and has caused <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1009-activision-considers-ending-psn-playability.html" class="UpStreamLink">Activision to take action on the PlayStation Network</a>. </p><p> </p><p>So, what does all this bad news mean for Hotz? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1015-hotz-in-hot-water-with-sony-but-microsoft-cools-him-down.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 23 Jan 2011 17:16:39 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1015-hotz-in-hot-water-with-sony-but-microsoft-cools-him-down.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1014-apples-ceo-steve-jobs-takes-leave-again-citing-medical-conditions.html <p>This week, Steve Jobs announced that he will be taking an indefinite medical leave from the company for a third time since being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003. </p><p> </p><p>In 2004, Jobs left the company to undergo a difficult surgery that proved successful, which removed a tumor in his pancreas. This surgery is common for people with the same condition that Jobs has but the downside is that it removes part of the pancreas and digestive tract system. These removals can lead to other problems later on, like the weight loss that we were able to visually notice in 2008. </p><p> </p><p>In 2009, Jobs left again, for what we later learned was a liver transplant procedure and that happened right before the last Macworld (no, really). This time, the announcement of the new iPad looms around the corner and the iPhone is headed to Verzion and Steve Jobs has to once again leave the reigns of the company to someone else in his absence. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this news, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1014-apples-ceo-steve-jobs-takes-leave-again-citing-medical-conditions.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 23 Jan 2011 11:19:40 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1014-apples-ceo-steve-jobs-takes-leave-again-citing-medical-conditions.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1013-googles-eric-schmidt-resigns-as-ceo.html <p>Yep, you heard it right. Google's CEO Eric Schmidt is out as the Chief Executive Officer of the company starting April 4th. Co-founder Larry Page will take over the everyday operations of the company and co-founder Sergey Brin will assume the role of taking lead on key products and projects moving forward. </p><p> </p><p>Schmidt will still remain active as Executive Chairman, which entails concentrating on internal matters, business relationships, partnership deals, government lobbying and technology training. He will also serve as an advisor to the two co-founders. </p><p> </p><p>Rumors around the change roam the Internet Prairie. According to Schmidt's Twitter account, "Day-to-day adult supervision is no longer needed!". This leads us to believe that the CEO feels that the team under him can step up and lead the company into the years to come. </p><p> </p><p>Fun fact: On the day of the announcement, Google posted a year-end $8.5 billion profit. </p> Sun, 23 Jan 2011 11:06:32 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1013-googles-eric-schmidt-resigns-as-ceo.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1012-spotify-and-sony-come-to-a-musical-meeting-of-the-minds.html <p>Just last week I talked about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1002-spotify-might-be-spotted-in-the-us-very-soon-with-the-help-of-sony.html" class="UpStreamLink">Spotify, a European music service, making its way to the States.</a> It appeared deals were very close to being finalized and now it has been announced that Sony has sealed a deal with Spotify. </p><p> </p><p>Sony and Spotify have not commented on the deal, and this doesn't officially bring Spotify to the States until the terms of the deal are agreed upon, but sources have confirmed that Sony looks to have the service be similar to the one in Europe: Streaming music free for a limited amount of hours per month, with an option to pay for an ad-free version and the ability to stream it from a mobile device. </p><p> </p><p>For full details on the deal, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1012-spotify-and-sony-come-to-a-musical-meeting-of-the-minds.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 23 Jan 2011 10:53:46 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1012-spotify-and-sony-come-to-a-musical-meeting-of-the-minds.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1011-small-xbox-live-and-xboxcom-updates.html <p>Turning on your Xbox 360 console last week may have led you to notice a random, unannounced update downloading to your console. After downloading it, you may not have even noticed what was changed. This is a common practice that Microsoft does when it needs to fix some back-end things and minor cosmetics on the dashboard. </p><p> </p><p>First, something you will notice is the ability to once again select "Boot to Disc" as an option. This was taken out in the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/898-xbox-360-dashboard-enhancements-are-a-go.html" class="UpStreamLink">latest dashboard refresh</a> but now you can once again either start up your Xbox to either the dashboard or directly to a game that you have in the tray. You can access that option from your System Settings menu. </p><p> </p><p>Behind the scenes, Microsoft fixed a couple of issues that will prevent users from playing modded copies of games on their consoles. They also added a few security measures to prevent exploiting certain games or hacking the console. </p><p> </p><p>For Xbox.com, a few cosmetic changes were made. You'll notice that the Gamerzone is off your Xbox Gamercard. You'll also see that the overall design of the card was slightly modified and gives a refreshed feel to it. </p><p> </p><p>All in all, not much was changed, but for those of you who were asking us and were curious, you now have the answer.</p> Sun, 23 Jan 2011 10:26:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1011-small-xbox-live-and-xboxcom-updates.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1009-activision-considers-ending-psn-playability.html <p>We all know <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/911-call-of-duty-black-ops-biggest-launch-ever.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Call of Duty</i> is popular</a>, but that popularity means it is more popular to cheat on as well. With the recent PlayStation 3 security exploits published on the Interwebz, it has made the process infinitely easier. This fact has not escaped the notice of Activision and they are prepared to take drastic action to solve the problem if Sony isn't. </p><p> </p><p>Activision is considering shuttering their PSN-based servers until Sony can ensure the quality and security of the network. Senior tester Dov Carson said in response to <i>Black Ops</i> issues, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The publishers have the right to shut down the servers for their game at any time as well which, based on the number of reported posts from users, may be a viable solution over the free PSN.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For the reactions of other parts of Activision, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1009-activision-considers-ending-psn-playability.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 22 Jan 2011 23:33:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1009-activision-considers-ending-psn-playability.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1008-at-taipei-university-remote-is-you.html <p>The gaming/entertainment industry has enjoyed a much wanted transformation thanks to technology like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/952-kinect-sells-25m-in-25-days-beats-move-and-ipad.html" class="UpStreamLink">Kinect for the Xbox 360</a> which has taken an exciting step toward phasing out the need for an external physical device, such as a remote, to conveniently use another device. Personally, the thought of never having to locate, replace batteries and reprogram any remote again gives me hope for the future. </p><p> </p><p>Think about how the crew of the USS Enterprise communicates with the ship through voice commands as well as body language and you will have a good idea where this is headed, to the final frontier, or rather the next frontier, but you know what I mean. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out what I actually mean. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1008-at-taipei-university-remote-is-you.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 22 Jan 2011 12:15:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1008-at-taipei-university-remote-is-you.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1007-batmans-villains-revealed.html <p>It was just a matter of time before Warner Bros. would finally reveal who will play the villain/villains in the upcoming Christopher Nolan <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>. Oh, and who they will be playing. This week finally brought those hopes to life. Here is what WB had to say, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises." She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Christopher Nolan stated, "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story." </p><p> </p><p>In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, "I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman's most formidable enemies." </p><p> </p><p>Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven. "The Dark Knight Rises" is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.</div> </p><p> </p><p>I know I am intrigued to see how Hathaway does as Catwoman. Let's hope it goes better than some of the past, and I won't mention any names...</p> Fri, 21 Jan 2011 22:01:52 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1007-batmans-villains-revealed.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1006-faa-warns-of-dod-gps-tests.html <p>Do you live in the southeast US and plan to use your GPS any time soon? Well, you're in a bit of bad luck as the FAA has warned that the Department of Defense will be running tests on the GPS system in the southeast. According to the FAA, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">GPS testing is scheduled on January 20th through February 11th, 2011 from 0000-0245 UTC daily and February 15th through February 22nd, 2011 from 0000-0245 UTC daily. These tests may not be concurrent so pilots are advised to check NOTAMS frequently for possible changes prior to operating in the area... Several test events will be conducted and will be active for 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of off time.</div> </p><p> </p><p>While this is fairly annoying information for anyone wanting to use GPS, it is really interesting as well. What might the Department of Defense be testing? Are they trying to increase accuracy? Strain? Hopefully they will tell us what they are testing after the tests are complete. We'll keep you posted.</p> Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:42:17 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1006-faa-warns-of-dod-gps-tests.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1005-oracle-might-want-to-read-this-google-might-not.html <p>Google seems to be a disaster lately. Between nearly useless search results, the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/767-wave-goodbye-to-google-wave.html" class="UpStreamLink">failure of Google Wave</a>, their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/561-google-finally-pulls-the-plug.html" class="UpStreamLink">interactions with China</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/801-google-not-participating-in-javaone.html" class="UpStreamLink">Android's Java lawsuit</a>, Google is quickly becoming the joke of the tech world. Today, Google's defense against Oracle's copyright infringement suit was severely damaged when blogger Florian Miller published an article revealing somewhere between 37 and 44 files copied directly from Oracle with only the licensing altered. </p><p> </p><p>So far, the evidence seems to suggest that the files are merely test code and probably never shipped on a handset. In theory, that would mean that there was no copyright infringement involved. The problem is, this code WAS distributed at the very least in test versions of the operating system. Add to that the fact that Google replaced the Java GPL licensing documentation with the Apache Open Source License, which is not compatible licensing, and you have a major problem for Google. </p><p> </p><p>To read how this might play out down the road, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1005-oracle-might-want-to-read-this-google-might-not.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:08:11 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1005-oracle-might-want-to-read-this-google-might-not.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1004-epic-mickey-sales-not-epic-but-still-pretty-good.html <p>If we dare to think back to 2010 for a moment, some of us will remember one of the happy times called <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/e32010.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3</a>, which is where Disney first debuted <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/DisneyEpicMickey" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Epic Mickey</i></a>, a game that had been in development for almost 6 years. For those of you who don't own a Wii console then odds are you don't remember what I'm talking about so here's a refresh for you. </p><p> </p><p>The premise is that a terrible tragedy has befallen the Disney universe and left it in shambles. It is Mickey's duty to travel around the befuddled world assisting other familiar characters in reshaping things by completing quests. Oh yes, I almost forgot, besides helping characters, Mickey has a paint brush and an endless supply of "paint thinner" to reshape the broken universe as he sees fit. One unique feature of the game is the "transitory zones," which connect you to various parts of the universe. The zones themselves are modeled after old black and white Disney cartoons they have adapted for you to play as a 2D level. This game is also good for multiple playthroughs as there are so many combinations of actions and resulting consequences it would be impossible to have the same experience twice. </p><p> </p><p>To find out exactly how much cheddar Mickey made, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1004-epic-mickey-sales-not-epic-but-still-pretty-good.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:16:38 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1004-epic-mickey-sales-not-epic-but-still-pretty-good.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1003-gamestop-lets-you-buy-products-from-them-that-you-could-buy-from-home.html <p>We mentioned over a year ago about GameStop <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?r=&story_ref=191" class="UpStreamLink">hiring an executive to manage digital distribution</a> and followed up with an article about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/353-gamestop-wants-to-sell-fake-stuff.html" class="UpStreamLink">DLC being sold in their stores</a>, but now GameStop wants to link to your Xbox Live account to bring you content that you can already download from the comfort of your home. </p><p> </p><p>GameStop is still hanging onto the fact that a store strictly for games is still a viable and necessary option and numbers back that up, with the fact that Xbox Live Arcade point cards are usually the number one selling accessory in gaming every month as of late. </p><p> </p><p>Why would customers buy digital products in a physical store? Click the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1003-gamestop-lets-you-buy-products-from-them-that-you-could-buy-from-home.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Jan 2011 18:06:06 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1003-gamestop-lets-you-buy-products-from-them-that-you-could-buy-from-home.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1002-spotify-might-be-spotted-in-the-us-very-soon-with-the-help-of-sony.html <p>Europeans are quite familiar with Spotify, which is an online music service similar to a mix between last.fm and iTunes. You can listen to music with their free service on your computer (with some ads included). Optionally, you can choose to access it from a mobile device or to connect with your friends and share music sans the ad barrage for a monthly fee. So far Spotify has only been a European service. </p><p> </p><p>That is, until talks with Sony might bring the company over the Atlantic and to the US very soon. It looks as though Spotify may be close to inking a deal with Sony as well as one other music company. One music industry source has said that, "Spotify is launching in the US, for sure. They've got the deals now." </p><p> </p><p>For more on this big news, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1002-spotify-might-be-spotted-in-the-us-very-soon-with-the-help-of-sony.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:12:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1002-spotify-might-be-spotted-in-the-us-very-soon-with-the-help-of-sony.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1001-skype-acquires-qik-rather-quickly.html <p>At <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/events/ces2011.php" class="UpStreamLink">the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)</a>, Skype made a huge announcement when they said they were going to acquire the enemy video-chatting company Qik. At that time, nobody knew any terms of the deal but Skype did say that everything would be finalized by the end of the month. Skype sources even said there would be a "focus on providing a richer, more integrated experience that will allow people globally to share experiences in real-time video across different platforms". </p><p> </p><p>Well, fast forward to just over a week later and Skype has posted on their blog that they have officially acquired Qik and the buyout is complete. </p><p> </p><p>Check after the break to see the announcement and press release about the acquisition. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1001-skype-acquires-qik-rather-quickly.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:43:51 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1001-skype-acquires-qik-rather-quickly.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1000-drinking-leads-to-better-scientists.html <p>Semiconductors are an interesting technology. Like most metals, they conduct electricity and also like most metals, they have resistance. The difference is, semiconductors can have their resistance altered by outside influences, such as temperature and components. </p><p> </p><p>A group of researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan were testing the influences of soaking parts of the semiconductor in various conductive fluids, like water and ethanol. Obviously, the conductive liquids would improve the conductivity of the unit as a whole. The results must have been pretty positive because they decided to celebrate their findings. </p><p> </p><p>To read about what they discovered at their party, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1000-drinking-leads-to-better-scientists.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:15:24 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/1000-drinking-leads-to-better-scientists.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/999-chrome-hides-its-head-in-the-sand.html <p>Google made a very interesting announcement this week; they will be discontinuing support for H.264, the standard for high definition video, in the next release of their Chrome browser. Google's official Chromium blog stated, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We expect even more rapid innovation in the web media platform in the coming year and are focusing our investments in those technologies that are developed and licensed based on open web principles. To that end, we are changing Chrome's HTML5 video (tag) support to make it consistent with the codecs already supported by the open Chromium project. Specifically, we are supporting the WebM (VP8) and Theora video codecs, and will consider adding support for other high-quality open codecs in the future. Though H.264 plays an important role in video, as our goal is to enable open innovation, support for the codec will be removed and our resources directed towards completely open codec technologies.</div> </p><p> </p><p>What does this mean for you and the Internet? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/999-chrome-hides-its-head-in-the-sand.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:01:28 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/999-chrome-hides-its-head-in-the-sand.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/998-more-big-bang-for-all.html <p>Anyone who has spent any time around the PLuGHiTz offices will know we are HUGE fans of the CBS comedy, <i>Big Bang Theory</i>. That being said, we are very excited to hear the news that the series was just renewed for another 3 seasons. That means we will be able to enjoy the antics of Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard and Raj through the middle of 2014. </p><p> </p><p>I am certain that this will be no surprise to anyone who watches the series, which seems to be almost everyone. It is the most popular scripted series in the 18-49 demographic and the second most popular comedy period. </p><p> </p><p>Nina Tassler, CBS Entertainment President, said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">It doesn't take a theoretical physicist to see why this show is a BIG part of our comedy future. From ratings to critical acclaim to pop culture buzz, it's struck a chord on all levels. The creative genius of Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and the on-camera talents of an amazing young ensemble have created a comedy that will entertain viewers for a long time. We're proud to partner with Warner Bros. on another highly successful, long-running comedy.</div> </p><p> </p><p>No doubt. Do you watch <i>Big Bang Theory</i>? Who's your favorite character? Let us know in the comments section.</p> Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:40:50 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/998-more-big-bang-for-all.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/997-blackberry-is-looking-for-some-special-jobs.html <p>While RIM might have <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/989-ces-2011-blackberry-makes-a-power-play-with-playbook.html" class="UpStreamLink">wowed us with the BlackBerry PlayBook last week</a>, they are wowing us in a whole new way this week. Not because one of their products is so good but because one of their marketing people is so very, very bad. </p><p> </p><p>Someone at RIM decided to join the trend of cute, short domain names that get across a particular point. In this case, the company decided to register a domain to lead people directly to their hiring portal. Unfortunately, this domain was apparently never brought to the attention of anyone under the age of 60. If it had, I guarantee it would never have been registered by the company. </p><p> </p><p>What is the domain that caused all of this trouble? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/997-blackberry-is-looking-for-some-special-jobs.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 16 Jan 2011 13:57:57 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/997-blackberry-is-looking-for-some-special-jobs.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/996-verizon-to-start-selling-iphone-4-on-february-10.html <p>It's official - the longest running rumor in the technology industry was finally settled today as Verizon Wireless announced their new partnership with Apple to bring the company's iPhone 4 to Verizon's CDMA network. The phone will become available starting February 10 at Verizon Wireless stores, Apple stores and online. As of right now, there appears to be no third-party sales of the device. Sorry, Best Buy. </p><p> </p><p>There are a number of positives and negatives here. First of all, Verizon's 3G CDMA network has never been known for its data stability, so adding iPhones to the network could very well bring it to its knees. Also, 3G CDMA is incapable of making calls while accessing data, so many of the features that Apple has made a big deal about for years will not work on Verizon, such as talking to Bob while you find the address to a restaurant on Google. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the iPhone announcement and what it means for you, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/996-verizon-to-start-selling-iphone-4-on-february-10.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:44:28 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/996-verizon-to-start-selling-iphone-4-on-february-10.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/995-ces-2011-camtrol-the-ultimate-in-camera-control.html <p>Do you take photos or record video ever? Of course you do! Whether it is on your iPhone or a professional camera, there is one thing that is always a problem - stabilization. We found a product this year to solve that problem once and for all. </p><p> </p><p>It's called the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.camtrol.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Camtrol</a> and it does exactly what its name suggests - helps you control your camera. In simple terms, it is a combination between and handle and a cradle, but it is a lot more than that. This seemingly simple gadget takes all of the weight of the camera from your wrist and suspends it from your entire arm. If you are anything like me, when recording long videos, my wrist is the part that becomes the problem, so this thing is great. </p><p> </p><p>To read more about the Camtrol, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/995-ces-2011-camtrol-the-ultimate-in-camera-control.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:09:22 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/995-ces-2011-camtrol-the-ultimate-in-camera-control.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/990-ces-2011-wacom-makes-windows-simple-with-cintiq.html <p>We had the opportunity to check out Wacom's booth on the last day of the convention. For those who don't know, Wacom is the company who has perfected mouse replacement products for years now. Recently, their line of Bamboo products have made it easy for the amateur or beginning Photoshop and Premiere user to get step up to the plate and try out these products at a more affordable cost. </p><p> </p><p>At CES, Wacom was able to show off the Bamboo line, as well as their higher levels of their products - the Intuos and Cintiq series. As we roamed around the booth writing "PLuGHiTz Live!" on every tablet or screen that we could, we ran into an expert of the products, Tech Man Joe Sliger (that's what his badge said.) Joe has been using Wacom products for a long time now and is a true hardcore user of the Adobe suite and hasn't owned a mouse in 9 years. One of the products he was most excited about was the Cintiq 21. While the Bamboo and Intuos are add-on products that use a small pad and pen to use as your mouse, the Cintiq turns your entire desktop and computer workspace into a completely immersive tablet experience. The screen attaches with one cable down to your computer's tower and with touch and pressure sensitivities along with 21 inches of space, the Cintiq was a really cool product that we had the privilege to see in action from an expert. </p><p> </p><p>Want to learn more about this cool thing? Check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/990-ces-2011-wacom-makes-windows-simple-with-cintiq.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:05:12 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/990-ces-2011-wacom-makes-windows-simple-with-cintiq.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/989-ces-2011-blackberry-makes-a-power-play-with-playbook.html <p>This year the BlackBerry booth didn't have a wide range of selections for us to gawk over but they managed to impress us with their new 7" tablet called the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.blackberry.com/playbook" class="UpStreamLink">PlayBook</a>. For a long time now BlackBerry users, who are mostly business people, have relied on the stable services and equipment they provide to get things done. What most BlackBerry users can't forget about, because they have never had it, was a sleek and aesthetically appealing user interface to wrap things up in one awesome power tie, power suit, power device type package. </p><p> </p><p>Some of the things that impressed us so much are noticeable right off the bat. For one, the weight distribution was even throughout the device which gave it a nice solid feel in our hands and the functionality didn't end at the edge of the screen area. The PlayBook has a 1" bevel around the screen which has functionality similar to WebOS devices like the Palm Pre. For example, if you place your finger on the bevel above the top-right corner of the screen and slide it down, a little drop-down menu slides down with your finger and displays information like battery life and WiFi connection strength. Likewise, depending on where you slide your finger from the bevel onto the screen certain functions will be available on the full version of the OS. As far as we can tell all parts of the bevel will have some type of functionality. </p><p> </p><p>You want to know more about this device so hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/989-ces-2011-blackberry-makes-a-power-play-with-playbook.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:04:57 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/989-ces-2011-blackberry-makes-a-power-play-with-playbook.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/988-ces-2011-sennheiser-brings-active-noise-cancelling-to-earbuds.html <p>Sennheiser, along with making great microphones and headphones that we use every day in our studio, also announced a new array of noise cancelling headphones this week at CES 2011, as part of their mobility line, along with three other lines they showed off today. The difference? They've added digital cancellation features. </p><p> </p><p>Their CXC 700 in-ear travel earbuds have Sennheiser's exclusive NoiseGard /digital system. This enhancement allows you to select one of three noise-cancelling modes that take out different frequency ranges? </p><p> </p><p>How does it all work? Find out after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/988-ces-2011-sennheiser-brings-active-noise-cancelling-to-earbuds.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 07 Jan 2011 19:56:20 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/988-ces-2011-sennheiser-brings-active-noise-cancelling-to-earbuds.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/987-ces-2011-gm-makes-us-green-with-env.html <p>Day 2 of CES was even more mindblowing than the first, which I doubted was even possible. However, I'm okay with being proven wrong, this time by none other than <a target="NewWindow" href="http://media.gm.com/content/media/us/en/news/news_detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2011/Jan/0107_env" class="UpStreamLink">GM</a>. I also don't feel bad because they are pretty intelligent people. There are more automobile companies than ever this year at CES 2011, with Ford, Audi, Hyundai and General Motors just to name a few. All of them showcased their newest and shiniest models for the masses to gawk over but GM certainly has the most unique showing this year out of all the automobile companies and just maybe CES. </p><p> </p><p>To find out how GM made us green with EN-V, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/987-ces-2011-gm-makes-us-green-with-env.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 07 Jan 2011 19:55:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/987-ces-2011-gm-makes-us-green-with-env.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/986-ces-2011-the-swedish-sensations-fractal-design.html <p>The first day of CES was overwhelming to say the least. We stood in awe of many booths, showcasing many things, </p><p>almost all of which were very cool. But the most notable company we encountered today comes to us all the way from Sweden and proved to us yet again they are more than just meatballs. </p><p> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.fractal-design.com" class="UpStreamLink">Fractal Design</a> is a desktop computer case designer that is very well known throughout Eastern Europe, Korea, and Japan. They have traveled to the US in order to take on the sizable task of making a name for themselves here. We had the pleasure of meeting Paul Heimbuch who is the President of Fractal Design North America. He lead Scott, Nick, and myself up to their suite filling us in on some of the details as we went. After being warmly greeted by Hannis, the founder of the company, we had the pleasure of a short media presentation by his associate Yuan which explained to us in greater detail what sets them apart from tons of case designers out there. The presentation was then concluded by Hannis giving us the grand tour of the 3 product lines on display around the suite. </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about some cool cases and accessories you will want to get, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/986-ces-2011-the-swedish-sensations-fractal-design.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:50:37 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/986-ces-2011-the-swedish-sensations-fractal-design.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/985-ces-2011-android-headphones-for-the-masses.html <p>CES is always about new and interesting technology and this year is no exception. One piece of truly interesting tech I had the pleasure of experiencing today is the Admiral, a truly wireless all-powerful headset from NOX Audio. </p><p> </p><p>The headset looks similar in style to any Logitech computer headset - that is until you get closer. Upon further inspection you will discover that the Admiral has a retractable microphone, bluetooth, WiFi and a 2.4" touchscreen LCD running Android. </p><p> </p><p>Why is a headset running Android? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/985-ces-2011-android-headphones-for-the-masses.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:39:08 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/985-ces-2011-android-headphones-for-the-masses.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/984-postblog-ces-2011-microsoft-keynote.html <p>We have some key notes from the Microsoft Keynote that you might have missed during the liveblog. Follow the break for the notes and for a cool picture! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/984-postblog-ces-2011-microsoft-keynote.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:42:33 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/984-postblog-ces-2011-microsoft-keynote.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/983-ces-2011-microsoft-keynote-liveblog.html <p><iframe src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=680b062080/height=550/width=470" scrolling="no" height="550px" width="470px" frameBorder ="0" allowTransparency="true" ><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=680b062080" >PLuGHiTz Live! @ CES 2011 - Microsoft Keynote</a></iframe></p> Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:09:26 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/983-ces-2011-microsoft-keynote-liveblog.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/982-ces-2011-welcome-to-the-show.html <p>It's been nice having the last 2 weeks off, but it's time for us to get back to the grindstone and what better way to do that than a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada for the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011. </p><p> </p><p>Our crew is currently sitting in the press area of The Venetian taking in the sights of the first unofficial official day of the show. There are people from all aspects of the industry around us, from press, bloggers and analysts to executives from small start-up companies and large, international conglomerates. Everyone is running around preparing for the beginning of the full show. </p><p> </p><p>The real thing kicks off tonight here at the Las Vegas Hilton where Steve Balmer, CEO of Microsoft, will give his opening keynote speech. Following the keynote, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/radio" class="UpStreamLink">PLuGHiTz Live! Radio</a> will be broadcasting live for our CES 2011 Pre-Show. You'll want to follow our <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/PLuGHiTz-Live-Radio/163522722735" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook page</a> for the exact time because everything is up in the air. </p><p> </p><p>As the convention continues, keep following us here on The UpStream as well as Facebook for breaking news from the tech industry!</p> Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:01:11 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/982-ces-2011-welcome-to-the-show.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/981-ces-2011-salutations-from-las-vegas.html <p>I'm sitting here in the Venetian for Press Day at CES with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/1-scott-ertz.html" class="UpStreamLink">Scott</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/3-nick-woodward.html" class="UpStreamLink">Nick</a> and I've got to say there are a lot more MacBooks here than anticipated but the PC and mobile platforms are here in full force along with so many other things that literally I don't have enough hard drive capacity in my brain to write all the data. With over 20 Tech Zones and tons of industry makers here we will have a lot of content coming at you. You also won't want to miss our semi-exclusive interviews with industry leading companies and professionals. What's that? You want to know who? Then you better pay attention to our <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/PLuGHiTz-Live-Radio/163522722735" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook page</a> and The UpStream.</p> Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:58:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/981-ces-2011-salutations-from-las-vegas.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/980-a-new-way-to-watch-movies-on-your-phone.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone" class="UpStreamLink">Windows Phone 7</a> might be the new kid on the block, but some pretty big partners have already gotten on-board to produce exclusive applications for the platform. Most notably is the new series of Paramount movie apps. Since WinPho7 is entirely Silverlight based, it gives Paramount a perfect platform to produce video applications. </p><p> </p><p>The first of 10 planned titles is Jack Black's <i>School of Rock</i>. Included in the application is the ability to watch the full movie, cut out clips, see the special features, get movie trivia and play <i>Scene It?</i> based on the particular title. </p><p> </p><p>For more of the titles and the details, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/980-a-new-way-to-watch-movies-on-your-phone.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Dec 2010 16:35:17 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/980-a-new-way-to-watch-movies-on-your-phone.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/979-esrb-gives-parents-peace-of-mind-with-mobile-app.html <p>The <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp" class="UpStreamLink">Entertainment Software Rating Board</a>, ESRB, stepped up their game by entering the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10407024-52.html" class="UpStreamLink">mobile world last December</a> with an iPhone app that allowed the user to search for games by title only. And this year they have added a major feature which will allow users, or in most cases, concerned parents, to take a picture of the box art and get detailed information on the game. </p><p> </p><p>According to the ESRB the kind of detailed information made available will include, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">detailed, straight-forward explanation--including specific examples--of the content that factored into a game's rating. The goal is to ensure parents can make truly informed game choices for their children.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to watch the PR video the ESRB released for the new app. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/979-esrb-gives-parents-peace-of-mind-with-mobile-app.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Dec 2010 11:12:46 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/979-esrb-gives-parents-peace-of-mind-with-mobile-app.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/978-directv-nfl-sunday-ticket-to-webconnected-tvs-blurays-roku-boxee-and-apple-tv-yes-please.html <p>Oh man, I may have to jump up and down and rejoice if all of this turns out to me true. Break out the party streamers, the piñata, the lemonade, party hats and of course, the rumor alert siren as I have stumbled across an image that would make any NFL fan who doesn't have DirecTV lose their mind! DirecTV sent out a marketing research survey asking customers if they'd prefer to watch their NFL Sunday Ticket over the Internet instead of satellite. </p><p> </p><p>As you may or may not know, to receive any out-of-market NFL game, the only way to do it is either the illegal online stream route, or by subscribing to NFL Sunday Ticket as a premium add-on to DirecTV's satellite service. There are a lot of circumstances that prohibit signing up for DirecTV, such as trees, building placement or local laws. So, in essence, it only furthers the frustrations of many fans in the country. </p><p> </p><p>If you want to see the survey and have more info on this and why this is important, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/978-directv-nfl-sunday-ticket-to-webconnected-tvs-blurays-roku-boxee-and-apple-tv-yes-please.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:34:17 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/978-directv-nfl-sunday-ticket-to-webconnected-tvs-blurays-roku-boxee-and-apple-tv-yes-please.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/977-metropcs-brings-real-4g-network-to-boston-sacramento-and-nyc.html <p>Under normal circumstances, I'd be inclined to make fun of, downplay or otherwise have MetroPCS look foolish. With no contract, prepaid carriers, most of the time you get a service that is lackluster at best, relies on outdated technology and devices and gets placed last on the queue for connectivity to the towers, in which they do not own, only borrow when needed from the major carriers. </p><p> </p><p>However, the tide has turned, as T-Mobile has been in my crosshairs for over a month. I mentioned in November how T-Mobile has <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="UpStreamLink">lied about having a true 4G network</a> and that MetroPCS has had a real 4G device on a real 4G network for a while now. </p><p> </p><p>If you want to know how this all plays together, click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/977-metropcs-brings-real-4g-network-to-boston-sacramento-and-nyc.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:09:14 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/977-metropcs-brings-real-4g-network-to-boston-sacramento-and-nyc.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/976-p2p-user-wants-damages-to-drop-from-15-million-to-zero.html <p>It seems like only yesterday that P2P user Jammie Thomas-Rasset was <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=470" class="UpStreamLink">monetarily attacked by the RIAA</a> and a court ruling ordered her to pay $222,000. Then, after an appeal, another judge ruled she should pay $1.92 million and then after another appeal, $1.5 million. After the second verdict, the judge did say that all of those numbers are absolutely ridiculous and then decided that $54,000 is the maximum he could allow. </p><p> </p><p>Well, clearly it appears that the jurors didn't catch that memo and because of all the confusion and crazy numbers, defendant Jammie Thomas-Rasset feels that she has suffered enough by spending her time in court and thinks she should owe absolutely nothing. Her lawyers have motioned for the judge to minimize the damage owed to zero dollars and zero cents. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this crazy story, five years in the making, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/976-p2p-user-wants-damages-to-drop-from-15-million-to-zero.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Dec 2010 08:44:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/976-p2p-user-wants-damages-to-drop-from-15-million-to-zero.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/975-the-worlds-first-dualcore-phone-from-lg.html <p>I guess they just couldn't wait for CES 2011. LG this week announced the Optimus 2X, the world's first phone powered by a dual-core processor. What proc is powering this new powerhouse? The Nvidia Tegra 2, of course, running at 1GHz (times two, of course). </p><p> </p><p>In benchmarks, the device obviously overpowered devices like the Nexus One, Motorola Droid X and HTC Evo (currently the three fastest handsets running Android 2.2). Not surprising, given its dual-core wonderfulness. You can see the benchmarks on the right. </p><p> </p><p>What other traits does this phone have and will it be worth it? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/975-the-worlds-first-dualcore-phone-from-lg.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:38:19 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/975-the-worlds-first-dualcore-phone-from-lg.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/974-media-is-the-new-gaming.html <p>Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have planted multimedia Trojan horses in our living rooms in the form of videogame consoles. Until recently, these devices have been mainly used for gaming, but the winds are changing in video's favor. </p><p> </p><p>Nielsen released some statistics recently that show video usage on the consoles is definitely on the rise. 20% of all time spent on a Wii is spent with streaming video, mostly Netflix. Xbox users spend 10% and PS3 users spend 9% of their overall time streaming video. Some of these numbers are surprising and some not so much. </p><p> </p><p>To see which is which, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/974-media-is-the-new-gaming.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:16:42 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/974-media-is-the-new-gaming.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/973-chrome-enterprise-by-google-not-starfleet.html <p>Cloud: the final frontier. Well, probably not. However, Google CEO Eric Schmidt has big plans for Chrome OS <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/968-chrome-os-do-more-things-that-make-google-money.html" class="UpStreamLink">as we noted last week</a>. Their goals to increase ad revenue through a simple web based OS that will effectively move your everyday computing tasks completely to "the cloud," making the user more likely to search for things, is one goal. But the most notable is Google offering MSI for Chrome enterprise deployment. To clarify, a MSI is simply an installation engine that manages the maintenance and removal of software as well. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see if the Chrome MSI can help Google boldly go where only really Microsoft has gone before. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/973-chrome-enterprise-by-google-not-starfleet.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 18 Dec 2010 12:24:40 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/973-chrome-enterprise-by-google-not-starfleet.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/972-next-ipad-to-be-more-i-and-less-pad.html <p>The first generation of the iPad has been credited for launching the tablet market and is expected to sell 13 million units by the end of 2010, which is difficult to believe since I have only ever seen 1 out in the wild. I have even gone into various trendy places where this device would be likely to appear. The other ones were tethered to a Best Buy display. However, current part manufacturers for the iPad have been suggesting that a new version will be in the works and on shelves around April 2011. </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about Apple's next up and coming "revolutionary" device, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/972-next-ipad-to-be-more-i-and-less-pad.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:52:21 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/972-next-ipad-to-be-more-i-and-less-pad.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/971-netflix-and-disney-a-piece-of-heaven.html <p>Netflix is always looking for new ways to do what their users want - add more content. Their newest way of doing this is to strike a deal with Disney-ABC to allow for streaming of their content through their various streaming partners and website. </p><p> </p><p>While NBC, CBS and Fox all participate in Hulu, because they are all shareholders in the company, the Disney brands (not the ones used to mark their employees) has lacked behind in streaming options. Teaming up with Netflix seems to be the perfect pairing for them. </p><p> </p><p>What will be available? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/971-netflix-and-disney-a-piece-of-heaven.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:45:06 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/971-netflix-and-disney-a-piece-of-heaven.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/970-douchebag-steals-video-game-systems-from-cancer-patients.html <p>On December 9th a man broke into Carolinas Medical Center located in Charlotte, North Carolina. He preceded to make his way through the building up to a sixth floor office, stopping to glare at a security camera along the way. He then broke into the office, taking 5 video game systems with him, most of which were Xbox 360s. Of course many people are upset about this heinous crime. The local police force released a statement saying, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We are definitely making every attempt to get these gaming systems back to the young patients at Carolinas Medical Center so that they won't be deprived much longer from playing their favorite video game while enduring treatment for their illnesses.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For more on this story take a look at the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wsoctv.com/video/26089355/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">surveillance video</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.wsoctv.com/slideshow/news/26077553/detail.html" class="UpStreamLink">still pictures</a> from the footage. </p><p> </p><p>The culprit is clearly a loser that brings shame to the human race by stealing from cancer patients. And to add insult to injury most of the consoles taken were Xbox 360s. Really? He could have at least given them a break and stole more PS3s instead.</p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:27:45 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/970-douchebag-steals-video-game-systems-from-cancer-patients.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/969-uncharted-3-drakes-deception-exploring-uncharted-territory-the-desert.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.naughtydog.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Naughty Dog Software</a> recently announced a November 1st, 2011 release date for the much anticipated third installment of the series. It is going to be a PS3 exclusive title so I retract my previous "much anticipated" statement and replace it with just "anticipated". </p><p> </p><p>This time around, players will guide our "hero," Nathan, through the Arabian Desert in search of the "Atlantis of the Sands." Players can also expect stunning graphics and game play on par with previous games in the series. <i>Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception</i> will also release in Stereoscopic 3D. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to to see the teaser trailer and a screen shot. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/969-uncharted-3-drakes-deception-exploring-uncharted-territory-the-desert.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 16:33:46 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/969-uncharted-3-drakes-deception-exploring-uncharted-territory-the-desert.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/968-chrome-os-do-more-things-that-make-google-money.html <p>Not much time has passed since Google <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/951-google-to-open-shiniest-store-ever-on-december-7th.html" class="UpStreamLink">announced the Chrome Store and unveiled Chrome OS</a>, but on December 10th Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced several updates about Chrome and Chrome OS. He also went on to say that these announcements were some of the most important in his work life. If you would like to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/cloud-computing-latest-chapter-in-epic.html" class="UpStreamLink">read the full blog by Schmidt</a> you can find out more about his history and reasoning behind the future success of Chrome OS. </p><p> </p><p>If you opted out of reading Schmidt's blog post, it can basically be summarized like this. In the 1970s and 1980s there were few new ideas pertaining to computer science. After all "3M" machines (one megapixel, one megahertz, and one megabit) were big in the 80s and that was quite an accomplishment then but still not enough to really do anything by todays standards, or the standards 10 years ago for that matter. Eventually the web came around and like computers in their infancy, the web was only useful as a source of information and couldn't really do much. That was until 1997 when Oracle announced the advent of "the network computer." Which gave rise to the idea of "the cloud" which Google fancies quite a bit. Google also believes that with HTML 5 the web has reached the point where cloud computing is viable. </p><p> </p><p>To find out how Chrome OS is going to make Google even more rich, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/968-chrome-os-do-more-things-that-make-google-money.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:33:56 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/968-chrome-os-do-more-things-that-make-google-money.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/967-speed-camera-lottery-win-money-by-following-the-law.html <p>You never know what you might get from Germany. Sometimes it is <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/21-rockstar-attacks-simpsons-game-again.html" class="UpStreamLink">Anti-Simpsons fighting</a> and sometimes it is creativity. Today I would like to focus on the latter. </p><p> </p><p>Volkswagon, the company that forever changed terrible cars, ran a contest called Fun Theory, in which the winner designed what they call the Speed Camera Lottery. How does this work? Well, if you are caught speeding, they send you a ticket. Very creative, right? If you are NOT speeding, however, you are entered into a lottery to win the money the speeders pay with their tickets. </p><p> </p><p>Want to see this thing in action and hear the creator talk about his creation? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/967-speed-camera-lottery-win-money-by-following-the-law.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:17:55 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/967-speed-camera-lottery-win-money-by-following-the-law.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/966-frontfacing-cameras-for-the-rest-of-us.html <p>CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2011 is coming up quickly, January 5, and we are starting to see a lot of cool new devices that we may or may not see on the show floor. This week's exploration into the new is called OneMoreFace. It is an adapter you add to the top of your smartphone to add a forward-facing camera. </p><p> </p><p>Right now the device is only a prototype and only designed for the HTC Google Nexus One, but the designer has promised commercial viability in the near future. I also expect to see this start showing up for other smartphones that are missing the popular Qik-enabling feature. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know how this works? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/966-frontfacing-cameras-for-the-rest-of-us.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:55:57 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/966-frontfacing-cameras-for-the-rest-of-us.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/965-anonymous-hacking-101-for-tools.html <p>Coming off the heels of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/856-operation-payback.html" class="UpStreamLink">Operation: Payback</a> where the "hacker" group Anonymous set its sights on taking down <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.aiplex.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Aiplex Software</a> with coordinated DDoS (denial-of-service) attacks. Now, Anonymous has set their sights on four major players involved in the recent WikiLeaks scandals. </p><p> </p><p>To find out who and how, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/965-anonymous-hacking-101-for-tools.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 10:32:51 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/965-anonymous-hacking-101-for-tools.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/964-apache-leaves-the-java-board.html <p>While the Apache Foundation may be <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/942-google-goes-apache-on-the-wave.html" class="UpStreamLink">taking over responsibility of Google Wave</a>, they will be resigning their responsibilities on the Java SE/EE Executive Committee. They do so after 10 years on the board responsible for maintaining standards for Java across the software industry. </p><p> </p><p>Before we get into the reasons they left, let's talk about their tenure. In the 10 years with the organization, Apache has been "Member of the Year" 4 times. They also were voted for another term by 95%, far more than needed. Obviously everyone liked them. </p><p> </p><p>So, why are they leaving? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/964-apache-leaves-the-java-board.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 01:43:32 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/964-apache-leaves-the-java-board.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/963-rivals-intel-and-amd-declare-in-unison-death-to-vga.html <p>Hi, I'm an Intel. And I'm an AMD. We don't really get along, nor will we ever agree on nanoprocessors or being <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4T3a1xDT3U" class="UpStreamLink">hardcore with hexacore.</a> But one thing is for certain: we are sick of analog video display outputs; specifically, VGA! </p><p> </p><p>This week Intel and AMD announced that they are teaming up with the help of Dell, Lenovo, Samsung and LG to completely remove VGA by 2015 and to focus only on HDMI and DisplayPort. </p><p> </p><p>Want more news on the obsoletion? Click the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/963-rivals-intel-and-amd-declare-in-unison-death-to-vga.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 01:19:50 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/963-rivals-intel-and-amd-declare-in-unison-death-to-vga.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/962-blizzard-loses-their-data.html <p>It may seem impossible to steal Blizzard's title as Titan of the MMO world. It is however easy to steal their confidential documents revealing a new game titled <i>Titan</i>. Blizzard's plans for the next 5 years were leaked onto the Internet this week revealing lots of expansions, a movie and a new game. </p><p> </p><p>The leaks seem to originate in the Activision Blizzard offices and China and shortly after general manager Ye Weilun left the company. There is no telling if he was the direct source of the leak or if he was the unfortunate director of someone who did but suffice it to say, this really solidifies the Chinese theory. </p><p> </p><p>For details from the leaks, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/962-blizzard-loses-their-data.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 01:10:25 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/962-blizzard-loses-their-data.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/961-youtube-blocked-and-reblocked-in-turkey-some-users-get-more-than-15-minutes-of-fame.html <p>In an effort to combine two seemingly noteworthy bullet points into one small anecdote of news on your RSS feed, YouTube is in the news this week. Did you know that in Turkey you couldn't get on YouTube since 2008? That is until this week, when a Turkish court removed the two-year block on the site. However, shortly after the ruling and lifting of the ban, YouTube was blocked yet again in Turkey and users were seeing a blank screen along with some text informing them of the block that was part of the original May 2008 court ruling. </p><p> </p><p>The reason? Apparently the Turkish republic founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, found four videos on the site very offensive and demanded them to be removed. The only issue here is that those videos were taken down two years ago. The Turkish userbase apparently caused enough ruckus that YouTube was unblocked again not soon after the reban. We've tried to contact the Turkish Telecommunications Transmission Directorate and Google for comment, but have been unsuccessful in receiving a response. We do know that the two parties will be meeting sometime soon to discuss the matter. </p><p> </p><p>In other YouTubian news, Google has decided who gets to wear a gold star in the community. Starting this week, "selected users" will be allowed to go beyond the constraints of that pesky, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/762-youtubes-15-minutes-of-fame.html" class="UpStreamLink">yet newly-set time limit of 15 minutes for videos</a>. Google has said, "as long as it's your original content, it's fair game regardless of length." That's what she said?</p> Sun, 12 Dec 2010 00:06:00 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/961-youtube-blocked-and-reblocked-in-turkey-some-users-get-more-than-15-minutes-of-fame.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/960-tmobile-lies-some-more-4g-tablets-coming-in-2011.html <p>Okay, enough, T-Mobile. Just because Sprint is announcing a 4G tablet in 2011 doesn't mean you have to do the same, especially since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="UpStreamLink">you don't even have a 4G network.</a> We haven't heard anything of the platform or even the brand that the tablet will be on, only the fact that T-Mobile is still trying to fit in with the cool kids by using all these fancy buzzwords. I think it's because everybody except pre-teens and grannies have moved on to better carriers with more reliable and faster networks. </p><p> </p><p>Here's what T-Mobile has to say about it. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">T-Mobile is working closely with the majority of our OEM partners to deliver 4G products by integrating HSPA+ into roadmaps in 2011 as the dominant global standard. Consumers will continue to see HSPA+ fuel future innovation in a variety of mobile consumer electronics from smartphones and tablets to emerging devices. T-Mobile will continue to be at the forefront of wireless innovation, delivering an aggressive 4G product lineup in 2011, including 4G tablets.</div> </p><p> </p><p>I can't believe they used the terms '4G' and 'HSPA+' in the same sentence only separated by a few words and thought that people wouldn't notice. So expect a 3G+ tablet in 2011, folks.</p> Sat, 11 Dec 2010 23:53:50 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/960-tmobile-lies-some-more-4g-tablets-coming-in-2011.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/959-xbox-360-still-on-the-success-train.html <p>As we reported last month, media group NPD has <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/882-microsoft-boasts-sales-numbers-amid-npd-report-changes.html" class="UpStreamLink">changed the way they report on gaming hardware and software sales</a> but that didn't stop Microsoft from boasting how awesome they did. This month turned out to be no different than the last, as Microsoft yet again rained down heavy droplets of success unto their competition and danced in the praise that NPD gave them, adding some of their own sentences of superiority in the process. </p><p> </p><p>Want to see how well they did? Follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/959-xbox-360-still-on-the-success-train.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Dec 2010 23:45:43 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/959-xbox-360-still-on-the-success-train.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/958-sue-google-then-visit-the-dollar-menu.html <p>Google Street View is no stranger to scandal or bad publicity but no matter how hated it is, it just can't seem to take a hint. Sure you can opt out of Street View rather easily but it's just not as fun as a lawsuit, which is exactly how the Boring family felt after taking Google to court in 2008. </p><p> </p><p>Ultimately, a Pennsylvania district judge threw the case out in 2009 but in February 2010 the appeals court allowed Aaron and Christine Boring to pursue compensation for the charges of privacy violation, trespassing, and negligence. After, 2 years of annoying Google as well as the courts they did finally prevail and were justly compensated for their efforts in the amount of $1. That's right, $1, and this is what the courts had to say about it. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Of course, it may well be that, when it comes to proving damages from the alleged trespass, the Borings are left to collect one dollar and whatever sense of vindication that may bring.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Google got owned....well not really, but at least this lawsuit wasn't boring.</p> Sun, 05 Dec 2010 16:07:07 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/958-sue-google-then-visit-the-dollar-menu.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/957-ftc-says-dont-track-me-broon-the-internet.html <p>The FTC is getting paranoid about the lack of uniformity pertaining to privacy rules and information tacking on the Internet. Essentially, they want the industry to set standards in place that allow more simplified privacy policies and simple methods for people to opt out of having their journey through the interwebz documented like a National Geographic special. </p><p> </p><p>A normal person might think it's odd that the FTC wants to use "cookies" as a "one stop shop" for people to relay their choices but the FTC doesn't. In fact, it is their recommendation to solve the problem. FTC Chair Jon Leibowitz gives his perspective below, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">A 'do not track' browser setting would serve as an easy one stop shop for consumers to express their choices, rather than on a company-by-company basis.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out if you have a say in all of this. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/957-ftc-says-dont-track-me-broon-the-internet.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Dec 2010 14:24:24 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/957-ftc-says-dont-track-me-broon-the-internet.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/956-verizons-4g-launches-today-10gb-data-for-80.html <p>Today marks the day that Verizon Wireless has activated their fourth-gen LTE network. Verizon looks to launch in 30 cities by the end of the year and give its users a boost of 10x the speed of their 3G EVDO network. Along with the announcement of the 4G switch being turned on, the wireless company also announced its data package for the network, of course, in a tiered setup. You can get 5GB of data for $50 or 10GB for $80. </p><p> </p><p>Want to see the cities and devices compatible? Follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/956-verizons-4g-launches-today-10gb-data-for-80.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Dec 2010 09:49:26 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/956-verizons-4g-launches-today-10gb-data-for-80.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/955-rumored-playstation-phone-filmed-in-natural-habitat-possibly.html <p>On December 1st, a Greek blogger got to have some up close and personal experience with the elusive PlayStation Phone. The actual model is the Sony Ericcson Z1, which is supposed to be running Android 2.3. </p><p> </p><p>To see what all the hype is about <i>Cloverfied</i> style, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/955-rumored-playstation-phone-filmed-in-natural-habitat-possibly.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Dec 2010 09:39:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/955-rumored-playstation-phone-filmed-in-natural-habitat-possibly.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/954-droid-does-explode-in-your-ear.html <p>Only in Texas. Cedar Hill resident Aron Embry was using his new Motorola Droid 2 phone when suddenly he heard a pop and then, after pulling the phone from his ear, he noticed his ear was bleeding. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">I heard a pop. I didn't feel any pain initially. I pulled the phone down. I felt something dripping. I realized that it probably was blood. I went into the house and as I got into the bathroom and once I got to the mirror and saw it, it was only then I kinda looked at my phone and noticed the screen had appeared to burst outward.</div> </p><p> </p><p>The man, 30, was rushed to the hospital to get stitches and luckily did not have any hearing loss. </p><p> </p><p>This isn't the first time a user has had problems with a mobile device. We all know about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/09/07/30/iphone.3g.catches.fire/" class="UpStreamLink">Apple's hot pants situation</a>. </p><p> </p><p>Motorola has stated it is not aware of other issues like this and stands firm on saying this is an isolated incident. The company will be speaking with Embry and plans to fully investigate the matter. From what I understand, Bluetooth devices haven't exploded as of yet.</p> Sun, 05 Dec 2010 09:36:03 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/954-droid-does-explode-in-your-ear.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/953-onlive-playpack-offers-monthly-subscription-for-unlimited-gaming.html <p>It looks like OnLive is getting their act together. Coming off of the heels of their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/928-onlive-presents-microconsole-computer-for-your-gaming-enjoyment.html" class="UpStreamLink">OnLive Game System release</a>, the company has announced a new service for its customers, the OnLive PlayPack (BETA). </p><p> </p><p>With OnLive PlayPack, consumers can play all the games that they so desire, for as long as they want to, instantly without needing to download, insert a disc or update the game. At only $9.99/mo and with no contract, OnLive now has a very Netflix or Hulu-like promotion, not to mention it already has over fifteen titles available and it's only in BETA. </p><p> </p><p>The coolest part about this is the fact that until January 14th, the service is FREE to anyone who has the $99 OnLive Game System. So head over to the source link, pickup the console, sign up to the service and start gaming until your fingers explode!</p> Sun, 05 Dec 2010 09:00:41 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/953-onlive-playpack-offers-monthly-subscription-for-unlimited-gaming.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/952-kinect-sells-25m-in-25-days-beats-move-and-ipad.html <p>I shall silence the individuals who claim motion gaming will ruin the gaming industry forever, that they will miss their buttons and that motion gaming will never be popular and refute them by saying 2.5 million people disagree. That is because Microsoft announced this week that the Kinect for Xbox 360 sold 2.5 million units in just 25 days! It should be noted that this number indicates units <i>sold to consumers</i>, not shipped to stores. </p><p> </p><p>This paragraph left intentionally separate to specifically inform that 2.5 million units sold is twice as fast as the Sony Move, which sold 1 million in its first month and it is double that of the iPad which took two months to hit 2 million. Boosh. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft's president of Interactive Entertainment Business, Dan Mattrick, said this in a press statement, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We are thrilled about the consumer response to Kinect, and are working hard with our retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments of Kinect to restock shelves as fast as possible to keep up with demand. With sales already exceeding two and a half million units in just 25 days, we are on pace to reach our forecast of 5 million units sold to consumers this holiday.</div> </p><p> </p><p>5 million by January? That's an awesome number to reach if they do indeed get there. Some analysts and fanboys are claiming that Microsoft got to cheat by releasing the Kinect right before Black Friday. My response to that is that Sony and Apple had the same right to the day and that release dates are not owned by certain companies. </p><p> </p><p>My hat is off to Microsoft and to the consumers for getting behind this new gaming enhancement. Now it's up to the developers to come up with some more exciting games for the platform. Please, do not makes a <i>Dodecahedron Sports Delta Plus</i>.</p> Sun, 05 Dec 2010 08:53:40 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/952-kinect-sells-25m-in-25-days-beats-move-and-ipad.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/951-google-to-open-shiniest-store-ever-on-december-7th.html <p>Last Friday Google sent out a bunch of e-mails that quickly circulated through the tech community about a "Chrome-centric" event taking place on December 7th, and for everyone (who got the invite) to come to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://dogpatchstudios.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Dogpatch Studios</a> and check it out. There is plenty of speculation about what exactly Google might be up to this time but we can narrow the possibilities down to two. </p><p> </p><p>In order to find out what those are you have to hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/951-google-to-open-shiniest-store-ever-on-december-7th.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Dec 2010 08:48:40 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/951-google-to-open-shiniest-store-ever-on-december-7th.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/950-microsoft-presents-xbox-live-rewards-program.html <p>All my PlayStation Network fans can take yet another step back and maybe bring themselves closer to admitting that Xbox Live is the superior online gaming network. This week, Microsoft brought to life a way to reward its Xbox Live users by simply using the service and spending tons of Microsoft Points. They call it the Xbox Live Rewards Program. </p><p> </p><p>As soon as I received the email about it from Xbox, I immediately signed up, long before the news outlets got hold of the story. Why? Its perks far outweigh the two minutes it took to fill out the simple form. </p><p> </p><p>What all does this new program give you? Follow the break to reward your brain with that knowledge. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/950-microsoft-presents-xbox-live-rewards-program.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Dec 2010 08:38:54 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/950-microsoft-presents-xbox-live-rewards-program.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/949-ces-2011-kenwoods-pandora-radios.html <p>I am starting out this year's CES coverage with a little info about some new products we will be seeing at this year's show. Kenwood will be showing off 9 new car head units that have the ability to control Pandora. </p><p> </p><p>Here's the killer - it will only work with iPhones connected directly through USB. This, of course, leaves out a lot of users. Such as, the largest collection of mobile phone users - Android. </p><p> </p><p>That failing aside, this feature will be available in several series of radios. All of their new in-dash nav systems will have it, the top tier CD-based systems as well as the two CD-less units will also be equipped. </p><p> </p><p>Despite the oversight of Android phones, this seems like it could be a cool new trend in head units. It would be nice to control Pandora from the radio instead of having to use the phone. Having to plug the phone directly into the unit is a little annoying and the fact that it won't work with Android, BlackBerry or webOS phones is also frustrating but maybe we will see this addition in the future.</p> Sat, 04 Dec 2010 23:58:47 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/949-ces-2011-kenwoods-pandora-radios.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/948-activision-thinks-mobile-and-social-are-dead.html <p>Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision, has decided he either doesn't understand the way the gaming industry is moving or wants to be different from everyone else. To prove it, he announced at the Reuters Media Summit that Activision will not be pursuing mobile and social gaming like the rest of the industry. He believes his company is doing just fine as-is, minus closing two studios a few weeks ago. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The place where you have the opportunities for growth is within the communities of franchises we control... We don't view the App Store as a really big opportunity for dedicated games... It's a different question assessing it as a business opportunity. Right now we don't see an opportunity for us to participate in that market.</div> </p><p> </p><p>What does this mean for Activision? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/948-activision-thinks-mobile-and-social-are-dead.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Dec 2010 23:31:13 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/948-activision-thinks-mobile-and-social-are-dead.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/947-paypal-mobile-payments-coming-soon.html <p>Scott Thompson, The president of PayPal, not the actor from <i>Kids in the Hall</i>, sees a very bright future for PayPal. In fact, he is so optimistic at its success that he reassures the board of eBay, the parent company, that he is not trying to overtake them every time they meet. </p><p> </p><p>In all reality, the board knows full well that by 2014, PayPal's revenue will be larger than eBay's. Why? Because PayPal deals with over 8 million merchants around the world - one of them is eBay. They are able to grow like this because they see trends in technology, implement them better than anyone and then own the market. The next technology they plan to own is mobile payments. </p><p> </p><p>To see how they plan to do this and for a little history on the company, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/947-paypal-mobile-payments-coming-soon.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Dec 2010 12:13:08 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/947-paypal-mobile-payments-coming-soon.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/946-microsoft-to-expand-xbox-tv-service.html <p>Ever since the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/e32009.php" class="UpStreamLink">Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009</a>, Microsoft has been making a big deal about wanting the Xbox 360 to be the center of your entertainment experience in the livingroom. With 2009's introduction of Xbox Live Party and the Primetime channel, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/272-xbox-live-now-with-features.html" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook and Twitter</a> and of course <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/194-netflix-payperdownload.html" class="UpStreamLink">Netflix</a> and 2010's introduction of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/695-e3-2010-espn-and-xbox-now-playing-for-the-same-team.html" class="UpStreamLink">ESPN</a> and enhanced Netflix capabilities, they have been living up to that commitment. </p><p> </p><p>Well, Microsoft wants to take a major step forward with the project in the next 12 months by adding full television stations to their already massive online community. They are looking to go after services like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/907-hulu-plus-open-to-all-us-residents-bravia-and-ps3-users-included.html" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu Plus</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/865-google-tv-eyes-hulu-plus.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google TV</a>, who already have a following. However, Xbox Live is the most active online community, so it could be pretty easy if they do it right. </p><p> </p><p>For details on what could be available, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/946-microsoft-to-expand-xbox-tv-service.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 04 Dec 2010 11:46:18 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/946-microsoft-to-expand-xbox-tv-service.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/945-super-talent-raiddrive-for-usb-30.html <p>As far as flash drives go you can certainly say that the Super Talent USB 3.0 RAIDDrive is impressive and not just because of the many capital letters that scream "performance!" at you like a Powerthrist commercial. As the name subtly suggests this isn't a mere flash drive, its a RAIDDrive, that consists of 2 SSDs (Solid State Drives) in a Raid 0 configuration. USB 2.0 would not be able to keep up with the 371MB/sec read speeds and 185MB/sec write speeds which is why you will need USB 3.0 and their UAS Protocol driver. </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about the "talent" and see a video hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/945-super-talent-raiddrive-for-usb-30.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 17:04:58 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/945-super-talent-raiddrive-for-usb-30.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/944-kinects-joy-ride-works-without-you-working.html <p>There's not much I can say about this. I ran across a video from a YouTuber by the name of GELTONZ who posted a gameplay clip of him playing <i>Joy Ride</i> for the Kinect. Normal enough, you would think, except he showed himself sitting down, keeping his hands still, not moving at all, and the game was being played for him! </p><p> </p><p>It appears the game has some sort of auto-steering correct feature, I guess to tailor to all age groups, as after racing 3 laps of nearly identical racing lines, he placed third out of eight. He didn't even move! What blows me away is the fact that he has to exert no energy other than sitting down and keeping perfectly still and the game played it all for him, steering and acceleration included. Weird. Can anyone explain this? </p><p> </p><p>Rumor has it that this game could be the <i>Gran Turismo 5</i> killer, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/941-gran-turismo-5-is-finally-here-well-the-boxes-are.html" class="UpStreamLink">if the discs that shipped actually have content on it.</a> </p><p> </p><p>Want to see the video? Hit the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/944-kinects-joy-ride-works-without-you-working.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:28:22 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/944-kinects-joy-ride-works-without-you-working.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/943-swastikas-are-not-the-way-to-win-on-xbox-live.html <p>Microsoft's community czar, Stephen Toulouse, has had an interesting career. It seems he steps in it every time he appears in the public, either in person or in writing. I believe we all remember the gamer who was banned for <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/823-gamer-suspended-from-xbox-live-for-living-in-west-virginia.html" class="UpStreamLink">living in a town named Fort Gay</a>. </p><p> </p><p>This week's faux pas comes to us via Twitter. He was asked, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Hey, I'm not a genocidal hater of Jews but I really love the design of the swastika because its actually used by numerous religions, can I use it as my Call Of Duty: Black Ops logo? SWASTIKAS ARE AWESOME.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For his reaction, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/943-swastikas-are-not-the-way-to-win-on-xbox-live.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:21:47 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/943-swastikas-are-not-the-way-to-win-on-xbox-live.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/942-google-goes-apache-on-the-wave.html <p>Google Wave is not as dead as we expected. Google and Novell have submitted to the Apache Software Foundation that they take over the majority of codebase from Google Wave. While the move is a bit odd, it isn't a huge surprise. </p><p> </p><p>After <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/767-wave-goodbye-to-google-wave.html" class="UpStreamLink">shutting down Google Wave</a> earlier this year, Google decided to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/816-google-moves-wave-from-the-cloud-to-the-box.html" class="UpStreamLink">make its source code available</a> to the open source community. We just were not sure exactly how it was going to go from an internal project to the Wave in a Box they wanted. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out how this is any different from just releasing the source code. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/942-google-goes-apache-on-the-wave.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 15:01:27 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/942-google-goes-apache-on-the-wave.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/941-gran-turismo-5-is-finally-here-well-the-boxes-are.html <p>The 5 year wait for the 5th release in the epic <i>Gran Turismo</i> franchise might very well have come to an end. The game has shipped out to retailers and there is even some online game play footage. But let's not pop the champaign just yet. Anyone who has followed the franchise at all will not be able to kick their Perkaset addictions until it's actually in their PS3 and being played, by them. Especially after the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/916-we-dont-believe-it-either-gran-turismo-5-releasing-november-24th.html" class="UpStreamLink">recent release date shenanigans</a> that Sony and Polyphony have pulled. Also, as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/1-scott-ertz.html" class="UpStreamLink">Scott</a> mentioned to me, we saw footage of <i>Spore</i> 2 years before the game actually released. </p><p> </p><p>To see some of the game play footage and the hilarious Sony commercial hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/941-gran-turismo-5-is-finally-here-well-the-boxes-are.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:53:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/941-gran-turismo-5-is-finally-here-well-the-boxes-are.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/940-wifi-cars-to-become-standard.html <p>Have you encountered a vehicle that has WiFi built-in? We did <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/ces2010.php" class="UpStreamLink">last year at CES 2010</a> but not really in the wild. It seems to be similar to the iPad (have any of you seen one of THOSE in the wild?). The reason is because this year only 174,000 units have shipped worldwide. Not a terribly impressive number. </p><p> </p><p>On the other hand, by 2017, it is expected that around 7.2 million units will ship worldwide, with about half making it to the US. That is an impressive number, no matter what Nintendo thinks. 1.1 million of those units will ship as aftermarket in the US, which means somewhere in the vicinity of 2.5 million will ship as part of a vehicle from the manufacturer. </p><p> </p><p>What does this mean and why is it important? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/940-wifi-cars-to-become-standard.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:45:11 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/940-wifi-cars-to-become-standard.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/939-sirius-and-xm-canada-companies-merge.html <p>I don't know about all of you, but we here at the show love the merger of Sirius and XM and all the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=pPPa6vu276Q&offerid=129871.10000042&subid=0&type=4" class="UpStreamLink">cool new stuff they have to offer.</a> But who knew that Sirius Canada and XM Canada didn't merge yet after the US counterparts have merged well over a year ago? I know I didn't. This week, the two companies announced their plans to merge forces to create a super satellite sound alliance! </p><p> </p><p>The $520 million mashup, no <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.myspace.com/pressroom/2010/11/myspace-introduces-mashup-with-facebook/" class="UpStreamLink">my_____ pun</a> intended, will take two competing companies and align them side by side to make a 1.7 million audience base. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the extraterrestrial squish, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/939-sirius-and-xm-canada-companies-merge.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:18:37 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/939-sirius-and-xm-canada-companies-merge.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/938-google-reaches-out-to-nondisney.html <p>With Google TV <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/937-viacom-joins-others-to-block-their-content-from-google-tv.html" class="UpStreamLink">taking a big hit this week</a>, they are looking for other ways to bolster their video streaming offerings. They believe that an agreement with Miramax studios would be a quick and easy way to accomplish this goal. </p><p> </p><p>Miramax, currently part of Walt Disney Corporation, is set to be purchased by a holding company and Google's people have been in discussions with the new owners to get the rights of distribution to the more than 700 titles available in the Miramax library, including <i>No Country For Old Men</i> and <i>Finding Neverland Blu-ray</i>. </p><p> </p><p>How might this affect you? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/938-google-reaches-out-to-nondisney.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 13:52:33 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/938-google-reaches-out-to-nondisney.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/937-viacom-joins-others-to-block-their-content-from-google-tv.html <p>I know we haven't really discussed Google TV and their happenings, but we figured everyone understood that it could be a really cool product but somehow Google would find another way to "implement now, fix later" and it would fail something epic. Miraculously, big box retailers, the media, the press and everyone else had other plans and have taken Google TV under their wings and tried to make it fly. I guess the word "Google" in Google TV didn't give away that it was made by the same corporation that couldn't even get Buzz to buzz. </p><p> </p><p>At any rate, Google TV's initial ad campaign was interesting and the product was slowly taking off. Well, that simply cannot happen, so the last frontier, the final line of defense, the TV companies have decided to take matters into their own hands and take out Google TV themselves. </p><p> </p><p>How and who, you ask? Well I have that information for you, after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/937-viacom-joins-others-to-block-their-content-from-google-tv.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 09:44:37 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/937-viacom-joins-others-to-block-their-content-from-google-tv.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/936-netflix-adjusts-prices-offers-streamingonly-package.html <p>Everyone asked for it and I suppose after Hulu announced its <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/926-hulu-plus-slashes-its-monthly-price-for-real-this-time.html" class="UpStreamLink">official price tier for Hulu Plus,</a> it was time for Netflix to make its move. </p><p> </p><p>To compete with Hulu's $7.99/month Hulu Plus pricing, Netflix's new streaming-only package comes in at $7.99/month and includes its Starz Play service. For everyone else, the price is going up. The basic 1 DVD at-a-time package will now run $9.99/month and of course, still comes with Netflix's streaming capabilities. </p><p> </p><p>Want the whole new pricing structure in a fancy chart? Follow the break to get it and to find out about what happens if you are already on a plan. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/936-netflix-adjusts-prices-offers-streamingonly-package.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 28 Nov 2010 09:07:06 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/936-netflix-adjusts-prices-offers-streamingonly-package.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/935-will-web-viewers-accept-bigger-ad-loads.html <p>Take a moment to think about how many commercials you've seen throughout your life. Now try to quantify that number in terms of time spent watching them. I'm sure that number would be quite high unless you're 4 years old, in which case you probably aren't reading this. From a consumer perspective we develop a love-hate relationship with them and for a little while viewers of web content have enjoyed much less exposure and generally more relevantly targeted ads. This could all come to a swift end shortly due to some revealing research. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out what the findings are. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/935-will-web-viewers-accept-bigger-ad-loads.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 27 Nov 2010 19:49:28 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/935-will-web-viewers-accept-bigger-ad-loads.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/934-justin-bieber-rivals-black-friday-on-twitter.html <p>It's that time of year where turkey, relentless TV ads, and a rainforest's worth of junk mail floods mailboxes across the country in an effort to get "out of the red and into the black." Traditional media services have always been the driving force behind the millions upon millions of dollars spent every year on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.blackfriday2010.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Black Friday advertising</a> and as more time goes by social media is finding a growing importance with their role. </p><p> </p><p>What's their role and are they doing a good job? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/934-justin-bieber-rivals-black-friday-on-twitter.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:27:23 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/934-justin-bieber-rivals-black-friday-on-twitter.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/933-space-club-worth-much-more-than-earth-cows.html <p>The concept of spending real money on virtual items isn't anything out of this world. Millions of people already do that in <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.farmville.com/" class="UpStreamLink">FarmVille</a>, but in <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.entropiaplatform.com/3d-internet/" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Entropia Universe</i></a> cows are so much more than just a few Mac Worlds ago and so much less expensive. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out just how many and just how much so. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/933-space-club-worth-much-more-than-earth-cows.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 21 Nov 2010 16:56:34 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/933-space-club-worth-much-more-than-earth-cows.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/932-intel-to-help-nfl-analyze-concussions-with-chips-place-inside-helmets.html <p>This is pretty cool. Intel, along with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/888-intel-creates-jobs-plans-to-spend-8-billion-on-new-factory-upgrades.html" class="UpStreamLink">creating jobs</a> and working on new microprocessors is also going to help the NFL. This week Intel said they were working on utilizing their Atom chips in a way so that they can be placed inside NFL players' helmets and give real-time impact and G-force data to the medical staff on the sidelines during the game. This will allow the staff to remove players when forces exceed set limits, or allow them to react faster to serious injuries in those pile-ups that occur. We have no set time frame or date that this will happen, but it's another step in the right direction for players of high-speed, high-impact games. </p><p> </p><p>Intel has helped the NFL in the past, too. They worked with scholastic research teams to develop the Head Impact Telemetry System that runs simulations of head injuries and are also working with Mayo Clinic to improve cranial scans using supercomputers with their new 22nm processors that can increase head scan speeds by 18 times what they currently can produce.</p> Sun, 21 Nov 2010 16:38:45 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/932-intel-to-help-nfl-analyze-concussions-with-chips-place-inside-helmets.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/931-hey-tmobile-att-has-a-3g-network-80-of-it-hspa.html <p>HSPA, where have I heard that before? Oh yes, it was talked about when 3G technologies were new and upcoming and improving and developing and all that good stuff. Now, we have HSPA+, which is 2.5x faster than the former HSPA network. To summarize, both of these networks are third generation technology. With me so far? Good. </p><p> </p><p>Where am I going with this? Follow me after the break to find out! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/931-hey-tmobile-att-has-a-3g-network-80-of-it-hspa.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 21 Nov 2010 16:19:20 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/931-hey-tmobile-att-has-a-3g-network-80-of-it-hspa.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/930-microsoft-decided-kinect-is-open-and-therefore-not-hacked.html <p>Last week Microsoft talked about Kinect not being hacked by NUI Group, an open-source conglomeration of of developers and programmers, but merely that they wrote "drivers" allowing the device to be used on different platforms. None of that has changed but this week they are doing flip-flopping on some other issues concerning their intentions with Kinect. </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about Microsoft's recent j/k, lol, we didn't mean it. Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/930-microsoft-decided-kinect-is-open-and-therefore-not-hacked.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 21 Nov 2010 16:14:37 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/930-microsoft-decided-kinect-is-open-and-therefore-not-hacked.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/929-winpho-7-devices-for-verizon-for-the-holidays.html <p>Microsoft's been on a Tweet craze lately. After announcing that the 'Series' from 'Windows Phone 7 Series' will be dropped, they dropped an announcement on their Twitter saying Verizon customers should expect WinPho 7 devices for the holidays with more coming in 2011. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">#WP7 devices will be rolling into Verizon stores this holiday season and more will arrive in early 2011!</div> </p><p> </p><p>Since then, they have made another announcement saying, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Verizon is a valued partner and we look forward to seeing Windows Phone 7 devices in their stores in 2011.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hmm. Those sound oddly similar but oddly different at the same time. The original Tweet hasn't been pulled but this does raise yet another question with what Microsoft plans to do with WinPho 7. I'd love to see a CDMA WinPho 7 device on Sprint, though!</p> Sun, 21 Nov 2010 16:02:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/929-winpho-7-devices-for-verizon-for-the-holidays.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/928-onlive-presents-microconsole-computer-for-your-gaming-enjoyment.html <p>OnLive still may be battling its <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/726-onlive-going-online-slowly.html" class="UpStreamLink">latency issues</a>, but that's not stopping the company from releasing their MicroConsole TV adapter that connects your TV to your Internet and allows you to game with a nifty PlayStation360 lookalike controller with media buttons on the bottom. </p><p> </p><p>With this minicomputer, games are delivered right away to you over the Internet and all you have to do is play. Best of all, it's only $99 and starts shipping December 2nd. </p><p> </p><p>For tech specs and more, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/928-onlive-presents-microconsole-computer-for-your-gaming-enjoyment.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:36:32 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/928-onlive-presents-microconsole-computer-for-your-gaming-enjoyment.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/927-playstation-phone-in-february-where-theres-smoke.html <p>A little while ago <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/844-sony-ericsson-says-droid-does-and-symbian-doesnt.html" class="UpStreamLink">Sony Ericsson hinted that there might be a PlayStation Phone</a> and now they really seem to be hinting at it, or are they? </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out if for Sony Ericsson, where there is smoke, there is fire. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/927-playstation-phone-in-february-where-theres-smoke.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 21 Nov 2010 14:23:30 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/927-playstation-phone-in-february-where-theres-smoke.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/926-hulu-plus-slashes-its-monthly-price-for-real-this-time.html <p>I know, I told you weeks ago about a possible <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/893-hulu-plus-minus-5.html" class="UpStreamLink">price cut for Hulu Plus</a> and after reading the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/907-hulu-plus-open-to-all-us-residents-bravia-and-ps3-users-included.html" class="UpStreamLink">press release last week</a> and seeing that it was still $9.99/month, I informed you otherwise. Well, for the first time in a long time, one of our rumors turned out to be correct as this week Hulu Plus announced it was out, available and less than $10/month. That's right, you can now have the awesome that is Hulu Plus for only $7.99/month. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the cool stuff that comes along with this premium package, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/926-hulu-plus-slashes-its-monthly-price-for-real-this-time.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 21 Nov 2010 13:37:31 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/926-hulu-plus-slashes-its-monthly-price-for-real-this-time.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/925-portal-2-delayed-again.html <p>Today I have the misfortune of being the bearer of bad but not unexpected news - <i>Portal 2</i> has been delayed again. Its most recent planned release date was February 9, 2011. Now we find out that we will not get the pleasure of playing <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/819-portal-2-coop.html" class="UpStreamLink">Co-op <i>Portal</i></a> until April 20, 2011. Only a 2 month delay, but we all know how this works with Valve. Do any of you actually expect to see <i>Half-Life 2: Episode 3</i>? </p><p> </p><p>Because Valve likes to keep their fans emotionally confused, they released this statement to announce the delay: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">This two month slip not only marks the shortest delay in Valve's proud tradition of delays, it represents the approaching convergence of Valve Time and Real Time. Though this convergence spells doom for humanity, it will not affect the new Portal 2 release date.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Thanks for driving us totally mad, Valve.</p> Sat, 20 Nov 2010 23:23:55 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/925-portal-2-delayed-again.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/924-the-internet-says-kitten-lord.html <p>Now that we have discussed <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/923-twitter-news-tumblr.html" class="UpStreamLink">how Tumblr stays around</a>, the next topic is why. It bills itself as a blogging site but in reality it tends to lend itself to being very 4chan. In fact, recently there has been a war building between the anti-social 4channers and the anti-social tumblrs. Sounds thrilling, eh? </p><p> </p><p>Well, it turns out to have been very interesting. You're probably asking yourself, "How is that possible?" The answer is simple - Tumblr seems to have won. Let me explain. Both sites seem to be populated by teenage hackers in their parents basements, but 4chan has several years of recruiting their members ahead of Tumblr. However, after Tumblr users have seemingly stolen Internet memes from 4chan, things have gone crazy. </p><p> </p><p>To find out how crazy, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/924-the-internet-says-kitten-lord.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 20 Nov 2010 22:08:48 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/924-the-internet-says-kitten-lord.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/923-twitter-news-tumblr.html <p>I think that by now everyone knows that Twitter is a huge, worthless hole <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/368-twitter-gets-another-cool-100-millionseriously.html" class="UpStreamLink">filled with cash</a>. What you might not know is that Tumblr is right behind them, following the same path. </p><p> </p><p>While there are lots of lessons web applications should learn from Twitter, how to run the business end of things is not one of them. Tumblr never got this message, however, and has been playing the "give us money and we'll figure out who we are later" game that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/566-twitter-still-trying-to-figure-out-that-business-model-thingy.html" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter is so well-known for</a>. Somehow, despite obvious reasons not to, many investors are falling for it. </p><p> </p><p>To take a digital ride back before the dot com bust, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/923-twitter-news-tumblr.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 20 Nov 2010 21:44:54 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/923-twitter-news-tumblr.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/922-google-beats-the-apple.html <p>If you have been following The UpStream since August of last year, you know very well that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/169-att-iphone-more-blocks-for-more-applications.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google and Apple have been battling</a> over Google Voice on the iPhone. Apple claimed that Google's Voice app duplicated too many features of the iPhone and that it would be confusing for users. </p><p> </p><p>After over a year and many trips to the FCC (<a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/219-apple-responds-to-the-fcc.html" class="UpStreamLink">Round 2</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/276-google-vs-apple-round-iii.html" class="UpStreamLink">Round 3</a>), Google and Apple seem to have figured out a way to move forward. Google's official Voice app has hit the App Store. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the drama, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/922-google-beats-the-apple.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 20 Nov 2010 21:24:40 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/922-google-beats-the-apple.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/921-naked-pictures-bad-breakup-facebook-zomg.html <p>This is a tale of Joshua Ashby who suffered a bad break-up with his now ex-girlfriend and why both of them will regret it. </p><p> </p><p>I can certainly remember a few bad moments in relationships that tempted me to do some not so nice things in order to exact my revenge and maybe I'm blessed that Facebook wasn't around for most of them. Too bad that wasn't the case for 20 year old painter Joshua Ashby who did what many of us would be tempted to do, especially in a drunken stupor. </p><p> </p><p>He ended up posting naked pictures of her on her Facebook profile which remained up for 12 hours afterwards, thus guaranteeing they will exist forever and ever, amen. Did I also mention that he cut up her dresses and threatened to kill her, too? It might just be me but this guy seems a little "intense," as Ashby's parents described him. You think? After all this, a New Zealand judge determined that Ashby will spend 4 months in jail to reflect on his actions. </p><p> </p><p>Sadly for his ex-girlfriend, those pictures will be on the Internet forever. The moral of the story is, don't let someone take nude pictures of you, they will not be for their eyes only.</p> Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:53:32 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/921-naked-pictures-bad-breakup-facebook-zomg.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/920-limewire-not-responsible-for-pirate-edition.html <p>During our Halloween break, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/906-riaa-finally-wins-a-lawsuit.html" class="UpStreamLink">RIAA won a case against LimeWire - parent company Lime Wire - and had a court-ordered injunction issued to the site</a>, which has caused LimeWire to shut down. Since then, as you would guess, someone has stepped up and created LimeWire: Pirate Edition. </p><p> </p><p>LimeWire would like everyone to know that LimeWire: Pirate Edition is not their doing and they have completely avoided the whole "press release" thing. Instead, LimeWire has made a statement when you visit their website. </p><p> </p><p>To see the statement and to learn who is behind the Pirate Edition, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/920-limewire-not-responsible-for-pirate-edition.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:44:09 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/920-limewire-not-responsible-for-pirate-edition.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/919-viacom-to-sell-off-harmonix.html <p>With <i>Rock Band 3</i> and <i>Dance Central</i> being extremely successful, it makes total sense for parent company Viacom to sell off game developer Harmonix, right? No? Well, that's what is happening in the world of Viacom. </p><p> </p><p>Viacom purchased Harmonix for $175 million in 2006, back when the company was still making <i>Guitar Hero</i> games and before they went the way of <i>Rock Band</i>. Nobody in Harmonix had commented on why, other than a report saying that, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Viacom also announced that it plans to sell Harmonix, which developed the Rock Band music video game franchise. Accordingly, the Company reclassified the business as a discontinued operation.</div> </p><p> </p><p>But news since then has been discovered. For Viacom's stance on the matter, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/919-viacom-to-sell-off-harmonix.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:18:36 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/919-viacom-to-sell-off-harmonix.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/918-new-hybrid-batteries-to-the-rescue.html <p>Some would agree that batteries have fallen a little behind the times. For example, we have seen considerable improvement in power consumption in most electronic devices like netbooks and cell phones but any portable electronic device that is capable of higher performance levels, like smart-phones and quad-core laptops, won't last more than a few hours if not plugged in. And who is ever near an outlet when they really need to be? </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out if these new hybrid batteries will ease our pain </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/918-new-hybrid-batteries-to-the-rescue.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:06:52 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/918-new-hybrid-batteries-to-the-rescue.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/917-chinese-are-good-at-math-and-supercomputing-go-figure.html <p>The technology race doesn't just extend to companies. Just recently, the updated list of the world's 500 most powerful supercomputers was released and the U.S. has been moved to the #2 spot by none other than China. Their Tianhe-1A system, courtesy of China's National University of Defense Technology in Tianjin, is capable of performing 2.67 petaflops per second. Jaguar, the Cray XT5 system at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is capable of 1.75 petaflops per second, which is still incredibly fast. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out is we have anything to worry about. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/917-chinese-are-good-at-math-and-supercomputing-go-figure.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Nov 2010 15:59:09 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/917-chinese-are-good-at-math-and-supercomputing-go-figure.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/916-we-dont-believe-it-either-gran-turismo-5-releasing-november-24th.html <p>I know, we didn't want to hear anymore <i>Gran Turismo 5</i>, <i>6</i> or <i>7</i> talk either, but this week Sony has pushed up the release date from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/905-gran-turismo-6-yeah-you-heard-me.html" class="UpStreamLink">November 30th</a> to November 24th. The bigger news is that developer of the game, Polyphony, also is nodding in approval of this date switch. </p><p> </p><p>Everybody is talking about this being a "final" release date, but we don't believe it. We never have and never will as this is worse than the hype about <i>Spore</i>. And we all remember that game taking twelve years to be released. </p><p> </p><p>For quotes from Polyphony's President, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/916-we-dont-believe-it-either-gran-turismo-5-releasing-november-24th.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Nov 2010 15:21:34 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/916-we-dont-believe-it-either-gran-turismo-5-releasing-november-24th.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/915-dallas-cowboys-domain-expires-at-worst-time-ever.html <p>Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was very busy last week. His beloved Cowboys, while having the biggest and most expensive stadium in the history of the NFL, is also having the biggest flop of a season in franchise history since the 70s. He just fired his long-term head coach Wade Philips for the debacle that he is, and worst of all, at the same time he was in his ranch house in Dallas cleaning house, his domain dallascowboys.com expired. </p><p> </p><p>Apparently the domain was expired before their blowout loss to the Packers last Sunday, but wasn't put on sale until that night. Some users trying to access the site upon hearing the news the day after the loss, however, weren't able to. Others saw the parked domain. ESPN and other websites were reporting the Cowboys' website to be down because of high traffic after the firing, but we now know the real reason behind that. </p><p> </p><p>For a picture of the site as it was during the downtime, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/915-dallas-cowboys-domain-expires-at-worst-time-ever.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:57:12 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/915-dallas-cowboys-domain-expires-at-worst-time-ever.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/914-google-internal-memo-leaks-raises-given-to-all-employees.html <p>Happy holidays, says Google! $1,000 in cash goes to all of you employees of the evil empire that is the Googleplex as a "holiday bonus" and you will also receive a 2011 salary raise of at least 10% starting January 1, 2011! Not only that, but you will also get an extra raise equal to your target bonus for the year and be eligible for bonus "merit increases" based on how awesome you do. </p><p> </p><p>Think about this, $1,000 bonus. Google has about 20,000 employees, so that's over $20 million! How generous of them to do that as well as spend over another $20 billion - $1 billion a year - to offer the 10% or more raise. Granted, this cost will be decreased by bonuses and stock option grants. See, not all companies are seeing a recession. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/888-intel-creates-jobs-plans-to-spend-8-billion-on-new-factory-upgrades.html" class="UpStreamLink">Intel</a> and Google are doing pretty well! </p><p> </p><p>How do we know all of this? Someone leaked a memo from Google about it! And it wasn't supposed to be sent out to anyone other than employees of the company. Oops. And Google is very mad about it. </p><p> </p><p>Want to see the memo and see what's happened since the leak? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/914-google-internal-memo-leaks-raises-given-to-all-employees.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:27:25 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/914-google-internal-memo-leaks-raises-given-to-all-employees.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/913-developer-hacks-kinect-microsoft-says-pics-or-it-didnt-happen.html <p>This week, a company founded by former MIT members issued a cash prize of $2,000 for anyone who could break into the Kinect for Xbox 360 and access the motion-sensors on the camera from another platform aside from the Xbox. The winner? A developer from the NUI Group, an open-source community of developers and programmers alike. </p><p> </p><p>In a video shot by user AlexP (posted after the break), we see the ability to control the camera with a computer running Windows 7. We saw that he could move the camera up and down and he could also see the Kinect's color and infrared panels and made them show up on the desktop. It should be noted that AlexP was also able to make a program like this for the PlayStation Eye. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft, however, claims that he hasn't hacked it. We have Microsoft's response and the video after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/913-developer-hacks-kinect-microsoft-says-pics-or-it-didnt-happen.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 14 Nov 2010 13:40:37 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/913-developer-hacks-kinect-microsoft-says-pics-or-it-didnt-happen.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/912-w-for-washington-state.html <p>Have you seen the movie <i>V for Vendetta</i>? In the film, V runs a video message on November 5th to honor the attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament. This year, a hacker at Washington State decided to give November 5th a new reason to be remembered. </p><p> </p><p>A student hacked into the classroom presentation system for the school and broadcast a message, dressed as V, addressing the issue of campus squirrels and student apathy towards the issue. The video played every hour on screens in about 12 classrooms until the problem was righted by campus support in the early afternoon. </p><p> </p><p>To find out why it took them until the afternoon to fix the problem and to see the video that played, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/912-w-for-washington-state.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:13:14 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/912-w-for-washington-state.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/911-call-of-duty-black-ops-biggest-launch-ever.html <p>It is official - <i>Call of Duty</i> has outdone itself and <i>Black Ops</i> has taken the title of 'Biggest Entertainment Launch Ever' from <i>Modern Warfare 2</i>. <i>Black Ops</i> sold $360 million in its first 24 hours, approximately 5.6 million copies in North America and the UK. In comparison, <i>Modern Warfare 2</i> sold 4.7 million copies launch day. </p><p> </p><p>Treyarch was able to ride the popularity of Infinity Ward's final <i>Call of Duty</i> title to become the first franchise in history to ever have two consecutive launch day records. Activision Blizzard has also pledged $1 million to the Call of Duty Endowment, a "non-profit, public benefit corporation" for veterans. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the <i>Call of Duty</i> powerhouse, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/911-call-of-duty-black-ops-biggest-launch-ever.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 13 Nov 2010 21:52:12 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/911-call-of-duty-black-ops-biggest-launch-ever.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/910-nintendo-trademarks-history.html <p>As part of Nintendo's attempt to hold onto the past, they have filed to trademark the phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong." This has raised questions from the general media about why Nintendo would do this. What I am surprised about is that people are surprised. </p><p> </p><p>This is the company who was unaware a few years ago that several hundred million dollars was a lot of money. Clearly, they have no rational grasp on reality. I would have been more surprised if they hadn't done this at some point. </p><p> </p><p>For Nintendo's "reasoning," hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/910-nintendo-trademarks-history.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 13 Nov 2010 10:32:31 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/910-nintendo-trademarks-history.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/909-facebook-to-launch-email-service-project-titan.html <p>The tech industry is all aflame over the upcoming Facebook announcement at a private, invite-only event on Monday. The general consensus is that Facebook will be launching an email service to compete against Gmail and Hotmail. </p><p> </p><p>Facebook has been battling with Google now for a few years for dominance of the Internet. Google has been the big player but Facebook has been gaining a lot of ground. With the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/491-did-you-hear-the-buzz-google-buzz.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google Buzz</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/767-wave-goodbye-to-google-wave.html" class="UpStreamLink">Google Wave</a> failures, Facebook now feels they have the opportunity to hurt Google by their actions instead of Google's actions. </p><p> </p><p>To learn how this could affect the Internet, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/909-facebook-to-launch-email-service-project-titan.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 13 Nov 2010 10:13:15 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/909-facebook-to-launch-email-service-project-titan.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/908-myspace-finally-admits-facebook-is-superior-changes-focus-to-media.html <p>Perez Hilton fans rejoice. Myspace has finally conceded to Facebook, waving their white flag and admitting that Facebook is now the social network mafioso in charge. Myspace, instead, is changing focus to music, movies, TV, games and celebrities that the ever so graceful and respectful younger generation loves. The News Corp-acquired website formerly known as a social networking giant announced this week that it is working on a beta site that will be media-centric. </p><p> </p><p>Myspace CEO Mike Jones spoke on the change. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">This marks the beginning of an exciting turning point for Myspace. Our new strategy expands on Myspace's existing strengths - a deep understanding of social, a wealth of entertainment content and the ability to surface emerging cultural trends in real time through our users.</div> </p><p> </p><p>There's more to this whole change though. It seems that money could be made from this venture. Hit the break to learn more and to see a picture of the site. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/908-myspace-finally-admits-facebook-is-superior-changes-focus-to-media.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 07 Nov 2010 13:16:31 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/908-myspace-finally-admits-facebook-is-superior-changes-focus-to-media.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/907-hulu-plus-open-to-all-us-residents-bravia-and-ps3-users-included.html <p>More content, more devices, same price. That's what Hulu announced this week regarding their Hulu Plus subscription service after <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/893-hulu-plus-minus-5.html" class="UpStreamLink">rumors of a possible price cut last week.</a> </p><p> </p><p>As Hulu is becoming more and more popular, and as cable TV subscriptions are plummeting at a rate of 500,000 subscribers a quarter, Hulu is looking for new and exciting places to show off their goods. On top of announcing this week that their Hulu Plus service will be arriving to PS3 users and Sony BRAVIA 2010 TVs this week and that the Hulu Plus package is now open to all US residents, Hulu's also added several new fall shows to the premium package. The only down side to all of this is that Hulu firmly believes their $10/month price is working, and they're sticking with it. </p><p> </p><p>For the full press release, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/907-hulu-plus-open-to-all-us-residents-bravia-and-ps3-users-included.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 07 Nov 2010 12:48:06 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/907-hulu-plus-open-to-all-us-residents-bravia-and-ps3-users-included.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/906-riaa-finally-wins-a-lawsuit.html <p>On our off week, the Recording Industry Association of America (or RIAA) won a lawsuit filed long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away. The defendant was file-sharing service LimeWire and their parent company, annoyingly named Lime Wire. </p><p> </p><p>In 2007, RIAA filed suit against Lime Wire for copyright infringement by way of facilitating access to copyrighted material through their network. Last week, a US court agreed and ordered the LimeWire service shut down. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the lawsuit and what it means for users, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/906-riaa-finally-wins-a-lawsuit.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 07 Nov 2010 11:38:46 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/906-riaa-finally-wins-a-lawsuit.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/905-gran-turismo-6-yeah-you-heard-me.html <p>It feels like just a few weeks ago I wrote about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/877-gran-turismo-5-gentlemans-engine-starting-delayedagain.html" class="UpStreamLink">the inevitable and probably indefinite delay of <i>Gran Turismo 5</i></a>. However I have some great news! Kazunori Yamauchi, recently spoke to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20101103/SEMA/101109948#ixzz14JXJLuf9" class="UpStreamLink">Autoweek</a> about <i>Gran Turismo 6</i>. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out more about a game that may very well never come out in our lifetime. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/905-gran-turismo-6-yeah-you-heard-me.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 07 Nov 2010 11:16:59 MST http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/905-gran-turismo-6-yeah-you-heard-me.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html <p>Remember just over a month ago when I told you <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/863-tmobile-says-4g-isnt-important.html" class="UpStreamLink">T-Mobile doesn't care about 4G?</a> Well, apparently they must've had some sort of mental breakdown because now they have announced that they have a 4G network and it has been rolled out for a few weeks already! </p><p> </p><p>If this doesn't sound right to you, pat yourself on the back. T-Mobile does not have a fourth generation network, they don't even have a sustained third generation network! The company has decided that customers don't care about the technology behind the network powering their mobile devices and only care about download speeds. </p><p> </p><p>This all started with a commercial I saw on TV about T-Mobile's new myTouch4G. It was mocking the iPhone 4's limited features and AT&T's 3G network. They then went on to say they have the largest 4G network! What? T-Mobile currently has (in very limited areas) a third-gen HSPA+ network, which, while fast, is nowhere near the speeds of WiMax or LTE - both 4G networks. </p><p> </p><p>To see the commercial they put out that sparked me to raise my hand to question their logic, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:16:18 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/904-tmobile-has-a-4g-network.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/903-google-buzz-lawsuit-settled.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/491-did-you-hear-the-buzz-google-buzz.html" class="UpStreamLink">Have you heard the buzz? Google Buzz.</a> Google's social project that proved they didn't care about privacy or making things work before they are launched caused them a number of headaches, one of them being a class action lawsuit. Well, the case has been settled. </p><p> </p><p>The best part about this? We were notified by Google via email. No wait, that's not the best part. The best part is after the break! So hit it! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/903-google-buzz-lawsuit-settled.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 06 Nov 2010 22:50:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/903-google-buzz-lawsuit-settled.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/902-facebook-wont-be-checkingin-to-foursquare.html <p>By now even casual Facebook users, those who don't make a status update about things like using the wrong brand of creamer, or dedicate the majority of their screen real estate for hours on end to it, have noticed the locations feature popping up on profile pages and news feeds. Of course they aren't the first ones to do this but Facebook may have some advantages smaller geo-location service companies may not. Like 500 million users. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out if Foursquare, Loopt, or any others are in trouble </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/902-facebook-wont-be-checkingin-to-foursquare.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 06 Nov 2010 18:54:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/902-facebook-wont-be-checkingin-to-foursquare.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/901-california-to-vito-ultra-violent-video-games-supreme-court-will-decide.html <p>This week video games reached a new precedent by making their way to the very top of the U.S. justice system, the Supreme Court. The same place where Alan Shore saved his friend Denny's life on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.tv.com/made-in-china/episode/1242244/summary.html?tag=search_results;title;1" class="UpStreamLink">Boston Legal</a>, just as a point of reference. Except this time it's not representatives from Boston doing the arguing, it's the Golden State of California vs. the Supreme Court and video games. </p><p> </p><p>I'm going to break this down into a couple parts and try to keep it simple just in case Steve Jobs reads this. However, I would urge you to read over the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/08-1448.pdf" class="UpStreamLink">transcripts</a> if you are interested in learning more, and I hope you are. Don't worry, they are actually quite comical at times. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out why California has brought ultra-violent video games into the limelight and what this could mean for you. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/901-california-to-vito-ultra-violent-video-games-supreme-court-will-decide.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 05 Nov 2010 11:25:42 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/901-california-to-vito-ultra-violent-video-games-supreme-court-will-decide.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/900-iphone-creates-an-extra-hour-in-europe.html <p>This is part public service announcement and part great technology fail. Apple this week managed to create an extra hour in Europe. Unfortunately, this did not work out for many users of the iPhone who were not expecting bonus time. </p><p> </p><p>Apparently a software glitch in the iPhone caused the alarm to go off an hour later than it was supposed to. Why did this happen? Daylight Savings Time happens at a different time for them than it does for us here in the US and the phone, while updating the clock, did not seem to update the timing between regular alarms. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this issue, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/900-iphone-creates-an-extra-hour-in-europe.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 04 Nov 2010 22:35:44 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/900-iphone-creates-an-extra-hour-in-europe.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/899-google-vs-the-usa.html <p>We have done a lot of legal stories here on The UpStream but none quite as interesting as this one. Google has sued the United States Government. Now, we know Google is not afraid <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/561-google-finally-pulls-the-plug.html" class="UpStreamLink">to take on a government</a>, but they don't usually go after the country they operate out of. </p><p> </p><p>Why has Google sued the US government? It's because they are offended by one of the stipulations in a contract that they are bidding for with the Department of the Interior. </p><p> </p><p>What stipulation has them so mad they are suing? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/899-google-vs-the-usa.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:55:36 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/899-google-vs-the-usa.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/898-xbox-360-dashboard-enhancements-are-a-go.html <p>It is official - the Xbox 360 Dashboard update we have all been waiting for has arrived and it is downloading to a 360 near you. Now before you get all excited, remember that Dashboard updates rollout gradually over the course of a few days to prevent server overload. If you sign in today and do not get an update notice, don't panic: you will get it within a few days. </p><p> </p><p>More importantly, as Major Nelson reminds us, DO NOT sign off and on over and over waiting for the update. This will not grant you faster access to the download, it will only anger your friends who will see the notifications every time you sign back on. Trust me, the new Dashboard is not worth losing your <i>Modern Warfare</i> clan. </p><p> </p><p>What can you expect from the new Xbox 360 Dashboard? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/898-xbox-360-dashboard-enhancements-are-a-go.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Mon, 01 Nov 2010 15:18:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/898-xbox-360-dashboard-enhancements-are-a-go.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/897-windowsfish-phonecatch-7-old-spice-guy-and-microsoft-together.html <p>If you thought <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=739" class="UpStreamLink">viral Old Spice videos</a> were awesome and you are a Microsoft fan, you'll appreciate this! Microsoft has teamed up with Isaiah Mustafa, the awesome Old Spice Guy, for a marketing campaign, at least in Australia, to promote Windows Phone 7! </p><p> </p><p>Want to see a short commercial with Isaiah in it regarding WinPho 7? Hit the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/897-windowsfish-phonecatch-7-old-spice-guy-and-microsoft-together.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 24 Oct 2010 16:39:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/897-windowsfish-phonecatch-7-old-spice-guy-and-microsoft-together.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/896-jobs-open-opinion.html <p>It seems like I can't go one week without Steve Jobs finding some imaginative way to say and/or do something that I feel compelled to write about for a variety of personal reasons that originate from a dark and scary place with enchanted creatures. Similar adjectives may be used by some to describe Jobs himself and if you consider that blasphemy then this article probably isn't for you. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out how the world is according to Steve. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/896-jobs-open-opinion.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 24 Oct 2010 16:34:14 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/896-jobs-open-opinion.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/895-a-story-about-fable.html <p>As you may or may not know, Lionhead Studio's game <i>Fable III</i> is about to hit the shelves this Tuesday. I have some good news for those of you that are planning on buying the game and some kind of good news for those of you that pre-ordered the game. First, the kind of good news. If you were wise enough to pre-order <i>Fable III</i> you will get an exclusive chance to make another mark on the world of Albion, by creating your very own villager! The only problem is that they (Lionshead) have been having some technical difficulties when it comes to creating said villager. While there have been a few slight detours here and there it seems as though it is up and running again, but we will only be able to tell if the character creator really works once the game launches this Tuesday. In case you are wondering if you can still get your hands on a redeemable code to creator a villager, the good news is that you can; just make sure you make your character by the expiration date of November 23rd. </p><p> </p><p>For the really good news, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/895-a-story-about-fable.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 24 Oct 2010 16:09:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/895-a-story-about-fable.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/894-todays-forecastblizzcon.html <p>This week Blizzard fans everywhere spent copious amounts of money to travel across the country to attend Blizzcon. I am here to weed through all of the fluff, to bring you some information that you might be interested in hearing. I am sure some of you out there are still anticipating Blizzard's third installment in the <i>Diablo</I> series and it just so happen that we recieved a lot of info regarding the highly anticipated game. Ranging from information about one of the new classes known as the Demon Hunter, or the fact that <i>Diablo III</i> will indeed be featuring Player Versus Player content (OMGZ AWESOME). If you wanna see a more in depth analysis of the pvp you can go <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gamespot.com/events/blizzcon2010/story.html? </p><p>sid=6282905&tag=top_stories%3Btitle%3B" class="UpStreamLink">here</a> and check it out or if </p><p>information on the demon hunter is what you are after check <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gamespot.com/events/blizzcon2010/story.htmlsid=6282867&tag=top_stories%3Btitle%3B4" class="UpStreamLink">this</a> out. </p><p> </p><p>Given that it is Blizzcon it is only natural and to be expected that we get some sort of info about their newest expansion to their life sucking mmo <i>World of Warcraft: Cataclysm</i>. While we didn't get to see much we did get to see the opening cinematic, which you can check out below. Or if video's aren't your cup of tea' you can check out <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gamespot.com/events/blizzcon2010/image_viewer/6282865/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-screens/?tag=top_stories%3Btitle%3B5" class="UpStreamLink">these</a> bad boys. </p><p> </p><p><center><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" style="width:560px; height:350px;" data="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/cne_flash/production/eidothea/release/eidothea.swf?w_005_k"><param name="movie" value="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/cne_flash/production/eidothea/release/eidothea.swf?w_005_k" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="flashvars" value="bwr=0&playerMode=embedded&movieAspect=16.9&mapp=embedded_640&gen=1&viewMode=sd&autoPlay=false&paramsXML=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Fpages%2Fvideo_player%2Fxml.php%3Fid%3D6282209%26mode%3Dembedded%26width%3D640%26height%3D391%26newplayer%3D1%26skin%3DeidotheaEmbedded640_169.xml"></object></center> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Now before you go sayin "But Josh! Didn't they say anything about <i>StarCraft 2</i>?" Silly listener/reader! Of course they did. If you have, like myself, been playing <i>StarCraft 2</i> lately you may notice that there have been a lot of mod's being created based off of other popular game series some examples being Starjeweled, based of the casual puzzle game <i>Bejeweled</i>, if that doesn't float your boat and you are a fan of food networks Iron Chef, how about you try out Auir Chef? Those are just a few of the mods that were on the show floor at Blizzcon that will be coming to the game soon. So as you can see a lot went down at Blizzcon this year and if you have any questions feel free to contact any of us on the show.</p> Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:27:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/894-todays-forecastblizzcon.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/893-hulu-plus-minus-5.html <p>Hulu has implemented their Hulu Plus service (officially in beta) since June for $9.95/month, but now we are being told by a couple sources that the company is considering reducing their price by $5, to $4.95/month. </p><p> </p><p>Hulu Plus is their attempt at gaining a second revenue income on top of the ads placed during the TV shows, clips and movies that are on the site. Hulu Plus has been giving subscribers more depth to the shows and movies that are available compared to the free service. You can also watch Hulu on the iPhone, iPad, Xbox 360 and Internet-connected TVs with the premium subscription. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the possible price cut, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/893-hulu-plus-minus-5.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:11:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/893-hulu-plus-minus-5.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/892-netflix-not-just-dvds-anymore.html <p>Netflix has been having a good couple of years. They have successfully shut down Hollywood Video and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=848" class="UpStreamLink">turned Blockbuster into a kiosk company</a> competing with the RedBox. Recently, however, CEO Reed Hastings realized and said that they are no longer a DVD company, they are a streaming company that just happens to offer DVDs almost as a bi-product. He said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We are very proud to announce that by every measure we are now a streaming company, which also offers DVD-by-mail. In Q4, we’ll spend more on streaming content than DVD content, and we’ll deliver many more hours of entertainment via streaming than on DVD. More impressively, a majority of our subs will watch more content streamed from Netflix than delivered by us on DVD. DVD-by-mail shipments are still growing, but streaming for us is much larger and growing much faster.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For more on Netflix's transition to streaming, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/892-netflix-not-just-dvds-anymore.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 23 Oct 2010 13:52:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/892-netflix-not-just-dvds-anymore.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/891-amazon-to-allow-book-lending.html <p>Have you ever owned a book that you liked so much that you wanted everyone you know to read it and you lent that book to everyone so they could? In the new digital world, that concept has become difficult or impossible. If you read books on the Kindle app on your Samsung Epic, you probably aren't lending your phone out so your friend can read your eBook. </p><p> </p><p>Luckily, Amazon made an announcement this week to change all of that. Coming soon, you will be able to lend your eBooks to other Kindle owners. Here'sthe announcements: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Later this year, we will be introducing lending for Kindle, a new feature that lets you loan your Kindle books to other Kindle device or Kindle app users. Each book can be lent once for a loan period of 14-days and the lender cannot read the book during the loan period. Additionally, not all e-books will be lendable - this is solely up to the publisher or rights holder, who determines which titles are enabled for lending.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for the details on Kindle lending. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/891-amazon-to-allow-book-lending.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 23 Oct 2010 13:13:51 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/891-amazon-to-allow-book-lending.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/890-apple-joining-the-modern-internet.html <p>I am officially tired of writing about Apple but I couldn't let this one go. This week Steve Jobs announced a few things that will be new to the Apple universe and the Interwebz have gone nuts. First, the new MacBook Air (the netbook that Steve Jobs said was too expensive and a useless piece of technology a little while back) will not come with a Mac OSX restore DVD. Instead it will come with a flash drive containing the restore software. </p><p> </p><p>That was not the biggest deal, however. The one that the blogs have been all a-Twitter about was the Mac App Store. Now you will be able to download software titles to your Mac the same way you do to your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Completing the package will be automatic updates. Somehow this has all been considered revolutionary by the Apple-loving tech media and I can't quite figure out why. </p><p> </p><p>To hear why I am confused, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/890-apple-joining-the-modern-internet.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 22 Oct 2010 23:15:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/890-apple-joining-the-modern-internet.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/889-dont-like-the-street-view-google-ceo-says-gtfo.html <p>Google is still in hot water with regards to their infamous Street View cars and their intrusive WiFi probing. There has been some speculation as to how severe the intrusion was and in a Google blog post by the senior vice president of engineering and research this past May, he went on to say that the data collected were only fragments, despite the fact that no one inside Google had analyzed the data at that time. Since then the data has been analyzed and Alan Eustace concluded, "That while most of the data is fragmentary, in some instances entire emails and URLs were captured, as well as passwords." I can also imagine <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/comment.php?s=660" class="UpStreamLink">they know where you keep your porn</a>. Of course they want to delete this data as soon as possible but there is still no word that it has been destroyed. The newest controversy in this matter centers around a statement made by Google CEO Eric Schmidt. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out what the Google CEO said that isn't helping their cause.<br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/889-dont-like-the-street-view-google-ceo-says-gtfo.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:54:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/889-dont-like-the-street-view-google-ceo-says-gtfo.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/888-intel-creates-jobs-plans-to-spend-8-billion-on-new-factory-upgrades.html <p>If you thought Intel's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=885" class="UpStreamLink">stack-dropping acquisition of McAfee for $7.68 billion</a> was a lot, you'll drop your jaw at this one. The world's largest chip manufacturer said earlier this week that it will spend somewhere between $6 and $8 billion on factory upgrades in the US, which will create anywhere from 800 to 1,000 manufacturing jobs. </p><p> </p><p>Intel plans to renovate and renew plants in Oregon and Arizona and looks to open a new plant in Oregon. The implementation of these plans will create up to 8,000 construction jobs and looks to be in place over several years, said an Intel official. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the big spending, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/888-intel-creates-jobs-plans-to-spend-8-billion-on-new-factory-upgrades.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:23:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/888-intel-creates-jobs-plans-to-spend-8-billion-on-new-factory-upgrades.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/887-starcraft-ii-hack-creators-being-sued-by-blizzard.html <p>Earlier this month, Blizzard decided to start Halloween early, by spooking all of their <i>StarCraft II</i> players with bans and suspensions on 5,000 accounts that were cheating or modifying the game to get an edge. A week later, the company also decided to attack the people in charge of creating cheat programs for the game. </p><p> </p><p>Well, last week Blizzard decided to up the ante by filing a lawsuit in the Los Angeles US District Court against three individuals who are being targeted for making and selling hacks and cheats for <i>StarCraft II</i>. In case you had no idea, hacking is a clear no-no in the gaming world and is stated as such in the end-user license agreement, the Battle.net terms of usage and in general copyright law. </p><p> </p><p>For more on what's happening with this three-piece suit, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/887-starcraft-ii-hack-creators-being-sued-by-blizzard.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 22 Oct 2010 19:35:35 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/887-starcraft-ii-hack-creators-being-sued-by-blizzard.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/886-winpho-7-to-seduce-app-developers.html <p>With the WinPho 7 OS being described as an experience comparable to Android and iOS4 the next big step for Microsoft is to put on something sexy to get the attention of the 250,000 plus app developers out there. Take a quick look at the major players in the smart phone OS industry and you will find the usual suspects, Google, Apple, RIM, Palm, and Microsoft, again. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out why Microsoft could be in the game again. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/886-winpho-7-to-seduce-app-developers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:42:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/886-winpho-7-to-seduce-app-developers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/885-apple-to-take-a-bite-out-of-facebook.html <p>Here is a scary prospect for you - Apple might want to buy Facebook. Peter Kafka of All Things Digital has been trying to figure out what Apple is planning for the $51 billion they are holding in cash and this is what he has come to. When asked about the money, Steve Jobs said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We firmly believe that one or more unique strategic opportunities will present itself to us, and we'll be in a position to take advantage of it.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For more on Apple's possible plans, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/885-apple-to-take-a-bite-out-of-facebook.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:41:15 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/885-apple-to-take-a-bite-out-of-facebook.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/884-marvel-at-our-tv-powers.html <p>The new Disney/Marvel family has decided to take the media world by force. The best way to do that is to create Marvel Studios TV, which is exactly what they did. The new division will be responsible for developing television programming based on Marvel properties. </p><p> </p><p>Which properties are in the works now? Well, it would appear that right now there are projects in the works for <i>Hulk</i>, <i>The Punisher</i> and even <i>Cloak and Dagger</i>. </p><p> </p><p>To read more about Marvel TV, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/884-marvel-at-our-tv-powers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Oct 2010 14:53:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/884-marvel-at-our-tv-powers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/883-the-day-the-interwebz-fell.html <p>We love the Internet and all of its insane glory but there are people out there that think it is a problem. You might be wondering, "Who are these madmen?" The answer, in short, is the FCC. </p><p> </p><p>At their meeting in November, the 5 member board of the FCC could vote and elect themselves Internet Overlords and usurp Google's God-given right to rule the digital universe. There are a number of problems with this. First, the FCC members are hired bureaucrats, not elected officials, so allowing them to elect themselves in charge of anything is not only offensive but unconstitutional. Also, why do we want the government to have this kind of hand in controlling the sector of our economy that produces almost 1/5 of the country's income? </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for more on the FCC's attack on the Interwebz. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/883-the-day-the-interwebz-fell.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Oct 2010 13:55:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/883-the-day-the-interwebz-fell.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/882-microsoft-boasts-sales-numbers-amid-npd-report-changes.html <p>The NPD has recently decided to limit the sharing of game sales numbers to the press. We will still receive comparison across manufacturers and a top ten list of software, but how much hardware or software sold will no longer be disclosed. Also, with that top ten, we will only see sales figures for the top five. We will also no longer be privy to digital subscriptions, mobile games or rentals sold for a specific time period. </p><p> </p><p>This means we now have to rely on the gaming manufacturers to give us somewhat accurate figures to report to our readers and listeners. As of right now, only Microsoft has decided to boast how awesome they are, while Nintendo and Sony haven't said a peep or tweet. </p><p> </p><p>To see what Microsoft had to say, check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/882-microsoft-boasts-sales-numbers-amid-npd-report-changes.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:56:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/882-microsoft-boasts-sales-numbers-amid-npd-report-changes.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/881-netflix-on-ps3-goes-discfree.html <p>PS3 owners - are you ready for some disc-free, HD Netflix? Well, your time has come. Microsoft's exclusivity deal has finally run out and it is time for you PS3 owners to join in on the fun. But you won't just be joining the full Netflix family, you will be taking over as the head of household. </p><p> </p><p>PlayStation 3 owners will soon be able to watch their Netflix movies in full 1080p while Xbox 360 owners have to sit through 720p. You will also get full surround sound provided through Dolby 5.1 while the rest of us listen in glorious 1982 stereo sound. You can also turn on subtitling for a large portion of the catalog. Color me jealous. </p><p> </p><p>For more on Netflix on the PS3 and a video from Sony, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/881-netflix-on-ps3-goes-discfree.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Oct 2010 23:21:36 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/881-netflix-on-ps3-goes-discfree.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/880-final-fantasy-xiv-devs-adress-some-issues-chocobos-still-sick.html <p>We have some follow up news since our <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=852" class="UpStreamLink">review</a> a few weeks ago and it looks like Square Enix has heard the players' "vocal" suggestions and/or screams about several key problems that were making more than the Chocobos sick with distress. On the 15th of this month the developers released some pre-patch notes cluing us in on what to expect come November. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out how they intend to alleviate some problems. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/880-final-fantasy-xiv-devs-adress-some-issues-chocobos-still-sick.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Oct 2010 23:17:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/880-final-fantasy-xiv-devs-adress-some-issues-chocobos-still-sick.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/879-brain-cancer-is-not-from-phones.html <p>Anyone who knows anything about energy knows that the belief that cell phones can cause cancer is nonsense and yet no one in the know has ever come out and said, "You people are idiots." That is until now. </p><p> </p><p>In an effort to dismiss reports like the <i>Time Magazine</i> report that claimed, "a growing band of scientists are skeptical, suggesting that the evidence that does exist is enough to raise a warning for consumers—before mass harm is done," a group of physicists wrote about the hard and firm reasons why cell phones could never cause cancer. </p><p> </p><p>For more information about the report, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/879-brain-cancer-is-not-from-phones.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 16 Oct 2010 22:54:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/879-brain-cancer-is-not-from-phones.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/878-tmobile-to-finally-start-data-throttling.html <p>T-Mobile mentioned months ago that they were finally going to prefer data throttling over data capping. They even had a rough date of April to begin implementation of the new limitations. We guess something happened inside their headquarters because an internal memo went out this week letting T-Mobilers know that they finally decided to move forward with data throttling starting October 16th. </p><p> </p><p>The usage you'll have to hit at which slower speeds will occur? 5GB. And how slow the browsing will become will be handled by the handset the user has. Don't worry, T-Mobile says this change will only affect 1% of its customers and that, as we could have guessed, the usage tracking resets after each billing cycle, which customers can monitor at my.t-mobile.com </p><p> </p><p>To read the full memo which we have gotten a hold of, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/878-tmobile-to-finally-start-data-throttling.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 15 Oct 2010 22:51:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/878-tmobile-to-finally-start-data-throttling.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/877-gran-turismo-5-gentlemans-engine-starting-delayedagain.html <p>For those of you who actually thought <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gran-turismo.com/" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Gran Turismo 5</i></a> was going to release on the already delayed November 2nd date and to those of you who pre-ordered the game I only have one thing to say, N00B! About the only exception to this is if you are completely new to the franchise and if that's the case let me know in the comments and I'll show you a liar. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out when GT5 might never release. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/877-gran-turismo-5-gentlemans-engine-starting-delayedagain.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 15 Oct 2010 07:35:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/877-gran-turismo-5-gentlemans-engine-starting-delayedagain.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/876-super-mario-bros-super-embarrassing.html <p><i>Super Mario Bros.</i> for the Nintendo Entertainment System hit the quarter-century mark last month and with the advent of HD TVs the game is certainly starting to show its age. I was able to play the game on a 32" HD TV and saw first hand where Miyamoto and his development team cut some corners but seriously, who cares? We are talking about not just "a" game but "the" game that created and changed an entire industry. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out why Miyamoto was embarrassed. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/876-super-mario-bros-super-embarrassing.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 14 Oct 2010 05:11:21 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/876-super-mario-bros-super-embarrassing.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/875-foxconn-cons-employees-yet-again.html <p>One of China's largest electronics manufacturers can't seem to stay out of trouble and out of the news. They have a long history of alleged worker mistreatment, wage discrimination and facilitating poor working conditions. All of which came to a head earlier this year when 11 employees attempted suicide. Foxconn then responded by trying to force them into signing, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=657" class="UpStreamLink">"I promise not to kill myself pledges."</a> However, the most recent controversy stems from recent independent surveys conducted by several universities in China. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out what the not so clever Foxconn is under the gun for now. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/875-foxconn-cons-employees-yet-again.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 14 Oct 2010 04:26:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/875-foxconn-cons-employees-yet-again.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/874-winpho-7-to-get-winmo-31-feature-copy-and-paste.html <p>It appears as though Microsoft has come to the realization that their new WinPho 7 operating system might be compared to the iPhone 1, 3 and 3GS in terms of what it cannot do. It also appears that they were just kidding when they said people don't copy and paste anymore. That is because this week Microsoft announced that there will be a software update to include copy and paste into Windows Phone 7. You'll just have to wait until 'early 2011' to get it. So don't go opening large Word documents just yet! </p><p> </p><p>For more on the update, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/874-winpho-7-to-get-winmo-31-feature-copy-and-paste.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 13 Oct 2010 23:39:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/874-winpho-7-to-get-winmo-31-feature-copy-and-paste.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/873-apples-cover-flow-may-cost-them-over-200-million-in-damages.html <p>By court order this week, Apple will have to fork over a little more than $200 million to Mirror Worlds, LLC after losing a case involving patent infringement. Apple was ruled to be in violation of "document streaming" patents that belonged to Mirror Worlds, which happen to be a little too similar to the design and implementation of Apple's Cover Flow and Time Machine. </p><p> </p><p>This lawsuit came about in 2008 when Mirror Worlds accused Apple of infringing on four patents, one involving information management systems and the other three based on a "document stream operating system". </p><p> </p><p>For more on the ruling, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/873-apples-cover-flow-may-cost-them-over-200-million-in-damages.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 12 Oct 2010 22:05:42 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/873-apples-cover-flow-may-cost-them-over-200-million-in-damages.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/872-firefox-trojan-virus-forces-browser-to-save-your-passwords.html <p>If you needed yet another reason to switch from Firefox, I have one. A recent Trojan virus on Mozilla's browser forces Firefox to save user passwords and then use them to open a new user account on the computer that is infected. </p><p> </p><p>As you should already know, most security advisors and people with common sense tell you to never have Firefox store your passwords since their security to protect them can easily be broken by simple malware. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the recent Trojan, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/872-firefox-trojan-virus-forces-browser-to-save-your-passwords.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:22:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/872-firefox-trojan-virus-forces-browser-to-save-your-passwords.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/871-harmonix-wants-to-time-travel.html <p>Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos recently sat down with Edge Online for an interview about where they are and where they want to go (TO SPACE). With the changes they have made in <i>Rock Band 3</i>, it is clear they are ready to revisit their titles with new eyes. He said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">There's a lot of creative terrain to explore with Rock Band... new forms of interaction between the player and the music. We still have some very exciting things planned.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for more of what Harmonix has in store for us. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/871-harmonix-wants-to-time-travel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:19:44 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/871-harmonix-wants-to-time-travel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/870-googles-andy-rubin-doesnt-think-we-need-winpho-7.html <p>Andy Rubin, the Vice President of Engineering at Google was very open and direct in a recent interview with PC Mag. This is the man responsible for the creation of Android before Google got their hands on it. </p><p> </p><p>He attacked pretty much any and everybody, basically calling out OEMs who haven't kept up with the Android releases. He even says that "there's no advantage to the OEM of using an older version, and I'd say there's a consumer disadvantage." Well, at least he's not alright with the 23 different flavor combinations - I mean, versions of Android out there. </p><p> </p><p>For a quote from Rubin that will make your jaw drop, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/870-googles-andy-rubin-doesnt-think-we-need-winpho-7.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Oct 2010 16:56:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/870-googles-andy-rubin-doesnt-think-we-need-winpho-7.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/869-att-uverse-on-xbox-360-november-7th.html <p>We know, we know. Three years of waiting and you AT&T U-verse customers have given up on the thought of your wonderful Xbox 360 being able to be used as a set-top box. We don't blame you. Well, for those who haven't lost the light at the end of the tunnel, call your friends who've hung their heads in shame and let them know that on November 7th these dreams finally come true. </p><p> </p><p>Three years of waiting should be worth it with this news, you U-versers. Everybody else doesn't get cool stuff like being able to use AT&T U-verse on Windows 7 with four HD streams. Damn you, Brighthouse! </p><p> </p><p>There's more things to be jealous on after the break, like pictures of some interesting slides. So hit it. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/869-att-uverse-on-xbox-360-november-7th.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Oct 2010 16:27:28 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/869-att-uverse-on-xbox-360-november-7th.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/868-htc-nearly-doubles-their-3rd-quarter-profit.html <p>HTC has become very good at making friends with just about everybody. So good, in fact, that they are reaping the rewards from it financially. The world's 4th largest smartphone manufacturer almost doubles their third quarter profits this week, largely due to Google's Android line of smartphones. </p><p> </p><p>For more on their success, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/868-htc-nearly-doubles-their-3rd-quarter-profit.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Oct 2010 16:05:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/868-htc-nearly-doubles-their-3rd-quarter-profit.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/867-hp-says-new-webos-phones-coming-sometime-early-next-year.html <p>For those who didn't catch it, take note at the plural form of the word 'phones'. HP is looking to release more than one smartphone sometime in early 2011 using the coveted webOS software they ended up with after purchasing Palm for $1.2 billion earlier this year. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the phones, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/867-hp-says-new-webos-phones-coming-sometime-early-next-year.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 10 Oct 2010 15:53:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/867-hp-says-new-webos-phones-coming-sometime-early-next-year.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/866-hybrid-optical-drives-spin-and-store.html <p>This new take on optical drives comes from a collaborative relationship between Hitachi and LG. Like most optical drives we're used to, they function as CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray readers/writers but these drives also have the ability to store data in flash memory. More specifically, Micron's 25nm NAND flash memory which currently sits at 64GB or less. The physical size of the drive is 12.77mm making it a good fit for a slim tray. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to decide is these new hybrid drives have any merit.<br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/866-hybrid-optical-drives-spin-and-store.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:05:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/866-hybrid-optical-drives-spin-and-store.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/865-google-tv-eyes-hulu-plus.html <p>Most TV watched is still on TV but over the past several years we have seen significant growth in the Internet-based television programs and movies currently offered by services such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.netflix.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Netfilx</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.hulu.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu</a>. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.hulu.com/plus" class="UpStreamLink">Hulu Plus</a> is set to make its debut this fall but it stands at a few disadvantages that it must confront if the joint venture is to be a success. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out more about Hulu Plus and Google TV. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/865-google-tv-eyes-hulu-plus.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:33:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/865-google-tv-eyes-hulu-plus.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/864-wrongful-data-charges-put-verizon-out-90-million.html <p>No matter how good your cell service providers is, at some point in your relationship mistakes will be made. I have had wrongful charges from Sprint, some iPhone users had massive charges from AT&T and now 15 million Verizon Wireless customers are experiencing the same. That doesn't mean it's the end of the world however. Shockingly, companies make mistakes but how they remedy those mistakes is what really matters. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out how Verizon Wireless might make amends. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/864-wrongful-data-charges-put-verizon-out-90-million.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:06:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/864-wrongful-data-charges-put-verizon-out-90-million.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/863-tmobile-says-4g-isnt-important.html <p>T-Mobile's USA Chief Network Officer Neville Ray seems to think 4G networks are just not important, but if T-Mobile were do have to choose, they'd pick LTE. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We'll look towards LTE at the right point in time for us. That ecosystem is going to be much richer than the competing one from WiMax, which is really a niche play.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Fourth-generation networks promise average download speeds of about 10 megabits per second, compared with 1.7 megabits per second for 3G. </p><p> </p><p>For why Ray thinks this way, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/863-tmobile-says-4g-isnt-important.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:51:30 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/863-tmobile-says-4g-isnt-important.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/862-microsoft-sues-motorola-for-general-stuff.html <p>Lawsuits are fun and if anyone knows that, it's the smartphone industry. This week we have Microsoft filing suit against Motorola for patent infringement. They are claiming 9 patents are infringed through Motorola's implementation of Android on their current line of smartphones. </p><p> </p><p>Motorola and Microsoft were partners for many years, with Motorola making many second-tier Windows Mobile handsets, like the Motorola Q series. Motorola's love with WinMo has waned in recent years and their focus has shifted to second-tier Android phones instead. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for more on the lawsuit. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/862-microsoft-sues-motorola-for-general-stuff.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:41:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/862-microsoft-sues-motorola-for-general-stuff.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/861-virgin-debuts-3d-ondemand-movies.html <p>Virgin Media announced this week that they will be launching the first ever commercially available 3D digital TV on-demand service and they are calling it "3D Movies on Demand". It will be available in the UK for those who are Virgin Media TV customers with a 3DTV and those users will be able to choose 3D movies from Virgin's already extensive range of programs. </p><p> </p><p>For more on 3D Movied on Demand, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/861-virgin-debuts-3d-ondemand-movies.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Oct 2010 17:14:21 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/861-virgin-debuts-3d-ondemand-movies.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/858-bungie-cuts-cheaters-little-slack.html <p>There was a Challenge Reset exploit that 15,000 players have used to amass large amounts of credit to the tune of 50,000 or so. Basically, the player could easily complete challenges over and over again by directly manipulating the network. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out what Bungie is doing about it. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/858-bungie-cuts-cheaters-little-slack.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Oct 2010 16:24:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/858-bungie-cuts-cheaters-little-slack.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/856-operation-payback.html <p>The users at 4chan, a popular image board responsible for many Internet memes such as the Rickroll, lolcats, and the "Anonymous" assault on the Church of Scientology, publicly announced a coordinated DDoS attack against the Motion Picture Association of America in retaliation for the hiring of an Indian-based software firm, which carried out similar attacks on The Pirate Bay and other file sharing sites. </p><p> </p><p>Girish Kumar, managing director of Aiplex Software, the firm in India, said that his company, which works for the film industry, was being hired to pretty much be hitmen who would launch cyber attacks on pirate sites that were hosting illegal material if they didn't respond to copyright infringement notices sent to them by the film industry. This is a cyber crime under American and other countries' laws. </p><p> </p><p>The attacks have been ongoing since early September, with major websites taking falls and experiencing huge downtime for up to 24 hours. Websites and companies affected are the Motion Picture Association of America, WebSheriff, DG Legal, Davenport Lyons and the British Phonographic Industry, to name a few. The most recent attack is the Ministry of Sound, a British music service. </p><p> </p><p>However, the most important attack was on the company responsible for hiring <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.aiplex.com" class="UpStreamLink">Aiplex Software</a> (as a note, their website is still down), the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, or ACS. The attack on their website has caused a massive security breach that contained a list of emails linked to illegal pornographic videos that was procured and then distributed all over torrent sites by the attackers. </p><p> </p><p>To find out more on what's going on and why it won't stop until the attackers 'stop being angry', hit the break. <b>(WARNING: NSFW. Contains explicit language from original documents. Discretion is advised.)</b> </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/856-operation-payback.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:56:35 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/856-operation-payback.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/855-the-fcc-wont-let-me-be-loud.html <p>It is about time something happened in Congress that everyone can get behind. With the likes of healthcare reform and the flailing economy, Congress has finally come together and unanimously passed legislation to limit the volume of television commercials. </p><p> </p><p>We know what a blight on society commercials are, especially when they are so much louder than the television programs that they interrupt. Thank goodness Congress has taken the first step in eliminating this national disaster. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for the real story on what's going on. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/855-the-fcc-wont-let-me-be-loud.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Oct 2010 15:20:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/855-the-fcc-wont-let-me-be-loud.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/854-the-french-want-you-to-buy-youtube.html <p>Have you ever bought stuff online before? Maybe a shirt from OldNavy.com or jeans from eBay? How about a dress from YouTube? No, never from YouTube? Well, the French Connection would like to change that. They have launched the first online store through YouTube. </p><p> </p><p>The new concept store allows you to watch fashion videos on YouTube, click annotation links and go right to the product listing on The French Connection's website. From there you can make a purchase, or not. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the future of video shopping and one of the videos, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/854-the-french-want-you-to-buy-youtube.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 03 Oct 2010 13:35:44 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/854-the-french-want-you-to-buy-youtube.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/853-cebu-pacific-air-knows-luxury-is-overrated-entertainment-is-not.html <p>I find myself on an airplane every now and again and I can't say the experience has ever been memorable since I got used to the fact I was some 20,000 feet higher than I was ever meant to be. Plus lets face it, over the past decade air travel for those of us who fly coach sure hasn't gotten any better. However, if the experience consisted of say some hot flight attendants dancing to Lady Gaga and Katy Perry I certainly would be excited about the usually mandatory and often ignored safety demonstration. Not because it could actually benefit me in the event of an emergency because I'm pretty sure when that flying projectile we call an airplane drops it like it's hot, because it's on fire, and I'm in it, I'm still screwed. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see these flight attendants do their thing. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/853-cebu-pacific-air-knows-luxury-is-overrated-entertainment-is-not.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 02 Oct 2010 18:01:49 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/853-cebu-pacific-air-knows-luxury-is-overrated-entertainment-is-not.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/852-final-fantasy-xiv-review.html <p>As you probably know, Jon and I got the chance to play <i>Final Fantasy XIV</i> and today we will give our initial review of Square Enix's newest MMO. We will be evaluating the game using several criteria including: community, the learning curve, content and graphics. A little overview of <i>FFXIV</i> for you guys given by Wikipedia: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Final Fantasy XIV Online, is the fourteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series, due for release on September 30, 2010 for Microsoft Windows and March 2011 for PlayStation 3. The game is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game and is developed and published by Square Enix. The game takes place in a land called Hydaelyn, mainly in a region named Eorzea, which will have a contemporaneously aesthetic blend of science fiction and classic fantasy elements.</div> </p><p>Lets get this party rolling, shall we? </p><p> </p><p><b>Community: 3 Sick Chocobos out of 5</b> </p><p> </p><p>When I first logged into the game I was surrounded by people of all shapes and sizes, which actually got me excited because the game already had such a big community....or so I thought. Now while the game itself has a decent sized population I never really felt intrigued or compelled to engage with other players. The game was easily soloable so there really was no need for joining a group, unless you wanted to up the difficulty of your quests and get better loot. Usually, when you are playing an MMO you see groups running around everywhere completing quests together. This may be because they are playing with their friends or they actually NEED to work with others to accomplish a goal. While playing <i>FFXIV</i> however I saw no groups and outside of the tavern areas I saw no interaction or mingling between players. Now because this is a new MMO we will give it the benefit of the doubt and give the community 3 Sick Chocobos out of 5 </p><p> </p><p><b>Learning Curve: 2 Sick Chocobos out of 5 </b> </p><p> </p><p>Back in the day MMOs would throw its new players into the world and hope that they adapt and survive (<i>Star Wars Galaxies</i> or <i>EVE Online</i>). The new MMOs however are very easy to just pick up and play. While <i>FFXIV</i> does have tutorials and in game guides (don't forget manuals either..but who reads those anyway?) I would still say that the game could be considered a hybrid of the old system and the new. The user interface or UI is pretty simplistic but it can be pretty confusing when it comes to interacting with your surroundings. In a traditional MMO you would interact with almost everything with the simple click of your mouse. For <i>FFXIV</i> however, the quickest way I could figure out to interact with quest givers or players in general was using the tilda key to bring up your options and then find the option you are looking for. The hotkey system can be just as confusing if you have never played a <i> Final Fantasy Online</i> game. Usually you would be able drag and drop abilities into your hotkey bar, but in <i>FFXIV</i> you have to open up your spell book, pick the appropriate spell, right click the spell, and choose to equip it to your off hand or main hand hotkey bar. Because of how confusing the system can be for new players we are gonna give this 2 Sick Chocbos out of 5. </p><p> </p><p><b>Game Content: 3 Sick Chocobos out of 5</b> </p><p> </p><p>Content is so important to MMOs these days because the goal of developers in the genre is to have enough compelling content to keep subscribers interested in their game. Because when it comes down to it subscribers are what generate revenue so that the developers can continue to pump out patches and content updates, otherwise there is no hope. <i>FFXIV</i>, at least in my eyes, has a lack of content. One of the most annoying factors of your average MMO is the constant repetition players have to go through when questing. The basic formula for a quest in modern day MMO's is simply go collect x amount of this and go kill x amount of that. <i>FFXIV</i> has decided not to break from the established tradition and follow suit with its fellow MMOs. The other problem with the content is that IT IS SO REPETITIVE. You literally do the same quest over and over until you either die of boredom or move onto the next level tier of quests. So with all this considered I am going to give the content 3 Sick Chocobos out of 5 </p><p> </p><p><b>Graphics: 4 Sick Chocobos out of 5</b> </p><p> </p><p>Graphically speaking, if you have a computer that can run it, <i>FFXIV</i> on all high settings is visually stunning. The world itself is filled with vibrant colors and little details that truly make the game something to marvel at...graphically speaking at least. Now my computer wouldn't be considered a "high end" computer, but I can still run the game on medium settings and have the it run smoothly. That is what is most impressive about the graphics engine. My only pet peeve however is the lack of options for running the game on fullscreen. Depending on what resolution you want to play on will have the choice of playing fullscreen or in windowed mode, and for some of the resolutions windowed mode is your only option. But with that aside I would give the graphics of <i>FFXIV</i> 4 Sick Chocobos out of 5 </p><p> </p><p><b>Overall:3 Sick Chocobos out of 5</b> </p><p> </p><p>If you are a fan of the <i>Final Fantasy</i> series you would probably be content playing this game and have no problems whatsoever. But looking at it from a gamer's perspective this game is disappointingly average. While the graphics for the game are stunning (if you have the computer that can run it) overall we are going to give <i>FFXIV:</i> 3 Sick Chocobos out of 5.</p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:47:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/852-final-fantasy-xiv-review.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/851-netflix-apologizes-about-using-actors-in-crowd-during-launch-event-why.html <p>Netflix launched in Canada this week, allowing all of our brethren in the Yukon (not the SUV) to enjoy streaming videos to their heart's content. Lumberjacks and Mounties everywhere have waited long enough to have this wonderful service dance along the maple trees and into their homes, so obviously Netflix wouldn't have had a problem drumming up interest for their launch event that took place, right? Well, Netflix thought they'd need some help, so they hired actors to stand in during the event to attract attention. </p><p> </p><p>As it turns out, people aren't happy with this even though it happens all the time. To find out more and what exactly is going on, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/851-netflix-apologizes-about-using-actors-in-crowd-during-launch-event-why.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:17:08 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/851-netflix-apologizes-about-using-actors-in-crowd-during-launch-event-why.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/850-facebook-knows-that-imaginary-money-is-the-best-kind.html <p>I would like to start off by congratulating Facebook for two reasons. One of which is registering their 500 millionth member in July this year. Whether you like them or not you can't really contest the fact that they managed this only 6 years after starting up in a dorm room back in February 2004. The other reason I want to congratulate Facebook is for another immense achievement of having an estimated "worth" of $33,000,000,000 without actually making any real money. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out more details about Facebook's imaginary triumphs. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/850-facebook-knows-that-imaginary-money-is-the-best-kind.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 16:49:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/850-facebook-knows-that-imaginary-money-is-the-best-kind.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/849-kfc-aiming-for-college-girls-asses.html <p>If your target demographic is males 18-25, where would be the best place to put advertisements for your product? Obviously on the asses of hot girls. This is exactly what KFC has done with their new guerrilla marketing campaign. </p><p> </p><p>If you are a hot college girl and need $500 fast, you too can hand out coupons and wear red fitted sweatpants that read "Double Down" on the back. At least if you go to Spalding University in Louisville. Talk about an EASY $500. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the story, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/849-kfc-aiming-for-college-girls-asses.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 16:34:19 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/849-kfc-aiming-for-college-girls-asses.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/848-blockbuster-finally-files-for-blockbusting-bankruptcy.html <p>This week, Blockbuster finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, asking for protection against its almost $1 billion worth of debt as the video rental company tried to restructure everything. However, the company isn't closing everything down, contrary to probably every store you've seen that has liquidation signs in them. Blockbuster looks to focus on kiosks and online offerings as their main business and wants to keep just a couple of stores open. </p><p> </p><p>Wait, you mean Blockbuster isn't in bankruptcy already? If that's what you, our dear reader, were thinking, then click the break for more! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/848-blockbuster-finally-files-for-blockbusting-bankruptcy.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 16:27:59 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/848-blockbuster-finally-files-for-blockbusting-bankruptcy.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/847-sprinkles-are-ruining-our-country.html <p>Have you sat down recently and considered all of the forms discrimination can come in? Legislation, hate speech, song lyrics and the worst, of course, being cupcakes. </p><p> </p><p>Wait, what? Yes, it's true. According to the owner of Just Cookies, a bakery in Indianapolis, cupcakes can be a major way to discriminate against others, especially the homosexual community. A gay student group from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) wanted to place an order for rainbow frosted cupcakes or cookies and were refused. </p><p> </p><p>To find out exactly what went down, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/847-sprinkles-are-ruining-our-country.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 15:10:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/847-sprinkles-are-ruining-our-country.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/846-nbc-universal-ceo-to-leave-company-after-comcast-merger.html <p>Back in December, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=388" class="UpStreamLink">Comcast came to agreement with NBC Universal</a> to purchase them from parent company GE for $30 billion. Because of this, Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal, has announced he will leave the company when Comcast takes over. </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about Zucker's decision, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/846-nbc-universal-ceo-to-leave-company-after-comcast-merger.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 14:58:41 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/846-nbc-universal-ceo-to-leave-company-after-comcast-merger.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/845-tea-partiers-channed.html <p>We all know that the tea partiers are a vocal people who attract a lot of attention to themselves, whether positive or negative. Usually when people attract a lot of attention to themselves,the Interwebz attack, often in the form of 4chan. </p><p> </p><p>This week, 4chan decided that the Tea Party movement would be a good target of their teenage angst and took it upon themselves to alter the official party website. How better to affect the tea partiers than with porn and racial slurs? </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out the details of the attack. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/845-tea-partiers-channed.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 13:29:12 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/845-tea-partiers-channed.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/844-sony-ericsson-says-droid-does-and-symbian-doesnt.html <p>Poor Symbian finds itself almost all alone as on September 24th a Sony Ericsson spokesperson announced that the they would no longer support the Symbian operating system and have also stopped in-house development pertaining to it. "We have no plans for the time being to develop any new products to the Symbian Foundation standard or operating system." </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out more about Sony's Android announcement.<br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/844-sony-ericsson-says-droid-does-and-symbian-doesnt.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 12:22:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/844-sony-ericsson-says-droid-does-and-symbian-doesnt.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/843-how-many-characters-does-it-take-to-exploit-twitter.html <p>Thanks to Magnus Holm, who was the first Twitter user to exploit a simple JavaScript error, you might have received a barrage of strange tweets. Yes, even more strange than the normal ones. The tweets may have been as inert as a black background or a hyperlink to a nasty porn site. User profiles and hyperlinks were also directly affected by crazy mouse-over effects due to JavaScript injected into the page. Twitter recognizes this bug as a XSS(cross-site scripting) bug that could be exploited because Twitter did not convert its Tweets into hyperlinks correctly. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out what character gave Twitter so much trouble. <br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/843-how-many-characters-does-it-take-to-exploit-twitter.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 26 Sep 2010 10:00:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/843-how-many-characters-does-it-take-to-exploit-twitter.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/842-anime-weekend-atlanta-.html <p>This weekend Allante and I spent at one of the largest anime conventions in the country, Anime Weekend Atlanta. This convention is completely different from the cons we have covered here on The UpStream in the past and totally in a positive way. </p><p> </p><p>We were joined all weekend by our good friends from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.3000brigade.com" class="UpStreamLink">the 3000 Brigade</a> who spent the weekend in costumes (as always). They started the weekend as Playboy Bunny Peach, Zelda and Sheik with Mario and sexy Link and Red Link on Friday. Saturday we had the Raving Rabbids wandering the convention floor and taking pictures adding the Fire Emblem group at the end of the day. Today we brought back the Raving Rabbids (one cosplaying as Mario), and added Links and a gothic girl. Awesome as always. </p><p> </p><p>For more about AWA, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/842-anime-weekend-atlanta-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 18:09:11 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/842-anime-weekend-atlanta-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/841-apb-dead-and-gone.html <p><i>All Points Bulletin</i> was originally conceived as being a groundbreaking game, with an endless amount of potential and in most respects it was. Specifically, it seems to have broken new ground in the shortest turnaround time between launch and closure clocking in at 79 days. And while there may be a ray of hope after all, it's going to be hard for the game's players to love again after having their expectations so suddenly deflated. Whether you liked the game or not, it's sad news that the city streets have been forcibly emptied so quickly. </p><p> </p><p>The true crime in my opinion is that the potential of the game will probably never be realized. The game had one of the most in depth customization systems ever seen in the mmo world and an innovative revenue model this is an MMO that should not be forgotten. I really wish we could have got the chance to try it for ourselves a little further down the road once the game had gotten its footing down, but it looks like that that'll never be possible. </p><p> </p><p>While APB's future fate - and any possible resurrection - looks bleak, Hi-Rez has given a word to the wise to the game's players: come over and give <i>Global Agenda</i> a try. To make the offer an even more tempting one, the studio is providing a decent discount on the purchase of <i>Global Agenda</i> through September 24th. GA will cost just $20.99 during this time period, and that fee covers both the cost of the MMO and unlimited play. Not too shabby, eh? Prospective purchasers will need to buy through <i>Global Agenda's</i> online store and use the code "LongLiveShooterMMOs" to take advantage of this special. <i>Global Agenda</i> is a game that I myself have played and found it extremely funny, although I only played the first ten levels and had a blast. One can only imagine how much better the game gets if you stick with it into the higher levels.</p> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 16:08:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/841-apb-dead-and-gone.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/840-kinect-your-body-and-mind-with-namco.html <p>I was wondering what would come out of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Tokyo Game Show 2010</a> this year and was excited when a certain game title by <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.namcogames.com/?s_kwcid=TC|11912|namco||S||5169231910&gclid=CKzwtKCvlKQCFQS87QodUkJv_A" class="UpStreamLink">Namco</a> called <i><a target="NewWindow" href="http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/085/085940.html" class="UpStreamLink">Body and Brain Connection</a></i> was announced, which is a small part of the many titles Microsoft has lined up for the Kinect. </p><p> </p><p>It starts out with three basic tasks you must complete in order to figure out your starting age, which is not the same as your Wii Sports age because it accounts for the mind as well as the body. So if you're thinking this is another Wii Fit rip off because Namco has made a lot of Nintendo games, you'd be wrong. The first task involves using your arms to mimic the hands on an analog clock. In the next exercise, you use your arms to form bridges for cars to safely make it across the expanse of the screen. Finally, you must use your brain to solve math problems then kick the corresponding soccer ball with the correct answer into a goal. </p><p> </p><p>You will also be able to create custom exercises to work on, reassess your initial brain age, and participate in "Today's Exercises", which is a contemplation of your favorite exercises. Something else that's cool is that you can do all this alone and then chastise your friends in group play later. You can be expecting to see <i>Body and Brain Connection</i> exclusively for the Xbox 360 in spring 2011.</p> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:16:31 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/840-kinect-your-body-and-mind-with-namco.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/839-starcraft-2-balancing-patch-is-here.html <p>The faction balancing and new features outlined last month for <i>Starcraft 2</i> will be implemented this coming Tuesday, September 21, when Blizzard updates the successful strategy title to version 1.1. These new features include support for NVIDIA 3D Vision displays, left-handed hotkey options and new map editor functionality. The full list of features and balance changes can be read over on Battle.net. </p><p> </p><p>The patch will go live during a maintenance period starting Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. until 11 a.m. PDT, at which time the game's online multiplayer modes will be temporarily offline. If you've got a score to settle with a distant rival, you probably shouldn't schedule your grudge match during that downtime - not that any of you are awake that early. As far as how the community is recieving the patch, it seems as though everyone is extremely happy with the majority of the updates. I myself as a protoss player am a bit worried but I will just have to adapt and overcome. </p> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:08:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/839-starcraft-2-balancing-patch-is-here.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/838-designing-the-light-side-information.html <p>Hello interwebz, I'm back and bring good tidings about <i>Star Wars: The Old Republic!</i> A few weeks back I mentioned how the Jedi community in TOR were a bit worried as to whether or not BioWare had an unfair bias towards the Empire. And for some time it seemed as though BW did indeed have something against the Republic, after the Empire recieved more information week after week. I then predicted that after the newest CG trailer entitled "Hope" was released that BioWare would turn over a new leaf and give those who support the Republic their fair share of information. </p><p> </p><p>For what was announced, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/838-designing-the-light-side-information.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:56:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/838-designing-the-light-side-information.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/837-apple-turns-over-a-new-leaf.html <p>When writing about <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Apple</a> in the past we have certainly seen trends that would lead us to believe they like being the bully on the block that isn't particularly concerned about its employees, customers, or business partners. That's why the fact that Apple is willing to address issues with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=276" class="UpStreamLink">Google</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=625" class="UpStreamLink">Adobe</a>, and even some of their product defects comes as quite a welcome surprise. </p><p> </p><p>Take the following, many of which have been discussed on the show at some point. Excerpts after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/837-apple-turns-over-a-new-leaf.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 13:59:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/837-apple-turns-over-a-new-leaf.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/836-youtube-tested-live-streams-for-content-partners.html <p>YouTube announced this weekend that it has finished tests some of its live streaming capabilities with several of its content partners, and looks to take the feature and roll it out to the rest of the site (if successful). </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Starting at 8:00 a.m. PT, (Monday, September 13th) we will begin a limited trial of a new live streaming platform in conjunction with four of our partners: Howcast, Next New Networks, Rocketboom and Young Hollywood. This new platform integrates live streaming directly into YouTube channels; all broadcasters need is a webcam or external USB/FireWire camera.</div> </p><p> </p><p>YouTube's done this in the past, specifically a live segment with President Obama earlier this year. The goal with this leg of testing was that there would be enough live user interaction across the content partners to really tax some of the platform, essentially trying to see if the tech could hold up across multiple live feeds. </p><p> </p><p>YouTube is considering another phase of testing with ten new partners and could possibly give it to all YouTube users in the future. It'll be interesting to see if this move propels the Google-owned video service to the level it wants to be at - the center for all online video-related content.</p> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:32:42 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/836-youtube-tested-live-streams-for-content-partners.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/835-intel-copies-ea-makes-you-pay-for-stuff-you-already-paid-for.html <p>Have you been to a Best Buy recently? We haven't either. If you do happen to make that sad stroll into the price tagged store and venture your way over to the PC section (it's that tiny aisle behind the 17 foot Apple wall) you'll see a $50 prepaid Intel card. Intel calls it the Processor Performance Upgrade Card. We call it EA Has Infiltrated Our Beloved PC Manufacturers' Heads and Brainwashed Them. </p><p> </p><p>What ever could this card be for? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/835-intel-copies-ea-makes-you-pay-for-stuff-you-already-paid-for.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:24:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/835-intel-copies-ea-makes-you-pay-for-stuff-you-already-paid-for.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/834-halo-reach-coop-out-of-reach-for-4gb-xbox-360-owners.html <p>Hey, you there! Did you buy the new Xbox 360 4GB system so you could play your awesomely new cool game <i>Halo: Reach</i>? You did? That's so great! You didn't want to play the co-op mode though, the feature that drew so many new and old players alike to the latest Bungie title, right? Oh, you did? You won't be able to play. I'm so sorry. </p><p> </p><p>What am I talking about? Follow the break for more! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/834-halo-reach-coop-out-of-reach-for-4gb-xbox-360-owners.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:11:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/834-halo-reach-coop-out-of-reach-for-4gb-xbox-360-owners.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/833-rumor-alert-acer-dsi-laptop-in-development.html <p>Let me clarify by saying the actual model is probably not called DSi but I mean look at it...two identical touch screens, one on top and the other on the bottom. Enough said. There isn't much technical data at the moment but we do know the dual touch screen laptop is sporting a 15" display and the Intel Core i5 CPU which clocks in at 2.67GHz. The screens are swappable should you feel the need to shake things up but our first glimpse at this possibly awesome laptop leaves up with more questions than answers. According to the source it is still slow and buggy but will make it to market in fall 2011 if development continues smoothly. </p><p> </p><p>I'm hesitant to say that I'm looking at the future of laptops here simply because laptops in general have fallen behind the curve over the past 7 years and they really need to catch up. For example, with anything but a netbook battery life is just plain sad even with high capacity batteries. No laptop can handle more than 8GB of RAM or support more than one monitor(or at least do it well). Hard drives, especially 5400rpm drives, bottle neck the entire system and last but not least where is USB 3.0? I don't want to sound too upset and dual screens do offer a possible and convenient solution to lack of screen area and multi-monitor support which would be a step in the right direction. What do you think?</p> Tue, 14 Sep 2010 01:03:19 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/833-rumor-alert-acer-dsi-laptop-in-development.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/832-former-microsoft-exec-a-spy-at-nokia.html <p>Stephen Elop, the former Microsoft exec who headed up the 18.6 billion dollar business division is now the current CEO for Nokia. This is a strategic move for Nokia to try and reverse some of the market erosion they are experiencing in the smartphone market. Blackberry, iPhone, and Android phones have been giving Nokia a hard time these past couple years and former CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo has been on the chopping block for 4 years now. </p><p> </p><p>Despite a loss in market share, Nokia still remains the world's largest wireless phone company with 36% of the total global market at the end of the second quarter but it's down from its peak in 2007 at 46%. Most of that 46% comes from their dominance of the European and Asian markets but elsewhere their presence is relatively weak. </p><p> </p><p>For more on Nokia and their CEO requirements, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/832-former-microsoft-exec-a-spy-at-nokia.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:29:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/832-former-microsoft-exec-a-spy-at-nokia.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/831-british-columbia-pirate-has-yarrrr-games-for-cheap-in-a-mall.html <p>A 31 year old pirate has been arrested for selling pirated video games at a local mall in Canada. The trusty Mounties seized several pirated video titles and equipment from Penguin Village Hobbies and Entertainment in Richmond, British Columbia's Parker Place Mall and arrested the pirate. </p><p> </p><p>The investigation into the issue started back in April after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were informed of a piracy operation from private investigation firm IPSA International, who is a US-based firm that works for the software industry. </p><p> </p><p>More on the craziness after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/831-british-columbia-pirate-has-yarrrr-games-for-cheap-in-a-mall.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Sep 2010 17:49:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/831-british-columbia-pirate-has-yarrrr-games-for-cheap-in-a-mall.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/830-where-is-the-hobbit.html <p>The big-budget movie adaptation of <i>The Hobbit</i> is a long way from coming out. For a while, it has seemed like it was a long way from starting production. Not surprising, however, when you consider the director has changed, the owner of the rights (MGM) is in bankruptcy and there is still no Bilbo Baggins. There may be some good news leading to production gearing up in the next few months. </p><p> </p><p>The biggest problem is a lack of funding from a production company that has gotten so invaluable that Disney renamed one of their parks - Metro Goldwin Meyer, better known as MGM. Spyglass has been trying to figure out how to keep MGM afloat long enough to finish the movies and, according to <i>TheOneRing</i>, there might be a solution: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">According to our spy, if things go well with MGM and Spyglass in the next few weeks, ‘The Hobbit’ will head to production in January, pending negotiations with Freeman and filming could tie up actors for a year. (January happens to be an excellent weather month to shoot at the Hobbiton set.)</div> </p><p> </p><p>For more on the production, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/830-where-is-the-hobbit.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 12 Sep 2010 14:26:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/830-where-is-the-hobbit.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/829-rumor-alert-acer-dsi-laptop-in-development.html <p>Let me clarify by saying the actual model is probably not called DSi but I mean look at it... two identical touch screens, one on top and the other on the bottom. Enough said. There isn't much technical data at the moment but we do know the dual touch screen laptop is sporting a 15" display and the Intel Core i5 CPU which clocks in at 2.67GHz. The screens are swappable should you feel the need to shake things up but our first glimpse at this possibly awesome laptop leaves up with more questions than answers. According to the source it is still slow and buggy but will make it to market in fall 2011 if development continues smoothly. </p><p> </p><p>I'm hesitant to say that I'm looking at the future of laptops here simply because laptops in general have fallen behind the curve over the past 7 years and they really need to catch up. For example, with anything but a netbook battery life is just plain sad even with high capacity batteries. No laptop can handle more than 8GB of RAM or support more than one monitor(or at least do it well). Hard drives, especially 5400rpm drives, bottle neck the entire system and last but not least where is USB 3.0? I don't want to sound too upset and dual screens do offer a possible and convenient solution to lack of screen area and multi-monitor support which would be a step in the right direction, but what do you think?</p> Sun, 12 Sep 2010 12:21:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/829-rumor-alert-acer-dsi-laptop-in-development.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/828-windows-phone-7-hits-rtm-launching-october-11th.html <p>We're getting word from several top industry sources claiming that our beloved WinPho 7 operating system should be reaching the market on October 11th, using New York City as its launching stage. It appears that the OS will launch that day, with handsets coming out later in the month. </p><p> </p><p>Until now, all we've known is that Asus, Dell, HTC, LG and Samsung were all on-board to help the cause, but we had little on what handsets were to have WinPho 7 on it, other than seeing some pictures of a Samsung and HTC devices in the wild. </p><p> </p><p>Microsoft has gone on record this week to say, "We do not comment on rumor or speculation," but that was not before the company decided to celebrate Windows Phone 7 going to RTM (Released To Manufacturing), which means the system is ready to go onto handsets! They capped off the celebration by doing a "Thriller" dance in what appears to be one of their sidestreets. Camera crews were on the scene, and we have the video after the break. Another way to market WinPho 7 by going viral (and crazy)? Microsoft said they'd try anything to get the word out. </p><p> </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/828-windows-phone-7-hits-rtm-launching-october-11th.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:52:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/828-windows-phone-7-hits-rtm-launching-october-11th.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/827-acer-founder-calls-apple-a-mutant-virus.html <p>This is exactly why you don't start pushing your competitors: eventually, they will push back! Acer founder Stan Shih called Apple's products a "mutant virus" this week and all the Mac users are up in arms about it. They seemed to have forgotten that when Jobs went to defend the iPhone 4's antenna problems, he did the same thing. Gasp! </p><p> </p><p>What in the world is going on here? Follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/827-acer-founder-calls-apple-a-mutant-virus.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:35:36 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/827-acer-founder-calls-apple-a-mutant-virus.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/826-oracle-pays-the-big-bucks-for-former-hp-ceo-mark-hurd.html <p>Last week, I briefly mentioned that Mark Hurd <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=818" class="UpStreamLink">may be going to Oracle</a> after the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=773" class="UpStreamLink">HP debauchery.</a> Well, it looks as though this speculation has actually turned out to be true. In an announcement that boosted their stock up by over seven percent, Oracle said they will look to pay Hurd, their new co-president, an annual salary of $950,000, and that he could receive a bonus of up to $10 million. </p><p> </p><p>The SEC-filed offer letter was sent in after Oracle talked earlier in the week about hiring Hurd in the first place, just over a month after he was booted out of HP as their CEO. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/826-oracle-pays-the-big-bucks-for-former-hp-ceo-mark-hurd.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:08:11 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/826-oracle-pays-the-big-bucks-for-former-hp-ceo-mark-hurd.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/825-verizon-wireless-cripples-the-droid.html <p>It would appear that Verizon's love affair with Microsoft is not as dead as it appeared. Despite not currently offering any active WinMo handsets (only old-stock), Verizon is still very willing to work with their partner. In this example, we see a collection of Verizon Wireless Android handsets coming with Bing as the default search engine instead of Google. The story doesn't end there, however, as on some handsets it is impossible to change it back. </p><p> </p><p>Let's take the Samsung Fascinate as our working example. It is the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S phone (T-Mobile Vibrant, AT&T Captivate, Sprint Epic 4G) which is the most impressive series of Android handsets I have had the opportunity to use yet. The Fascinate, however, has a few alterations that make it a lot less impressive than the rest. </p><p> </p><p>To read what Verizon has done to the Fascinate, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/825-verizon-wireless-cripples-the-droid.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:13:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/825-verizon-wireless-cripples-the-droid.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/824-google-instant-a-new-way-to-seo.html <p>This week, Google launched their newest, most ambitious search enhancement yet - Google Instant. If you have made it to the Google homepage in the last 36 hours or so, you will notice that all of the searching is different. As soon as you start typing, it starts searching. </p><p> </p><p>Google says, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. We are pushing the limits of our technology and infrastructure to help you get better search results, faster. Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type.</div> </p><p> </p><p>For more about Google Instant, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/824-google-instant-a-new-way-to-seo.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:44:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/824-google-instant-a-new-way-to-seo.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/823-gamer-suspended-from-xbox-live-for-living-in-west-virginia.html <p>Josh Moore, a 26-year-old Xbox Live fanatic recently received notice from Microsoft that his account had been suspended for offensive language on his profile. When he went to look at what was so offensive, he found out he had been suspended for having the word "gay" on his account. The only problem with that is he lives in Fort Gay, West Virginia. </p><p> </p><p>While it is a little town, I do not believe it is offensive for him to live there, and neither did he. He promptly called Microsoft support and figured he could clear up the misunderstanding. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">I figured, I'll explain to them, 'Look in my account. Fort Gay is a real place.' I told him, Google it - 25514! He said, 'I can't help you.'</div> </p><p> </p><p>The rep was uninterested in hearing his story and threated to cancel his account and keep the money he had prepaid for 2 years of service. </p><p> </p><p>For more on this story, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/823-gamer-suspended-from-xbox-live-for-living-in-west-virginia.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:32:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/823-gamer-suspended-from-xbox-live-for-living-in-west-virginia.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/822-apple-game-center-fun-for-some-but-not-for-all.html <p>iOS 4.1 is scheduled to release as soon as today which could be good news for some iPhone and iPod Touch users who are eagerly anticipating the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.apple.com/game-center/" class="UpStreamLink">Apple Game Center</a>. The iPad will also have access to AGC but not until the release of patch 4.2 for iOS 4. In the mean time, it looks to be a social gaming platform that Apple has put a lot of emphasis on since the initial demo of iOS 4. </p><p> </p><p>Apple Game Center will have a dashboard similar to what Xbox Live and PSN use but of course with an Apple twist. You can also expect achievements and player to player invites to be part of the mix. A demo was given at a recent <a target="NewWindow" href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20015233-260.html?tag=mncol;txt" class="UpStreamLink">Apple music event</a> highlighting some of the features discussed previously. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the Apple Game Center, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/822-apple-game-center-fun-for-some-but-not-for-all.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:22:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/822-apple-game-center-fun-for-some-but-not-for-all.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/821-duke-nukem-finally.html <p>Does anyone remember <i>DN3D</i>? I sure do, and that was a long time ago, back when the years started with 19 instead of 20. In the world of gaming and technology 14 years is the equivalent of forever (pun intended) to the nth power so is anyone still waiting for <i>Duke Nukem Forever</i> with high hopes? If so then do me a favor and watch the video after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/821-duke-nukem-finally.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:16:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/821-duke-nukem-finally.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/820-apples-new-ipod-lineup.html <p>This week, Apple, in an attempt to keep their name in the news, announced their newest line of iPods and the response was not quite what they expected. Normally people get all excited and talk about how they have to have the new version. This time that does not seem the be the case. We'll start with the devices they didn't screw up. </p><p> </p><p>Th iPod Classic hasn't been altered. Done. The iPod Shuffle has been restored to its previous glory of the little stamp/clip and has added back the buttons! I know some people were a fan of a device that you could not only not pick the music on but also couldn't control, but the rest of the world will be excited to have the only decently designed Shuffle ever back. </p><p> </p><p>For the rest of the rundown, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/820-apples-new-ipod-lineup.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:08:28 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/820-apples-new-ipod-lineup.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/819-portal-2-coop.html <p><i>Portal</i> is a game that all of us here at the show are extremely fond of and a game that we've dedicated hours upon hours to in order to perfect our portal throwing skills. After watching <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/player/704062.html" class="UpStreamLink">this video</a>, it seems as though we will be learning the game all over again. The video features four levels showing only the BASICS of what's to come with <i>Portal 2's</i> newly added Co-op feature. </p><p> </p><p>If you thought that keeping track of two portals at a time was confusing, you are going to be in a world of pain while trying to keep track of FOUR portals (but the fun kind of pain). As we were watching the footage, you could hear have hear a pin drop because we were THAT awestruck and excited about what we were seeing. Just to put it into perspective, <i>Portal 2</i>, including its co-op features, is four times longer than the original game and that in itself is an impressive feat to accomplish. </p><p> </p><p>I would describe the video to you in more detail but, you should really just see it with your own two eyes...SO GET TO IT....You monster.</p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:48:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/819-portal-2-coop.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/818-former-hp-ceo-mark-hurd-might-join-oracle.html <p>Remember HP CEO Mark Hurd? We talked about his <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=773" class="UpStreamLink">forced "resignation" a couple weeks ago after HP found out he was involved with a female contractor in more than just computer sales.</a> (Guess that means they were having printer-talk?) We learned this week from the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> that Hurd is talking to Oracle, the world's largest enterprise software company. Hurd apparently knows Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison quite well and Ellison was one of the first to bash HP when they let Hurd go. The report says Ellison will remain CEO of Oracle, but the roles of Oracle's two co-presidents, Safra Catz and Charles Phillips, could be affected if Hurd were to come aboard. Oracle just recently purchased Sun Microsystems, so this puts them in direct competition with HP.</p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:45:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/818-former-hp-ceo-mark-hurd-might-join-oracle.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/817-achievement-unlocked-final-fantasy-open-beta.html <p>This Tuesday Jon and I were sitting in our homes waiting in anticipation to finally get our hands on <i>Final Fantasy XIV</i>. The good people at Square Enix, however, had other plans in mind. They had decided that the game needed to undergo "emergency maintenance" and postponed open beta until the following day at 10PM ET. This came as no surprise to me as the majority of open betas end up getting pushed back for the same reason. </p><p> </p><p>The next day we watched our clocks once again and found that Square Enix apparently didn't plan for such a big turn out for their new MMO's open beta. I say this because as Jon and I tried to apply for the open beta, the traffic was so heavy that it brought the Square Enix servers to their proverbial knees, begging for mercy. Attempt after attempt to try and sign into our accounts ended in failure and if we were lucky enough to log in, we still had error messages of every sort crowding the space of our monitors. </p><p> </p><p>Even so, we persisted and tried getting my hands on an open beta key all night, getting as close as having the terms of agreement page right before our eyes, to have the submit button on the page not work. But worry not my friends, after hours upon hours of trying to not only get my key but also downloading the game at the same time, I, or we, rather, arose victorious.</p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:20:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/817-achievement-unlocked-final-fantasy-open-beta.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/816-google-moves-wave-from-the-cloud-to-the-box.html <p>About a month ago Google <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/comment.php?s=767" class="UpStreamLink">waved Good-bye to Google Wave</a>, but it hasn't actually gone anywhere, until now. They seem to have taken the Microsoft approach to product development here by emphasizing on developers, developers, developers, developers. Google is counting on future developer contributions to define a new generation of communication and collaboration tools partially by riding the wave from the clouds, into a box. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out what's really going on! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/816-google-moves-wave-from-the-cloud-to-the-box.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:11:02 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/816-google-moves-wave-from-the-cloud-to-the-box.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/815-apple-pinged-by-spammers.html <p>We have talked before about how <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/comment.php?s=542" class="UpStreamLink">Apple has security problems</a> and aren't interested in fixing them. Our newest example of this is Apple's new social networking venture, Ping. Ping is a social network built into iTunes 10 that is designed to connect you with your favorite artists. According to Apple, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">True fans know it all: What their favorite artists are playing — and when and where they’re playing it. Set your inner groupie free by following your favorite artists on Ping.</div> </p><p> </p><p>However, because of Apple's lack of security or forethought about security, the only thing you can really do through Ping is get scammed. </p><p> </p><p>How can you get scammed through Ping? Hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/815-apple-pinged-by-spammers.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:50:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/815-apple-pinged-by-spammers.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/814-xbox-live-gold-subscription-price-change.html <p>This week, Microsoft was in the news a lot, as another announcement came out of the Xbox 360 camp that we knew was coming for a long time. November 1st, 2010 marks the date where Xbox LIVE Gold subscription prices will be going up. This will affect users in Canada, Mexico, the UK and the US. The new prices for here in the States will be $9.99/month, $24.99/3 months and $59.99 for the year. Not all plans were affected, however, as the UK one-year package remains the same price. </p><p> </p><p>Why the hike in price? Find out after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/814-xbox-live-gold-subscription-price-change.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:45:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/814-xbox-live-gold-subscription-price-change.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/813-hk47-lives.html <p>Announcement: This week BioWare decided to give the fans of <i>Knights of the Old Republic</i> a little teaser about one of the franchise's most popular characters. Witty Reveal: Yes, you guessed it, HK-47 is going to play some sort of role in <i>The Old Republic</i>! A video was posted this Friday showcasing what looks like a "flashpoint" for people who decide to role a character alligned with the Empire. </p><p> </p><p>The video also hinted at another one of the fan favorites, Darth Revan! From what can be gathered from the video, it looks like Imperial players will be able to enter a facility that was actually built by Revan himself. There is also some really interesting dialouge that says "Before Revan's rebirth." Much has been speculated about this statement but the fact of the matter is that we will just have to wait and see what lies in Revans facility. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the big news, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/813-hk47-lives.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:40:11 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/813-hk47-lives.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/812-new-xbox-360-wireless-controller-to-feature-shapeshifting-dpad.html <p>Major Nelson's blog was busy this week, as he announced that there will be a brand new version of the Xbox 360 Wireless controller. The slightly altered newest edition will showcase a transforming D-pad that can go from a "plus to a disc with the twist of the wrist." Not only that, but the controller will sport a matte silver body, concave analog sticks and gray A,B,X,Y buttons for that extra flavor. </p><p> </p><p>The good news is that these will ship November 9th and are available for pre-order right now over on Amazon. The bad news is that you have to pay $64.99 for it as it comes with the Play & Charge Kit. That's okay though, because you were at PAX Prime and got a free one, right? No? Oh. Well, then go get the pre-order! </p><p> </p><p>Video with Major Nelson showing off the new hardware after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/812-new-xbox-360-wireless-controller-to-feature-shapeshifting-dpad.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:29:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/812-new-xbox-360-wireless-controller-to-feature-shapeshifting-dpad.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/811-to-infineon-and-beyond-for-intel.html <p>Last week there were rumors that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Infineon</a>, Europe's second largest mobile chip manufacturer, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/comment.php?s=806" class="UpStreamLink">was in talks with technology giant Intel about possible merger possibilities</a>. Recently, the deal was sealed for 1.4 billion USD which Intel will drop in cash the way only Intel can. The WLS, Wireless Solutions, unit of Infineon that Intel purchased will operate as a stand alone company. Peter Bauer, Infineon CEO, had this to say: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We can now fully concentrate our resources towards strong growth in our core segments. The automotive, industrial and chip card and security divisions. We all stand to benefit enormously from this deal.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Intel seems to be excited as well. Paul Otellini said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">The global demand for wireless solutions continues to grow at an extraordinary rate. As more devices compute and connect to the Internet, we are committed to making certain that Intel is well positioned to take advantage of the growth potential in every computing segment, from laptops to handhelds.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hopefully the market and, consequently, the entire developed world will benefit from here on out. Let us know what you think.</p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:28:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/811-to-infineon-and-beyond-for-intel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/810-its-a-dirty-dirty-world-llc.html <p>We here at The UpStream really enjoy a good lawsuit story as any of our regular readers will tell you. This one, however, is going to be a little different from normal. It's not a tech company suing for patent infringement or Microsoft patenting the Page Up key, this involved a cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals. </p><p> </p><p>Sarah Jones, who is an English teacher and Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader, was incredibly upset when she was told that TheDirty.com had published a story about her entitled "The Dirty Bengals Cheerleader" which suggested that she was the team mattress and, as such, had acquired a collection of STDs. She was so upset that she contacted her lawyer and sued California-based Dirty World Entertainment Recordings LLC. After failing to respond to the lawsuit, a judge awarded Sarah Jones $11 million in default. Unfortunately, Sarah will not see a penny of that money. </p><p> </p><p>Why will she not see the money she won? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/810-its-a-dirty-dirty-world-llc.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:44:18 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/810-its-a-dirty-dirty-world-llc.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/809-mysterious-new-phone-service-added-to-gmail.html <p>With the advent of Internet-based communications those old fashioned land-line phones have been getting hit pretty hard and Google has recently added their new phone service to Gmail helping to reassure that the beating will continue. </p><p> </p><p>Gmail is evolving into an all-in-one communications that is increasing their competitiveness between traditional land-line services and other Internet based communication services like Skype and Oovoo. 25% of U.S. homes have already replaced land-lines with mobile phone and Internet communication alternatives. Skype has also proven that there is a potential for their phone service to become a huge success. In the first day alone, 1 million Google calls had already been placed. The service is available nationwide as of right now and Google does intend to make this feature available internationally but there is no release date at the moment.</p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:22:15 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/809-mysterious-new-phone-service-added-to-gmail.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/808-huxley-the-dystopia-changing-distributors.html <p>Back in the day when I actually had the time to keep up with upcoming games, one of the titles that caught my eye was <i>Huxley.</i> For those of you that are not familiar with the title, <i>Huxley</i> is a massively multiplayer first-person shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans and mutants are at war. </p><p> </p><p>Now that you're caught up, it seems NHN USA, or ijji.com, the company that has been the responsible for publishing Huxley: The Dystopia internationally, have announced that they're passing it back to developer Webzen. </p><p> </p><p>Webzen will be self-publishing Huxley, but don't get your panties in a bunch, because this really isn't that big of a deal. NHN USA and Webzen are separate divisions of the same company, NHN Corporation, and the two divisions will continue partnering with one another to publish other projects. </p><p> </p><p>Now, if you've purchased G Coin Cards for the game, don't worry about losing out. "G Coin Cards branded with Huxley imaging will remain valid as long as they're purchased through an authorized retailer." So no need to worry about wasting your cash.</p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:44:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/808-huxley-the-dystopia-changing-distributors.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/807-ffxiv-open-beta-is-here.html <p>If you, like me, were not lucky enough to get your hands (digitally speaking, of course) on <i>Final Fantasy XIV</i> closed beta invite, our first chance to log a few hours on the game will come next week! Square Enix announced through the game's official forums that open beta servers will go live next Tuesday, August 31 at 7 p.m. Pacific, or 10 p.m. Eastern. </p><p> </p><p>Though the forum post explains that servers will be live 24 hours a day, only a set number of players will be able to log on at one time. This number will gradually increase as Square Enix tests out its server loads, but in the mean time, players who get turned away will be placed on a waiting list. Just think of it as being put on the waiting list for the college, both things are eventually going to rid you of all your money, and will suck away your social life. </p><p> </p><p>I Know Jon and I are excited so if you are interested, and perhaps want to meet up with us in game, I suggest that you head to <i>FFXIV</i>'s website and cross your fingers hoping that you get in the que. The game itself is coming out on the 30th of September, so if you are interested in investing time and money into this game, I suggest you take this great opportunity to try it before you buy it. Just a side note, if you preorder the game you will gain access to the game on the 22nd of September, so if you want to get a head start, that would be the path to take.</p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:23:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/807-ffxiv-open-beta-is-here.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/806-new-intel-on-pending-infineon-acquisition.html <p>Mobile chip manufacturer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Infineon</a> has been a hot topic of discussion for the past month. Just two weeks ago <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=776" class="UpStreamLink">Apple was in a bidding war with Intel, Samsung, and several other large manufacturing companies to acquire this firm</a> and sources close to the current deliberations have stated we could be hearing some news as early as next week about the private talks between Intel and Infineon. </p><p> </p><p>The second largest chip manufacturer in Europe is still going for around 2 billion USD which pales in comparison to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=789" class="UpStreamLink">Intel's recent acquisition of McAffee Inc.</a> but is still important in order for Intel to achieve their goal of being at the center of computing, "Intel's big strategy is to be at the heart of computing everywhere," said Alex Gauna, an analyst at JMP Securities LLC. </p><p> </p><p>Currently Intel has virtually no presence in the handheld market which is opposite of the PC market, where their semi-conductors run more than 80% of personal computers. Being the mature and robust technology firm that Intel is, this presents an excellent opportunity for Intel to penetrate its way into a new market and hopefully bring some good changes into the industry. We will keep you plugged in as the negotiations continue.</p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:27:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/806-new-intel-on-pending-infineon-acquisition.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/805-250k-gets-you-30-seconds-of-lift.html <p>As kids most of us either watched cartoons, read comic books, or pretended to zip around saving the day attached at the hip to our trusty flying machine, the jet pack. While not particularly practical or useful, the first rocket belt was built by Bell Labs in 1953 and I'm sad to say that they still have a long way to go. However, two companies are keeping the dream alive, so to speak. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.tecaeromex.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Technologia Aeroespacial Mexicana</a> has their custom-built TAM Rocket Belt that can get you 30 seconds of lift at speeds of over 60mph on a full tank of hydrogen peroxide. The Colorado-based competition, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.jetpackinternational.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Jetpack Inter­national</a> has the longest flying jet pack, the H202, which can keep you off your feet for a cool 33 seconds, 3 seconds longer than the TAM Rocket Belt. The H202 is also faster with a top speed of 70mph. With a $250k price tag for the TAM Rocket belt, which includes maintenance and flight lessons, or $150k for the H202, everything included, the choice is obvious: neither. </p><p> </p><p>The two companies aren't content to stop there, however. Jetpack InterÂnational is currently working on their T73 Turbine model which will burn jet fuel increasing the lift time to 19 minutes. Troy Widgery, the founder of Jetpack Inter­national, commented on some of the drawbacks to the current models, "If something goes wrong, you can get killed." These are profound words. He also went on to say, "Thirty-three seconds of fuel makes an inexperienced pilot twitchy." </p><p> </p><p>I like jet packs and rocket belts as much as the next guy but somehow paying up to $250k to fly around with 19 minutes of combustible jet fuel strapped to my body makes every survival instinct I have go nuts. I would almost be okay with the TAM rocket belt, because at least if you crash using that one you have all that hydrogen peroxide to help sooth the burns.</p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:46:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/805-250k-gets-you-30-seconds-of-lift.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/804-final-fantasy-fatigue.html <p><i>Final Fantasy XIV</i> is a game that both <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/profile.php?p=5" class="UpStreamLink">Jon</a> and I are very excited for. Earlier this week, however, my excitement for the game faltered a little bit. Why? Because of a new system that Square Enix introduced a few days ago. It is called the "fatigue system" and it basically limits the amount of play time one can have with their characters. </p><p> </p><p>For each class and character, you will get normal experience for eight hours, followed by a slow drop-off over the next seven hours that ends at no experience gain. This goes for both class levels and physical levels, which means that after 16 hours of play, your character's physical level cannot advance further until a week has passed from the start of leveling. </p><p> </p><p>For more information on the game's leveling system, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/804-final-fantasy-fatigue.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:45:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/804-final-fantasy-fatigue.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/803-indie-developer-upset-over-theft-kind-of.html <p>I am a software developer myself, so I totally understand the feeling of distress when your product starts showing up on torrent sites. It has gotten so bad that now, even the $2 iPhone apps are starting to find their way to the underground despite their proprietary systems and low costs. At some point you have to consider the value of your own time to find, crack and install software onto a phone that you could have just bought for the cost of a Starbucks coffee. </p><p> </p><p>Other developers feel this pain as well, but apparently not always for the same reason. Dmitry Chestnykh, who is a Mac developer with <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.codingrobots.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Coding Robots</a>, recent wrote an email to The Pirate Bay when he found his software product available with a crack on their site. He downloaded to see how how the crack worked and was immediately upset. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to read the email. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/803-indie-developer-upset-over-theft-kind-of.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:34:59 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/803-indie-developer-upset-over-theft-kind-of.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/802-mit-eats-oil.html <p>MIT is always hard at work trying to solve the world's problems one piece of technology at a time. This week's solution is a floating yellow box that collects oil. </p><p> </p><p>This autonomous robot, named Seaswarm, is capable of floating around on its own, without any human interaction, searching the sea for oil and collecting it. Now, this would be impressive by itself, however, this little guy can team up with friends to take on the ocean together, with the help of GPS and Wi-Fi connectivity. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the Seaswarm and to see the MIT video, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/802-mit-eats-oil.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:18:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/802-mit-eats-oil.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/801-google-not-participating-in-javaone.html <p>Early this month, Oracle joined the ranks of every other technology company on the planet and filed suit against Google. Oracle has claimed that Google violated patents they acquired when they purchased Sun Microsystems, namely Java-related patents, with their Dalvik virtual machine on the Android platform. </p><p> </p><p>This lawsuit has led Google to pull their participation in the JavaOne developers' event, now led by Oracle. Google has participated in every JavaOne event since 2004, but feels it is no longer appropriate for them to participate in an event about the future of Java and open source software run by a company that files lawsuits over open source licenses. </p><p> </p><p>For more on the lawsuit and Google's thoughts on JavaOne, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/801-google-not-participating-in-javaone.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:25:38 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/801-google-not-participating-in-javaone.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/800-lucasfilms-sues-jedi-mind-inc.html <p>George Lucas is taking out his lightsaber to attack the makers of a wireless headset called Master Mind that states its users can interact with computers through brainwaves. Jedi Mind, Inc. is the target of this Lucasfilm lawsuit over copyright infringement, claiming that the products made by this company could hurt Lucas' business and make customers confused. </p><p> </p><p>Lucas has somewhat of a reputation of being intolerant of anyone using references to <i>Star Wars</i> in their products. The now-popular "Droid" mark for Android-powered smartphones was, in fact, licensed from Lucasfilm for this reason - otherwise, Verizon Wireless would have to use another, probably less catchy name. </p><p> </p><p>With this fairly common knowledge, it's surprising that Jedi Mind, Inc. even moved forward with its company and product names in the first place. Lucasfilm sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company in May of 2009, and then again in September of 2009 after Jedi Mind failed to phase out the Jedi-related marks. The two companies tried to settle out of court, but apparently failed, leading Lucasfilm to ask for $5 million in damages as well as injunctive relief.</p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:21:28 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/800-lucasfilms-sues-jedi-mind-inc.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/799-movie-studios-sue-ad-companies-for-pirate-sites.html <p>Movie studios are sick of websites that offer pirated material and have decided to open a new lawsuit targeting an ad company that provides their services to these sites. Warner Bros and Disney have joined forces to sue Triton Media, saying the company is responsible for contributory and induced copyright infringement because Triton helps keep these sites alive by supporting them with ad and referral income. </p><p> </p><p>Warner and Disney are going after Triton for supporting nine websites they claim to be "one-stop-shop" sites for illegal copies of the studios' work. Some of the sites include free-tv-video-online.info, watch-movies-links.net and thepiratecity.org - basically, no-name sites. Essentially, the lawsuit claims that both parties have profited from the distribution of the pirated works and Triton made it possible by offering "material assistance" to the sites. </p><p> </p><p>To see if anything may come out of this lawsuit, check after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/799-movie-studios-sue-ad-companies-for-pirate-sites.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:58:03 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/799-movie-studios-sue-ad-companies-for-pirate-sites.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/798-microsoft-cofounder-sues-the-internet-over-patents.html <p>Paul Allen, entrepreneur and co-founder of Microsoft, has filed a lawsuit against 11 companies for infringements on his Web search patents. The suit names Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, YouTube, and Microsoft partner Yahoo as defendants for violating four Interval Licensing LLC patents, though the court will likely have to weigh whether the patents in question are "obvious" or not. </p><p> </p><p>The infringing patents have three main concepts in question: browser use for finding and looking through information, keeping a user's peripheral attention while using a device and letting users know of items of current interest. Basically, this is revolving around the idea of presenting searched-for information to a user along with related news articles, music, videos, status updates from friends or stock and weather info. </p><p> </p><p>For more on what's going on here, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/798-microsoft-cofounder-sues-the-internet-over-patents.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:46:39 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/798-microsoft-cofounder-sues-the-internet-over-patents.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/797-fan-friday-for-star-wars-the-old-republic-brings-great-news.html <p>Whether you like to keep two feet on the ground or like to explore the final frontier, <i>The Old Republic</i> is catering to your every need. Fans of the former or the ladder (or both) aspects of the game have a little more to look forward to this week, as BioWare released additional information on the advanced classes and rolled out the first two starfighters for the public to see. Last week they also revealed some footage of space combat as well as some in depth information about the Jedi Knight. </p><p> </p><p>In its recent Fan Friday, BioWare clarified the 16 class specializations by listing each of their top three attributes. For example, class I plan on playing, the Jedi Knight, has two specs entitled Jedi Gaurdian and Jedi Sentinel. The Jedi Guardian skills include using a Single Saber and Heavy Armor, while having Party Buffs and fulfilling the role of a Tank. Jedi Sentinels however Dual Weild their Saber's and specialize in Saber to Saber combat and take care of Melee DPS. </p><p> </p><p>If the recently revealed space combat has you itching to jump in your jumpsuit, you can check out the first two starships (out of six) that will take pilots through the midst of adrenaline-pumping battles. The Fury is an Imperial interceptor (which looks like a enlarged predecessor of the TIE Interceptor), designed with speed and firepower in mind. Its counterpart, the Defender, is a standard Republic corvette that's been upgraded with turbolasers and shields for quick combat missions. Hopefully, we'll find out the remaining four fighters before too long!</p> Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:34:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/797-fan-friday-for-star-wars-the-old-republic-brings-great-news.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/796-mizucon-is-yourzucon.html <p>What an interesting Con month it's been for <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/profile.php?p=1" class="UpStreamLink">Scott</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/profile.php?p=6" class="UpStreamLink">Josh</a>, and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/staff/profile.php?p=5" class="UpStreamLink">myself</a>. It was interesting for me because of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/starwarscelebrationv.php" class="UpStreamLink">Star Wars Celebration V</a> and because of my first time experiencing <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mizucon.com/" class="UpStreamLink">MizuCon</a>. You're never heard of it? Imagine a good con; now imagine a great con; OK, now imagine a super con! Got it? Well it's like that except better and wrapped up in a neat little package. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in personality. </p><p> </p><p>Friday night was of course filled with cosplayers, vendors and exhibitors, like the improv group as well as our good friends from <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.tatescomics.com/" class="UpStreamLink">TATE'S Comics+Toys+Videos+More</a> and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.3kbrigade.com/" class="UpStreamLink">3000 Brigade</a>. 3K, of course, stole the show without trying. Their preview show was off the chain and somehow I wasn't surprised. Seeing all the Koopa Kids, played by the sexy female cast members, made it difficult to focus on filming, to say the least. Shame on you if you weren't there to see it and kudos if you were. Fortunately, I was also able to catch a glimpse of the improv group that performed afterwards. 3K is a tough act to follow but I certainly enjoyed what I saw and they were good sports about sharing back stage space with 30 other people so when you hit up MizuCon next year stop by and give them a watch as well. </p><p> </p><p>Saturday, Scott and I remembered what it felt like to be a spectator and walked around talking with con-goers and some awesome vendors as well. Of course, we ended up with some con goodies but with the variety of anime and gamer stuff you're bound to find something you just have to get. However, I am glad that we were able to take refuge at TATE'S booth when the urge to geek out became too strong. Otherwise who knows what damage we might have done.</p> Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:33:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/796-mizucon-is-yourzucon.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/795-hppalm-webos-tablet-coming-in-.html <p>We'd heard HP's Todd Bradley had confidentially told employees that a webOS tablet would arrive in first quarter 2011, but now the man's gone on the record in the company's third quarter 2010 earnings call. </p><p> </p><p>"You'll see us with a Microsoft product out in the near future and a webOS-based product in early 2011," he told investors and analysts in response to a direct question about tablets, adding that potential slates were part of the reason HP bought Palm in the first place. Now, we're not financial experts, but we've heard it's typically a good idea not to promise things to your shareholders if you don't intend to deliver. In other words, there's a good bet the PalmPad is actually not an imaginary friend our subconscious created after Mark Hurd's hateful words in June. Instead, it does exist and that's why HP has gone a new direction when it comes to their <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=773" class="UpStreamLink">CEO decision-making - you know, minus the whole $50 million severance package thing.</a></p> Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:27:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/795-hppalm-webos-tablet-coming-in-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/794-sony-replacing-handset-wiring-with-a-single-copper-cable.html <p>Something innovative or at least interesting always comes out of Sony's R&D team. This little invention could change the appearance of Sony and Sony Ericsson products some time soon. Sony just announced the development of a "single wire interface technology" that replaces the 20+ cables currently found inside mobile devices that connect the phone's moving pieces together. </p><p> </p><p>These signal, video and audio cables hidden in the hinge or rotating parts will be replaced with one single wire capable of transmitting data at 940Mbps. Sony says that this will provide greater reliability and flexibility in their products, but we disagree. While typically if one of the cables were to break in your device, you'd just get a new one, so it might not be a big deal if this new cable breaks as well. However, one cable designed to do 20+ things leads to more potential for it to fail. What do you guys think?</p> Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:23:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/794-sony-replacing-handset-wiring-with-a-single-copper-cable.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/793-yahoo-to-buy-hulu.html <p>Yahoo! may be making a move and purchasing a "considerable" stake in Hulu if the website decides to pursue an initial public offering, according to analyst group Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Hulu, who is owned by three of the biggest US broadcast networks, is preparing a share sale as early as this year, and they are predicted to value the company at over $2 billion. </p><p> </p><p>Is Yahoo! in a position to do this? Check after the break for more insight on this possible purchase. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/793-yahoo-to-buy-hulu.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:57:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/793-yahoo-to-buy-hulu.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/792-mizucon-small-but-mighty.html <p>Another week, another convention. This one was unlike any I have attended before. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.mizucon.com" class="UpStreamLink">MizuCon</a> is in its third year and doing very well for itself. While remaining small, the con feels bigger than it is. </p><p> </p><p>Part of what made the con feel so much bigger was the presence of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.tatescomics.com" class="UpStreamLink">TATE'S Comics+Toys+Videos+More</a> and the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.3kbrigade.com" class="UpStreamLink">3000 Brigade</a>. With a team of over 30 people, this pairing certainly gives the feeling of the larger cons. And anywhere the 3000 Brigade goes you have fun and feel at home. </p><p> </p><p>For more about MizuCon and their entertainment, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/792-mizucon-small-but-mighty.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:15:46 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/792-mizucon-small-but-mighty.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/791-play-too-much-starcraft-take-some-pills.html <p>A study recently conducted by the Department of Psychiatry at South Korea's Chung Ang University has found that <i>StarCraft</i> "addiction" can be treated with Bupropion, an antidepressant and anti-smoking aid. Yes thats right...<i>StarCraft</i> "addiction." The study found that individuals who took the drug for six weeks saw their average <i>StarCraft</i> playtime decrease by 35.5 percent. In addition-- and this is honest to god no joke-- MRI scans showed that participant's brains reacted less strongly to pictures of Zerglings after the treatment. It's studies like this that make me think, "Why does North Korea want them back?" </p><p> </p><p>For those of you that don't know what <i>StarCraft</i> is North Korea helpfully summarized <i>StarCraft</i> for people just like you: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">As a military leader for one of three species, players must gather resources for training and expanding their species’ forces. Utilizing various strategies and alliances with other species, players attempt to lead their own species to victory.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Treating someone's obsessive behavior towards a video game with real-life pharmaceuticals is a fairly heavy prescription. Then again, out of the survey's eleven participants, six had dropped out of school for two months due to the amount of time they put into <i>StarCraft</i> every day. Two participants were divorced due to their demanding <i>StarCraft</i> schedules. Now I have never had an addiction to a specific game but I know how much of a hassle it is too keep up with things like raids or guild functions. One minute you are just playing a game, having fun, and all of a sudden it feels like a job that you have to do. I wonder what game addiction they plan to tackle next. <i>World of Warcraft</i>, <i>Aion</i>, or <i>StarCraft 2</i> perhaps? Only time will tell, but one things for sure I am looking forward to whatever whacky study South Korea comes up with next.</p> Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:25:39 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/791-play-too-much-starcraft-take-some-pills.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/790-apple-patent-could-lock-out-unauthorized-users.html <p>Apple has decided that remotely removing applications you have downloaded is a thing of the past. The more important issue is those pesky unauthorized iOS users. So, this week, Apple has decided to apply for a patent on a new method to tell the difference between authorized and unauthorized users of a specific iOS device. Once one is detected, the device would be able to shut off certain features or send notifications to services about the disallowed use. </p><p> </p><p>The patent, titled "Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device," describes many ways the device could sense who is using an iPhone or iPad. Included are voice print analysis, photo analysis, heartbeat analysis (what!?), hacking attempts or even "noting particular activities that can indicate suspicious behavior." </p><p> </p><p>Want to know more about this scary, Big Brother-esque operation? Follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/790-apple-patent-could-lock-out-unauthorized-users.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:22:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/790-apple-patent-could-lock-out-unauthorized-users.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/789-intel-buys-mcafee-decides-that-security-matters.html <p>Intel has purchased security and antivirus company McAfee for $7.68 billion. The processing giant will pay 60% over the closing price from Wednesday, $48 a share, making this the largest deal in Intel's history. </p><p> </p><p>Intel's President and CEO Paul Otellini stressed that security is becoming an increasing importance in the company. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences.</div> </p><p> </p><p>More on the deal after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/789-intel-buys-mcafee-decides-that-security-matters.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 22 Aug 2010 09:59:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/789-intel-buys-mcafee-decides-that-security-matters.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/788-star-wars-celebration-v-the-man-the-myth-the-total-beast-ray-park.html <p>Ray Park is a name you may have heard if you are a fan of NBC's <i>Heroes</i>, or movies like <i>Mortal Kombat</i>, <i>Sleepy Hollow</i>, <i>X-Men</i> and of course <i>Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace</i>. Essentially he is a Caucasian version of Jackie Chan, but with a British accent. While I was in the line to see an interview of him once again hosted by the hilarious Jay Lag'aia, I kept hearing about what a great person Ray Park was and how he would go around to people not getting any attention in the autograph lines and sign their stuff, or how he was such a positive person and a ball of energy. So needless to say I was really excited to see this man in person and evaluate just how great of a guy he really was. </p><p> </p><p>How great is he? Hit the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/788-star-wars-celebration-v-the-man-the-myth-the-total-beast-ray-park.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:16:19 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/788-star-wars-celebration-v-the-man-the-myth-the-total-beast-ray-park.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/787-one-bad-apple-gets-arrested-in-kickback-scheme.html <p>Do you know Paul Shin Devine? We didn't either until this week. Paul is 37, is a global supply manager for Apple, lives in Sunnyvale, CA and apparently loves to accept kickbacks from Asian suppliers. So much, in fact, that in return, he would provide confidential information that allows those suppliers to negotiate more advantageous contracts with Apple. In the real world, those extracurricular activities are against the law and the FBI will arrest you for it. And that's exactly what happened. </p><p> </p><p>More on this bad apple after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/787-one-bad-apple-gets-arrested-in-kickback-scheme.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:54:39 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/787-one-bad-apple-gets-arrested-in-kickback-scheme.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/786-news-corp-to-launch-digital-newspaper.html <p>Let's face it. The newspaper is slowly following the path of the eight-track player, Betamax and HD-DVD. Teens now have the attention span of a goldfish and the demand for instantaneous satisfaction with as little work as possible. Young adults in their twenties have their blog sites and video podcasts. People in their thirties have CNN and Fox. The only people reading a newspaper with their morning coffee - with the finance section neatly folded and laid on top by their loving spouse - are the older generation. The same older generation who is afraid of the Internet and those new redtooth headsets and Scandisk flash drives (misspelled on purpose). Right? Maybe not so much anymore. </p><p> </p><p>With <i>The New York Times</i> claiming to have reached 400,000 downloads of its iPad edition of its newspaper, it's becoming more and more clear that the digital world and the Internet are things that the news companies are going to want to be a part of in the next few years. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. seems to agree. Plus, if newspapers go away, that's one more step to being green, yes? </p><p> </p><p>More on what Murdoch and Co. are wanting to do after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/786-news-corp-to-launch-digital-newspaper.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 Aug 2010 10:46:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/786-news-corp-to-launch-digital-newspaper.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/785-star-wars-celebration-v-robot-chicken-fans-assemble.html <p>Being at a <i>Star Wars</i> convention and also being a huge fan of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.adultswim.com/shows/robot-chicken/index.html" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Robot Chicken</i></a>, I was both happy to see that many, many people in the <i>Star Wars</i> universe have a screwed up enough sense of humor to be fans of good parodies but I was also sad because of the long line it created to the event. The good news is however that Josh and I managed to slip into the balcony seats, right in the center and I always had my suspicions that Seth Green was pocket sized and this was confirmed as soon as he came out on stage next to Co-Producer/Writer Matt Senreich. </p><p> </p><p>They started off by showing some of the bits they filmed for their last <i>Star Wars</i> episode on the 3 big screens. This was followed by a little sneak peak into the next <i>Star Wars</i> episode they just started filming the previous Monday and I do mean "little" (not Seth Green, the clips) because they had about 30 seconds finished and the rest were storyboard drawings. It was still amazing to see and hilarious so if you weren't lucky enough to be there then you will just have to tune into the show this Sunday night at 9PM to find out. </p><p> </p><p>For information about the writing, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/785-star-wars-celebration-v-robot-chicken-fans-assemble.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 15 Aug 2010 08:22:30 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/785-star-wars-celebration-v-robot-chicken-fans-assemble.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/784-star-wars-celebration-v-our-hour-with-anthony-daniels.html <p>Anthony Daniels is a name that many would and rightfully as should recognize as both the "narrator" and "voice of reason" in the <i>Star Wars</i> saga. Now, as a fan of <i>Star Wars</i>, I have seen countless special features and interviews that all feature Anthony Daniels and believe me when I say that today in the Chapin Theater in the beautiful Orange County Convention Center, I saw something that I never expected. </p><p> </p><p>We all were first introduced to Daniels as C-3PO in the <i>Star Wars</i> films and to this day and probably for the rest of his life, he will continue to be C-3PO thanks to the <i>Star Wars: The Clone Wars</i> television series. I would give you a list of all the movies he has been involved in, but the projects he's been in are almost entirely derived from or relate to <i>Star Wars.</i> </p><p> </p><p>To find out what was so amazing about the event, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/784-star-wars-celebration-v-our-hour-with-anthony-daniels.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 14 Aug 2010 21:04:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/784-star-wars-celebration-v-our-hour-with-anthony-daniels.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/783-star-wars-celebration-v-midichlorians-are-in-the-air.html <p>The atmosphere here at the Orange County Convention Center isn't quite what Josh and I have come to expect from our previous con experience. Of course, there are tons of people here basking in the world of <i>Star Wars</i>. There are plenty of vendors, guests and people in costumes. So what's the difference? The quality of the costumes and the vast knowledge con-goers share is unprecedented. I'm not knocking cosplayers here, but when it comes to taking pride in their appearance and understanding of their characters as well as the roles they play, they got you guys beat. About the only way I can explain it is that there is an overwhelming amount of Midi-chlorians(more than Master Yoda has) and that the Force is here at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.starwarscelebration.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Celebration V</a>. </p><p> </p><p>There are many people who have found unique ways to express themselves like the many members of R2 - Droid Builders. Josh and I had the pleasure of interviewing a man we know only as Guy and he is certainly passionate about building those lovable R2 units. The skills and monetary investment required to bring R2 to life is crazy. For you C3P0 fans, we did see a few but it's definitely about R2. The amount of detail, creativity, and TLC that goes into making every unit can only be described best by Guy himself. He also tells a neat story about George Lucas stopping by to see their droid creations so be sure to check out our interview that will be posted early next week to get the entire scoop. </p><p> </p><p>For more information about the day, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/783-star-wars-celebration-v-midichlorians-are-in-the-air.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:43:58 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/783-star-wars-celebration-v-midichlorians-are-in-the-air.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/782-star-wars-celebration-v-the-film-giant-warwick-davis.html <p>Today, Jon and I got the opportunity to see the one, the only, our little film giant, Warwick Davis. If the name isn't ringing some bells for everyone out there, you may recognize him from films such as, <i>Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi</i>, <i>Willow</i> and a little series called <i>Harry Potter</i>. Ever heard of it? In <i>Star Wars</i> he played a young Ewok named Wicket, in <i>Willow</i> he played Willow, and in <i>Harry Potter</i> he played various roles such as Professor Flitwick, and Griphook. </p><p> </p><p>The person who interviewed both Warwick and Mark Hamil earlier in the day was a man by the name of Jay Laga'aia who starred in films such as <i>Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones</i> and </i>Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith</i> (I am starting to see a theme here) and some more recent films like <i>Daybreakers</i>, and <i>Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole</i>. </p><p> </p><p>For more about the interview, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/782-star-wars-celebration-v-the-film-giant-warwick-davis.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:37:13 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/782-star-wars-celebration-v-the-film-giant-warwick-davis.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/781-starcraft-2-sales-skyrocketed-in-just-4-days.html <p>Put all the little problems about no LAN-partying and the inability to zoom out as far as you want aside. The fact is this: <i>StarCraft 2</i> is an awesome game that has been long overdue! It's been such an anticipated game, in fact, that sales for the title have skyrocketed past any console game. <i>StarCraft 2</i>, the PC game that could, has sold 721,000 units. <i>NCAA Football 11</i> on both of its platforms combined only reached 692,000. </p><p> </p><p>Here's what's even crazier: those sales numbers only reflect retail copies sold, and not the digital downloads that Blizzard has been pimping out on Battle.net. And to make it even more nuts, the title was released on July 27th and hit these numbers. Just imagine what the 30 day sales figures will be. </p><p> </p><p>More on <i>StarCraft 2</i> after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/781-starcraft-2-sales-skyrocketed-in-just-4-days.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:08:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/781-starcraft-2-sales-skyrocketed-in-just-4-days.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/780-bethesda-is-dropping-the-preorder-bomb.html <p><i>Fallout 3</i> was a huge and critical hit for publisher Bethesda Softworks when it was released back in 2008 and if pre-orders are any indication (which they are i.e. <i>CD:MW2</i>) the follow-up <i>Fallout: New Vegas</i> will be an even bigger. According to an article at MCV, Bethesda is saying that pre-orders for the Obsidian Entertainment-developed post-apocalypse RPG are very high. </p><p> </p><p>"How high?", you may ask. Well according to Bethesda's European marketing and PR director Sarah Seaby, "<i>Fallout: New Vegas</i> pre-orders are far outstripping those of <i>Fallout 3</i>." Just to put it into perspective, Bethesda shipped a worldwide total of 4.7 million units of Fallout 3 in 2008. So one can only imagine just how big of a mushroom cloud this game is going to leave in the gaming market but we will just have to wait and see. I just recently traded in my original version of Fallout 3 for the game of the year edition and I still plan on buying <i>Fallout: New Vegas.</i></p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:01:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/780-bethesda-is-dropping-the-preorder-bomb.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/779-nfl-to-follow-the-other-football-microchips-in-game-balls.html <p>It appears that the NFL and Roger Goodell are finally fed up with bad calls, mundane replay challenges and awful decision making. This week, the NFL has decided to humor the idea of the <i>actual</i> sport of football and possibly decide on inserting microchips into the game balls to determine things like touchdowns and first downs. </p><p> </p><p>Cairos Technologies, a German outfit that's been trying to sell its goal line technology to football bigwigs for a while, has told Reuters that it's in discussions with the NFL about bringing its magnetic field-based technology to the land of the vikings (and, by proxy, the Minnesota Vikings). </p><p> </p><p>We have a video on the technology being used in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/779-nfl-to-follow-the-other-football-microchips-in-game-balls.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:05:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/779-nfl-to-follow-the-other-football-microchips-in-game-balls.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/778-dan-30-is-open-for-suggestions.html <p>It's safe to say that at this point in time thanks to websites like YouTube anyone who ever gets bored at work or has time to kill waiting in line at the DMV is familiar with vlogging. Every vlogger out there has his/her own reasons to put themselves out there on the Internet for all to see but there is one vlogger out there that is taking it to the next level. </p><p> </p><p>Dan seems like an average enough guy with a vlog but he is putting control of his life in the hands of viewers for an entire year. Participants are allowed to vote and suggest tasks for Dan to complete every day. The good news for Dan is that he still has a good amount of control over the chosen tasks which so far have ranged from giving strangers high-fives to walking to the nearest city. He has said that soon participants will be able to influence bigger decisions like whether he will surprise his girlfriend on her birthday or not. </p><p> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://revision3.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Revision3</a> is the Internet television service that is broadcasting Dan 3.0 and they reported that their site traffic doubled when the show launched August 1st and has continued to remain popular after the first 4 episodes. Only time will tell if this kind of personal influence on media will be successful now and in the future. If you want to see some of Dan's other videos then check out his <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/pogobat" class="UpStreamLink">YouTube channel</a>.</p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:02:05 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/778-dan-30-is-open-for-suggestions.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/777-only-in-san-francisco-supply-and-demandpriced-parking-meters.html <p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Circling for parking accounts for approximately 30% of city driving. Reducing this traffic by helping drivers find parking benefits everyone. More parking availability makes streets less congested and safer. Meters that accept credit cards reduce frustration and the need for parking citations. With SFpark: Circle Less, Live More.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Only in San Fransisco can a quirky, yet possibly effective idea like this get off the ground and work! San Fransisco's parking is a disaster, so to counter, they are looking for solutions that will allow at least one parking spot open per block. With SFpark, they hope to achieve this crazy result! How? By using real-time data and demand-responsive pricing to readjust parking patterns. </p><p> </p><p>Follow the break for more information. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/777-only-in-san-francisco-supply-and-demandpriced-parking-meters.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:35:06 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/777-only-in-san-francisco-supply-and-demandpriced-parking-meters.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/776-is-apples-newest-potential-acquisition-a-sour-deal.html <p>Apple seems to be eying smart phone chip manufacturer <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/index.html" class="UpStreamLink">Infineon</a> but they aren't the only ones. Other titan tech companies such as Samsung, Broadcom, and Intel appear to be very interested in Infineon as well. The current bid is sitting at $2 billion which is a hefty price tag but all these tech giants and especially Apple have the cash to burn. The real question is, should Apple continue to pursue the merger and acquisition? </p><p> </p><p>Despite Apple being grouped together in the same industry, there are some major differences between them and their competitors. One difference deals with the way Apple normally handles mergers and acquisitions. They are used to purchasing and integrating with smaller companies. This process can usually be expedited to get projects up and developed quickly. Another factor is that Infineon would be there debut in the manufacturing arena. Apple has never done any in-house manufacturing, so along with a hefty price tag there would be a much slower and most costly integration process. Samsung, Intel, and Broadcom are quite familiar with the manufacturing industry. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for more reasons why Apple should or shouldn't continue this merger process. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/776-is-apples-newest-potential-acquisition-a-sour-deal.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:14:03 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/776-is-apples-newest-potential-acquisition-a-sour-deal.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/775-blizzards-taking-sexy-back.html <p>In what most MMORPG vets and newbs alike are tentatively referring to as "the saddest forum post in the history of all mankind," Blizzard recently informed <i>World of Warcraft</i> players on the Moon Guard server that moderators would now be patrolling the server for... erotic role-playing. Particularly in one in-game town, Goldshire, which appears to be a non-stop, Bacchanalian festival of delights of the virtual flesh and let me tell you that I literally just got a nasty chill typing that out. </p><p> </p><p>Blizzard customer service reps will now "regularly" keep an eye on the town's public chat channels, privately punishing players who violate the game's harassment policies. I can imagine the emails and tells people who violate said policies will receive. "Dear Newbstompa69, please stop trying to have cybersex with that level 4 Priest. That is very, very gross... At least go for someone within at least 5 levels of you." Which means they will have to move to a higher level area... perhaps the Arathi Highlands or something. </p><p> </p><p>For more Blizzard cybersex, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/775-blizzards-taking-sexy-back.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:11:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/775-blizzards-taking-sexy-back.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/773-hp-ceo-resigns-after-sexual-harassment-investigation.html <p>This week, another HP exec bit the dust - this time, it's the CEO. HP CEO Mark Hurd (forcefully) resigned from the company following a sexual harassment investigation. Hurd had been questioned about specific interactions with a female contractor that could have been in violation of the company's business standards. Basically, he filed inaccurate expense reports that covered his personal relationship with a contractor who may or may not have actually performed the services she was hired for. Oh yeah, and HP paid for all of it! </p><p> </p><p>The CFO, Cathie Lesjak, is taking over during the CEO search (which is never a good sign), but she did say that Mark's resignation has nothing to do with HP's performance and everything to do with his behavior. She even went on to say that Mark Hurd was a "strong leader, at the end of the day, he didn't drive our initiatives -- it was the organization that supported Mark in driving those initiatives." </p><p> </p><p>More about this Eliot Spitzer-esque scandal after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/773-hp-ceo-resigns-after-sexual-harassment-investigation.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 14:25:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/773-hp-ceo-resigns-after-sexual-harassment-investigation.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/772-women-are-more-social-online-and-off.html <p>A recent report from comScore, a digital statistics company, indicates that women are much more likely to spend time on social sites than men. Now, while this seems like logical information, there are still some real surprises in the numbers. For example, it doesn't matter where in the world we are measuring - Latin America (94% of women), North America (91% of women), Europe (86% of women) or Asia Pacific (55% of women) all spend more time on social sites. </p><p> </p><p>Those Latin and North American numbers are the most staggering. Over 90% of women who spend any time online, spend time on social sites. The highest growth of users on these sites? 45+ females, of course. Mom and grandma are on Flickr sharing photos, Twitter talking about what they had for lunch and Facebook finding high school sweethearts. </p><p> </p><p>For more numbers from the web, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/772-women-are-more-social-online-and-off.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 12:32:04 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/772-women-are-more-social-online-and-off.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/771-blackberry-os-6-and-the-new-torch.html <p>BlackBerry, as expected, fully revealed the newest version of their operating system, BlackBerry OS 6, and it has given the OS a much-needed overhaul. They have removed the traditional home screen and sprawling applications list with a simple, clean home screen and categorized application menus. </p><p> </p><p>They also announced a new device to go with the launch of OS 6, the Torch 9800. The Torch will be available on AT&T starting August 12 and many have called it BlackBerry's first possible iPhone killer. While I would prefer that term to die (and it might <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=770" class="UpStreamLink">now that Android has officially killed it</a>), this might be BlackBerry's best chance to continue that trend. </p><p> </p><p>For details on the new device, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/771-blackberry-os-6-and-the-new-torch.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 01:04:57 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/771-blackberry-os-6-and-the-new-torch.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/770-android-really-is-the-iphone-killer.html <p>It's official - according to Nielsen's calculations, this month marks a passing of the torch, so to speak, from Apple to Google in terms of smartphone sales in the US. New subscribers chose the Android platform 27% of the time and Apple's iPhone platform only 23% of the time. Of course, these numbers still pale in comparison to Blackberry's hold on the market with a full third of all handsets. </p><p> </p><p>Normally we see major growth in the beginning of a product's life-cycle but Android isn't the baby it used to be. We have had major Android-powered handsets on the market for 2 years now, but adoption was slow until version 1.5 and now 2.1 making the platform really shine. </p><p> </p><p>For more about Android's takeover, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/770-android-really-is-the-iphone-killer.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:49:17 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/770-android-really-is-the-iphone-killer.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/769-gsm-is-easily-broken.html <p>Chris Paget is not a name you probably know, but you should. He has spent the last few years trying to show the world the vulnerabilities of some of the technology we take for granted. Last year, he demonstrated how easy it is to snag the information off of "secure RFIDs" such as the ones used in US passports. He was able to download the information from the passports without even having to leave his car. </p><p> </p><p>This year at DefCon, an annual security conference, the hacker showed off his latest feat - stealing cellular phone calls. With a setup that cost him about $1,500 he was able to intercept and record phone calls from unsuspecting phones. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know how he did it? Hit the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/769-gsm-is-easily-broken.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:25:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/769-gsm-is-easily-broken.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/768-a-faster-way-to-travel.html <p>Have you ever dreamed of living in a place where buses are cool? It might just be time for you to move to China. Beijing’s Mentougou District, to be exact. Here, Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co., Ltd has proposed a new type of bus, one they are calling the 3D fast bus, but after seeing the images, I want to call it a tunnel bus. </p><p> </p><p>What is so special about the tunnel bus? Well, it takes up no space on the road. "How is that possible?" you might be asking. Well, it is, seemingly, very simple. Rather than rolling along the road on wheels, the roads will be lined with electric tracks and the bus will actually cover the road from above, leaving enough room underneath for other vehicles to pass. </p><p> </p><p>For more info on the "3D fast bus" plus a video presentation of it in future action, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/768-a-faster-way-to-travel.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:20:09 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/768-a-faster-way-to-travel.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/767-wave-goodbye-to-google-wave.html <p>I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but here it is. Google has announced they have stopped development on Google Wave and will only maintain the servers through the end of the year. What? You don't know what Google Wave is? Well, therein lies the problem. For those who don't know, and I will assume that is everyone reading this, Google Wave was billed as "the future of communication." </p><p> </p><p>It was designed to be somewhere between the most complex instant messenger on the planet and the simplest collaboration software ever. Unfortunately, it never seemed to gain much ground as either. Wave had its share of problems and one of these, or possibly a combination of several, seems to have ended "the future of communication" here in the present. </p><p> </p><p>Find out what killed Google Wave after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/767-wave-goodbye-to-google-wave.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:19:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/767-wave-goodbye-to-google-wave.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/766-nar-shaddaa-no-way.html <p>For those of you who played the second <i>Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords</i> you may remember a little moon known as Nar Shaddaa. One of the most vibrant and dangerous places in the galaxy, the place is a sprawling cityscape where nothing comes without a price. Dominated by a black market that caters to every indulgence, the moon has become the ultimate symbol of corruption. The upper levels present an endless parade of glittering neon towers and floating pleasure palaces; no greater concentration of wealth exists across the galaxy. </p><p> </p><p>Well this week, BioWare decided to reveal yet ANOTHER planet, and this time it's something to get excited for, if you played the original KoTOR series that is. This newly announced planet gives us a total of 14 planets to explore. Just a little fun fact, this game alone has one less planet than the first two had combined, and we are still another year from release. This meaning that there are still even more planets to be revealed, as well as even more content for the players of the game to get their hands on. </p><p> </p><p>To find out more about this content, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/766-nar-shaddaa-no-way.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:04:19 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/766-nar-shaddaa-no-way.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/765-marvel-reinvents-the-punisher.html <p>While Marvel news was all over Comic-Con this week, one of the things that got swept under the rug was the announcement that Marvel Studios has regained rights to the <i>Punisher</i> franchise from Lionsgate. While this might seem like a small victory, let me tell you why it is no small matter. </p><p> </p><p>Marvel has been assembling a Marvel Universe in the film franchises to rival that of the actual comics, but several of their main names are out of their own control, mostly owned by Sony, such as Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and X-Men. The recapturing of the Punisher series brings another of its big-name titles back under its own control. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for more on the Punisher story. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/765-marvel-reinvents-the-punisher.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:55:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/765-marvel-reinvents-the-punisher.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/764-ucf-creating-antisex-video-game.html <p>The University of Central Florida is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a rather interesting and strange project. $434,000 to be exact, to create a video game about real life situations with full-size avatars. The purpose? To teach pre-teen girls how to resist peer pressure when it comes to sex. </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">They have an opportunity to interact with the avatars and they'll earn points for particular social skills that they develop.</div> </p><p> </p><p>What is this all about? More after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/764-ucf-creating-antisex-video-game.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:49:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/764-ucf-creating-antisex-video-game.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/763-goldeneye-007-remake-for-the-ds.html <p>Before this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, there had been rumors of a reboot of <i>GoldenEye 007</i> and Nintendo put to bed speculation on whether it would be reviving the series, announcing that a reimaginging of Rare's Nintendo 64 classic would arrive for the Wii this November. However, Activision won't be limiting the game to just Nintendo's console. </p><p> </p><p>As part of a grim earnings report this morning, Nintendo revealed that <i>GoldenEye 007</i> is also in development for its 132 million-unit-selling handheld, the DS. Activision also confirmed the listing to GameSpot, noting that <i>Call of Duty: Black Ops</i> is prepping the title for launch alongside the Eurocom-developed Wii version in November. </p><p> </p><p>Details on what can be expected from the handheld version remain under wraps. The Wii version will be a fairly direct translation of the highly acclaimed 1997 shooter, though it will also feature updated visuals, four-player split-screen multiplayer, and new game modes. <i>GoldenEye 007</i> for the Wii will also include online multiplayer, a functionality its N64 cousin could not offer. </p><p> </p><p>The thought that comes to my mind is why are they developing the game for the DS and not the new 3DS instead. We have already seen at E3 that the 3DS has a vast difference as far as quality of graphics, so why not do something right the FIRST time and make the game for the 3DS? Could you imagine playing through <i>GoldenEye 007</i> in 3D? I sure could and now that I know it's possible, I see it as the only viable option for a handheld version of the game.</p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:22:41 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/763-goldeneye-007-remake-for-the-ds.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/762-youtubes-15-minutes-of-fame.html <p>YouTube's 10 minute limit on videos has expanded to 15 minutes this week, giving users 50 percent more time to upload more pointless and random crap to clog the Internet's series of tubes. The new limit is a reflection of audiences' growing demand for longer form content online. In the past, YouTube content partners have been able to publish longer videos, but the ability for regular user to do this now is pretty significant. </p><p> </p><p>How famous can you get? Follow the break to find out. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/762-youtubes-15-minutes-of-fame.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:00:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/762-youtubes-15-minutes-of-fame.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/761-sprint-gets-even-more-clever-with-new-ipod-touch-.html <p>Sprint's marketing and product development teams have been clever and just plain awesome when it comes to the ways they have been able to combat the ever popular iPod, iPad and iPhone. We have all seen the commercials and ads that show the iPad connecting to the network via Sprint's mobile hotspot solution, and even went as far as to offer a free iPad case that had a pocket to fit the 4G/3G Overdrive. Well, now Sprint has teamed up with manufacturer ZTE to bring you the Peel, which is a case that will allow the iPod touch to do the same for Sprint's 3G network. </p><p> </p><p>To check out Sprint's latest concoction, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/761-sprint-gets-even-more-clever-with-new-ipod-touch-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:51:53 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/761-sprint-gets-even-more-clever-with-new-ipod-touch-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/760-fired-for-going-to-space.html <p>Want to hear the best termination story you'll ever hear? Well, here we go. Richard "Lord British" Garriott, <i>Ultima</i> creator and coiner of the term Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game created a company called Destination Games. They partnered with NCSoft to release a number of things, most notably <i>Tabula Rasa</i>, a semi-failure of an MMO. At some point, NCSoft bought the company and Garriott was made CEO of NCsoft Austin, also known as NC Interactive. </p><p> </p><p>In 2008, Garriott decided to take his fortunes and go to space, so he hopped aboard the Soyuz TMA-13 and headed to the International Space station for 12 days. While there, NCSoft decided that this was his resignation and posted a resignation letter on the <i>Tabula Rasa</i> website. The only problem is that he didn't write the letter and had had no intentions of leaving the company. </p><p> </p><p>To read the rest of the story and the resulting lawsuit, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/760-fired-for-going-to-space.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:44:20 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/760-fired-for-going-to-space.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/759-google-makes-facebook-angry-by-taking-zynga-on-a-date.html <p>Last week, we talked about how <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=741" class="UpStreamLink">Google Me would be a way for Google to take on Facebook</a>, at least on the social media side of things. But what about for the gaming market? With online games such as <i>FrontierVille</i> and <i>FarmVille</i> taking over, Google would have had to have seen the success, and this week, it looks like they have taken notice, as Google is trying to sweet talk social-gaming giant Zynga into doing business with them. </p><p> </p><p>It only makes sense for Google to make this move, as we also learned this week that Disney bought Playdom, the #3 game developer behind Zynga and EA, for $563.2 million and GameStop made a move for Flash game developer Kongregate. </p><p> </p><p>For more on Google's plot, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/759-google-makes-facebook-angry-by-taking-zynga-on-a-date.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:34:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/759-google-makes-facebook-angry-by-taking-zynga-on-a-date.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/758-how-to-recover-american-idol.html <p>The country's top-rated program for somewhere near 100 years now is on the brink of collapse. Simon Cowell has left the show so he can go back to having a career and recently rehired executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, has fired Ellen Degenres and Kara DioGuardi, leaving the series with Randy Jackson. </p><p> </p><p>Jennifer Lopez has officially been picked to replace Ellen and Kara (they are bringing the team back to 3, not 4) and rumors in the industry seem to point to an incredibly odd replacement for Simon: Steven Tyler. Yes, you read that right. JLo and Aerosmith combining to form a partnership even stranger than the Super Bowl halftime show where Aerosmith and N*Sync performed with Brittany Spears. </p><p> </p><p>So, this has me thinking - is there a way for Fox to salvage <i>American Idol</i>? </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/758-how-to-recover-american-idol.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:23:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/758-how-to-recover-american-idol.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/756-good-morning-vietnam.html <p> Citing increased real-life criminal activity originating in the online space, the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communication has placed a number of tight restrictions on massively multiplayer titles. These include bans on any and all advertisements for online games, as well as regulations forcing ISPs to shut off service to gaming cafes and retailers after hours. </p><p> </p><p> According to the website 70% to 76%, of primary school children play online videogames on weekdays, with 100% of the surveyed saying they played on weekends. Videogames have been blamed for a rise in crime and truancy by young people, as well as fears over videogame addiction. </p><p> </p><p> The government has asked videogame creators to have their games put through a standard ratings system based on their content. Some have already done this and the ratings range from "below 6; 6-11; 12-15; 15-18; above 18; and 'unsuitable for all ages'." There’s also, according to Vietnam News, a move for "electronic IDs", which seems to indicate a universal log-on system which would help "manage internet usage". </p><p> </p><p> More drastic is the Ministry's decision to stop allowing any additional online games to come into the nation until further legislation on the matter can be considered. What I am wondering is if this has anything to do with the large amount of gold farming that comes out of countries like Vietnam and Korea. It looks like all the people who depend on buying fake money with real money. Looks like I am going to have to hold off on buying my epic mount.</p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:51:44 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/756-good-morning-vietnam.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/755-apple-google-or-palm.html <p>The mobile landscape is changing and we owe a lot of that change to mobile apps, or more realistically, the advertisement of mobile apps. These applications have been in existence for decades, but no one has made a big deal about them until Apple, who infamously advertised just that aspect of their products for a long time. </p><p> </p><p>In the app world, there seems to be three distinct approaches to policing content: Apple, Google and Palm. <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=169" class="UpStreamLink">Apple has been known for policing their apps too much</a>, Google doesn't have any approval process to speak of and Palm only looks for malicious or broken code to approve apps. Who has the right idea? </p><p> </p><p>To see evidence of who might be right and whose approach is wrong, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/755-apple-google-or-palm.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:26:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/755-apple-google-or-palm.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/754-four-new-characters-for-marvel-vs-capcom-3.html <p>After a tease on Capcom's Twitter account this morning that new <i>Marvel vs. Capcom 3</i> characters would be revealed today, Capcom has gone ahead and announced four new characters. The Capcom side adds <i>Street Fighter</i>'s Chun-Li and <i>Devil May Cry</i>'s Trish, while Marvel gets Doctor Doom and Super-Skrull. </p><p> </p><p>None of the new reveals are especially surprising. Silhouettes of the unannounced characters were shown in a trailer a few months ago, and some were incredibly obvious. But now that they're official, you can look forward to getting your hands on these characters when <i>Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds</i> is released in spring 2011 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. </p><p> </p><p>I am particularly disappointed that we didn't get to see much gameplay of one of the characters Amaterasu, a god from the Okami games, and sadly it seems that </i>Marvel V.S. Capcom 3</i> is the closest PS3 gamers will get to having an Okami game on their console. But I was excited to see Dr. Doom on the roster so I can cause some magical mayhem. </p> Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:07:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/754-four-new-characters-for-marvel-vs-capcom-3.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/753-star-wars-in-space.html <p>Earlier in this week BioWare decided to issue a mission to the community of TOR calling it "Comic-Con Reveal mission!" via a thread of the forums. The thread stated: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Comic-Con International is almost upon us! You already know about the "Beyond Solo" panel being held on Friday, but we have something extra we want to announce during it. You're going to work for this one, though. If we get at least 200,000 "Likes" on our Facebook page and 30,000 Followers on our Twitter page by Friday, July 23rd, 2010, we will bring you this cool reveal!</div> </p><p> </p><p>Now it's our turn to bribe you. Hit the break to find out the reveal! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/753-star-wars-in-space.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:34:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/753-star-wars-in-space.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/752-swedish-pirate-party-start-logfree-isp.html <p>The Swedish Pirate Party have decided that hosting The Pirate Bay on its own servers is not enough to defend people's "right to act politically" and have moved forward with a bigger and better plan. Two members of the political Piratpartiet are launching their very own ISP that will have the service coincide with the views and expressions of the party. Pirate ISP founders insist that the experience will be like no other - users will be responsible for maintaining the service and privacy will be one of their highest priorities. </p><p> </p><p>Click the break to see what exactly this ISP is about. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/752-swedish-pirate-party-start-logfree-isp.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:29:45 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/752-swedish-pirate-party-start-logfree-isp.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/751-cell-phone-contraband-act-of-2010-has-been-passed.html <p>It looks like we can forget about the crazy prison cellphone jamming ideas that wardens have been wanting for the past few years. The House of Representatives has approved S. 1749, which will now make it against the law for prisoners to be in possession of a mobile phone or any other device that can access any wireless service. The Senate had approved this bill in April and now with the House also passing it, the only step left is the President's signature. </p><p> </p><p>Follow the break to read more and to see a summary of the bill. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/751-cell-phone-contraband-act-of-2010-has-been-passed.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:43:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/751-cell-phone-contraband-act-of-2010-has-been-passed.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/750-you-get-a-windows-phone-7-and-you-get-a-windows-phone-7.html <p>Microsoft has gone the ways of Oprah! Huzzah! ZD Net's Microsoft connoisseur, Mary Jo Foley, retweeted a company employee mentioning a Microsoft promise to give a WinPho 7 handset to every single one of their 90,000+ employees in the world! </p><p> </p><p>Let's tip our hats to Microsoft for their amazing attempt at word-of-mouth advertising. 90,000 WinPho 7 devices in the world in front of people will be a great way to get consumers excited about the new line of handsets! We've been concerned about how they were going to market and compete with something brand new and different. This might play to their advantage, so long as the units work perfectly in the wild. </p><p> </p><p>I just hope one of these doesn't get left at a bar and taken home by a journalist. That person may get beaten with the phone and then dragged down a road. At different times, of course - that WinPho security team can't do more than one thing at a time.</p> Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:18:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/750-you-get-a-windows-phone-7-and-you-get-a-windows-phone-7.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/749-rumor-alert-verizon-to-cap-data-follow-atts-path.html <p>It looks like <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=668" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T won't be the only ones killing off their unlimited data package</a> as Verizon might be following suit sometime soon. Currently, Verizon only has prepaid mobile broadband plans ranging from 100MB to 1GB and from $15 to $50. The issue with that is that 1GB can be eaten up pretty quickly just by visiting YouTube for an hour and 100MB is gone with something as simple as a couple of Google searches. Verizon looks to remedy that with some tiered data packages. </p><p> </p><p>For information on what those packages might be, follow the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/749-rumor-alert-verizon-to-cap-data-follow-atts-path.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:08:18 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/749-rumor-alert-verizon-to-cap-data-follow-atts-path.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/748-droid-x-does-have-screen-defects.html <p>For those early birds who have gotten their hands on the new Droid X, you may have encountered problems with the huge 4.3" display on Motorola's and Verizon's newest smartphone. A number of users have reported seeing flickering, banding, distorting and other weird phenomena. Verizon has confirmed that the screen issues are due to a hardware defect, but have said that the problem is isolated to less than one percent of the total Droid X inventory. </p><p> </p><p>Follow the break to see what Verizon's statement on the matter said. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/748-droid-x-does-have-screen-defects.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:59:06 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/748-droid-x-does-have-screen-defects.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/747-its-a-wide-open-frontierville-out-there.html <p>It seems that if you put Ville at the end of any app on Facebook these days, it will end up being extremely successful. <i>FrontierVille</i> on Facebook, is no exception. The Wild West-themed game that lets virtual pioneers tame a piece of wilderness has attracted 20 million players since its June 9 launch, making it the third most popular Zynga game after FarmVille and Zynga Poker. The game combines elements of <i>FarmVille</i> with a robust mission structure and a "living world," which means constantly keeping nature and varmints at bay ranging from bears to snakes. Sounds like a kid version of <i> Red Dead Redemption</i> to me but I guess I can see the appeal. </p><p> </p><p>Other fun facts <i>Frontierville</i> since launch: </p><p><ul><li>6.3 million people have built their frontier cabins</li> <li>3.3 million people have built a general store</li><li>2.3 million people got married</li><li>1.1 million people have had a kid</li><li>10 million people have clobbered a snake</li><li>3.6 million people have scared away a bear</li></ul></p> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:45:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/747-its-a-wide-open-frontierville-out-there.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/746-chile-first-country-to-guarantee-net-neutrality.html <p>We've talked about net neutrality since this show started over three seasons ago and have been following the developments in business, federal and international policies and laws regarding it. New to net neutrality discussions or need a brush-up on some of the topics? Here's some reference: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;padding-right:25px;"><a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=277" class="UpStreamLink">AT&T Won't Let the FCC Let Google Be</a> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=287" class="UpStreamLink">FCC: Google Explain Yourself</a> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=321" class="UpStreamLink">TV Is Everywhere, Hulu Is Not</a> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=322" class="UpStreamLink">Some Readers Won't Digest the FCC's Net Neutrality Rules</a> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=413" class="UpStreamLink">Comcast Plans To Screw Consumers More, Where's The Romance?</a> </p><p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=663" class="UpStreamLink">Republicans and Democrats Agree: Net Neutrality Up to Congress</a></div> </p><p> </p><p>All caught up? Good. Now, the consensus for the consumer community is that we all want net neutrality and the freedom to post what we want, where we want it, within the confines of ethical, moral and legal principles. ISPs, however, absolutely despise even the notion of such freedom and things of that sort. The politicians in the now amazing country of Chile and their Board of the Chamber of Deputies, though, have concluded that they absolutely love net neutrality! </p><p> </p><p>Follow the break to see what they've done. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/746-chile-first-country-to-guarantee-net-neutrality.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:40:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/746-chile-first-country-to-guarantee-net-neutrality.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/744--larry-kenney-larry-kenney-larry-kenney-hooeeeeeeee.html <p>You guys remember Thundercats, right? Nobody can forget the classic cry of Lion-O: Thundercats Thundercats Thundercats Hoeeeeeeeeeeeee (yea you know me). </p><p> </p><p>Well we've got some great news for you because it looks like Japan's Studio40C is rebooting the franchise for a new generation, and that isn't even the good news. THAT comes to us from Rosemary Ward's Facebook page that states: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Interesting Thundercat News! Talking to the a {sic} talent agency just now in regards to Larry Kenney, I found out He'll be voicing Lion-O again!</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to hear more about the Thundercats! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/744--larry-kenney-larry-kenney-larry-kenney-hooeeeeeeee.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:31:13 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/744--larry-kenney-larry-kenney-larry-kenney-hooeeeeeeee.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/743-intel-hires-former-palm-exec-as-new-vp-for-smartphones.html <p>I know everyone was curious and extremely interested to see what HP would do after<a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=618" class="UpStreamLink"> buying Palm a couple months ago</a> and the only things we've seen so far are <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=644" class="UpStreamLink"> a possible line of WebOS printers</a> and a huge amount of departures from the company and the merger. The most recent casualty is the former Senior VP for Product Development, Mike Bell. Bell had served 16 years at Apple before jumping ship to work for Jon Rubinstein but has now donned the color of blue, as he will be joining Intel to become the new Vice President for the smartphone division. More specifically, Bell will act as the Director of Smartphone Product Development in Intel's Ultra Mobility group. </p><p> </p><p>As we have been telling you, Intel has been looking to get into the smartphone market for quite some time, and a man of Mike Bell's stature guiding them may be just the thing they need to propel them to the top quickly, or at least allow them to hit the ground running in the right direction. </p><p> </p><p>Click past the break to read the company email sent revealing Mr. Bell's arrival to the company. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/743-intel-hires-former-palm-exec-as-new-vp-for-smartphones.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:07:06 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/743-intel-hires-former-palm-exec-as-new-vp-for-smartphones.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/742-they-know-what-you-like-and-they-know-what-you-want.html <p>In yet another testament to science fiction becoming science fact a revolution has started in the advertising industry all the way across the world in none other than Japan. Take a trip back to June 21st. 2002 when <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/" class="UpStreamLink"><i>Minority Report</i></a> staring Tom Cruise was released. The personalized digital ads seen in the movie have become a reality. The digital billboards displaying these ads are outfitted with cameras that can determine gender and age group even if you are just passing by and glance at the billboard. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for a video and more! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/742-they-know-what-you-like-and-they-know-what-you-want.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:52:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/742-they-know-what-you-like-and-they-know-what-you-want.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/741-google-wants-more-face-time-than-facebook.html <p>The world is more than familiar with social networking giant <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook</a> and this is starting to scare Google a little bit. That is an odd statement to make and I had some concern that a hole would rip in space and time but it's true, and maybe they should be. </p><p> </p><p>For those of us who have ever used <a target="NewWindow" href="http://orkut.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Orkut</a> which is Google's social networking project. You will immediately notice a user interface that is quite lacking in aesthetics and functionality. This is probably due to the fact that Orkut has been a back burner project for quite some time. Google also realized that Buzz was not enough to break into social networking properly. Adam D'Angelo, a former Facebook director, shared what he has heard about a full scale Google social networking site called Google Me: </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for more info on Google Me. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/741-google-wants-more-face-time-than-facebook.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:57:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/741-google-wants-more-face-time-than-facebook.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/740-1-vs-100-still-has-no-third-season.html <p>1 vs 100 has met another tragic fate, this time on Xbox Live. Microsoft announced this week that it will not be renewing 1 vs 100 for a third season. </p><p> </p><p>Dave McCarthy, General Manager of Microsoft Game Studios, said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">When we started on this journey, we knew we were creating an entirely new genre of entertainment that would be a continually evolving concept. We're very proud of the '1 vs 100' team and their accomplishments, and are excited to apply what we've learned to future programming.</div> </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/740-1-vs-100-still-has-no-third-season.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 21:42:44 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/740-1-vs-100-still-has-no-third-season.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/739-old-spice-goes-viral.html <p>The Internet is an interesting place. You never quite know what is going to happen next in the viral world. The only thing you know is that there will always be something exciting coming around the corner. This week we had the pleasure of watching hundreds of Old Spice commercials made over the course of just a few days. </p><p> </p><p>The "commercials" were filmed in the same style as the TV commercials but with a twist: they were all in response to messages and comments they received online. All produced real-time and posted back to the Interwebs. Assuming no breaks, they produced a commercial every 7 minutes or so. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out how they did it and to see the spots. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/739-old-spice-goes-viral.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:39:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/739-old-spice-goes-viral.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/738-apple-engineer-was-worried-about-iphone-4-antenna-problems-early-on.html <p>It's time for us to add more fuel to the Apple iPhone 4 fire! <i>Bloomberg</i> has reported that "someone familiar with the matter" claims that Apple's own antenna expert, Ruben Caballero, informed Apple management that the iPhone 4 antenna blueprint could make for some severe reception problems, could drop calls and cause a major engineering challenge. </p><p> </p><p>Caballero is a major player in the Apple ladder with quite a fair amount of experience and antenna patents to his name and even though we may not know the whole story, it's possible his concerns were put to bed during Apple's testing. </p><p> </p><p>Follow the break to read more about this story. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/738-apple-engineer-was-worried-about-iphone-4-antenna-problems-early-on.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:59:45 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/738-apple-engineer-was-worried-about-iphone-4-antenna-problems-early-on.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/737-new-xbox-360-dashboard-interface.html <p>We don't have much information, but we ran across some sources that have let us in on some special Microsoft happenings in the near future, specifically with the Xbox 360 Dashboard. We remember last year when the New Xbox Experience, or NXE, changed the way users interacted with their console and with Xbox Live. It seems like Microsoft has chosen to take it one step further in this possible refresh. </p><p> </p><p>From what we've seen, the new Xbox 360 Dashboard has a cleaner, sleeker look to it. We've also seen images of a "Natal Tuner" application and a "Natal" setup process, which we, of course, now know the project to be called Kinect. We can guess that because of this, these images we saw were from an older build of this likely beta dashboard. </p><p> </p><p>It only makes sense for Microsoft to come out with a slightly newer feel to the user interface, especially with the release of the new Xbox 360 S and the upcoming holiday release of Kinect. This seems like the last step for their rebranding process on the product.</p> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:43:47 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/737-new-xbox-360-dashboard-interface.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/736-dumpster-pools-invading-new-york.html <p>If you have traveled to the New York area in the past month or so, you might want to buy a time machine and change your plans because everyone will want to see this. The first 3 Saturdays of August, the Bloomberg administration will be placing 3 dumpster-pools on Park Avenue between 40th and 41st. Yes, you read that right, dumpster pools. </p><p> </p><p>The pools are designed by Macro-Sea, a company based in Brooklyn. They will be fully-lined, Department of Health certified clean and bigger than any dumpster you've ever swam in before. Measuring out at 8 feet wide, 22 feet long and upwards of 5 1/2 feet deep. this is the tourist destination of the summer. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out more about the dumpster pools! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/736-dumpster-pools-invading-new-york.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:40:15 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/736-dumpster-pools-invading-new-york.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/735-amd-posts-record-quarter-still-loses-money.html <p>AMD posted its earnings this week to the anticipating masses of investors and the rest of the tech industry. AMD has made great strides in the past twelve months to really make an impact in the market and everyone was hoping that the numbers would show that AMD's effort really were holding water. </p><p> </p><p>Dirk Meyer, AMD President and CEO, attested their success in the second quarter to those efforts: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Robust demand for our latest mobile platforms and solid execution drove record second quarter revenue and a healthy gross margin. Our unmatched combination of microprocessor and graphics capabilities resulted in customers launching a record number of new mobile and desktop platforms. We added Sony as a microprocessor customer and continue to see our existing customers expand their AMD-based platform offerings.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see what the numbers were and how much they lost as a company. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/735-amd-posts-record-quarter-still-loses-money.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:21:59 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/735-amd-posts-record-quarter-still-loses-money.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/734-iphone-isnt-the-problem-everyone-else-is.html <p>Apple has been under the technological and consumer microscope since <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=675" class="UpStreamLink">the release of their iPhone 4</a>. There was the issue where a user had the screen break within the first few hours of owning it, calling the quality of Apple's glass into question. Of course, everyone knows about the overall shortage of handsets across the country. People who had pre-orders at Best Buy, RadioShack, AT&T and Apple still haven't received their phones a full 3 weeks after the launch and are still not being told when they might receive them. Their biggest public issue, however, has been reception. </p><p> </p><p>Now, before we get started here, I want to clear the air. Yes, we are sponsored by Microsoft at this time. Yes, most of the company is run on Palm phones. We do, however, have an iPhone 4, an iPhone 3Gs and a Blackberry running around the offices and studio as well. That being said, Apple is getting a lot of crap about the reception of the iPhone 4. Some of it deserved, some of it normal usage issues. All smartphones, and in reality, all phones have reception issues. If the antenna is inside, the phone has a place you can hold that will cut off reception. It is the nature of the technology. The sign of a good or bad phone design is where that is placed. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for more of "antennagate" and a video from the presentation. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/734-iphone-isnt-the-problem-everyone-else-is.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:38:16 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/734-iphone-isnt-the-problem-everyone-else-is.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/733-music-of-the-old-republic.html <p>One of the elements of the <i>Star Wars</i> movies that truly impacted me and made the franchise truly memorable is the music created by John Williams. Williams has been known for creating the score for various hit movies, like the <i>Indiana Jones</i> movies to more recent films like <i>The Terminal</i> or <i>Harry Potter</i>. He truly shows great aptitude for being able to capture a moment on the screen with nothing but a few subtle notes, to having you go on a thrill ride as Luke destroys the first death star. </p><p> </p><p>By the looks of it, BioWare plans to carry on the traditions John Williams and continue to let music guide us on our journey through <i>The Old Republic.</i> According to their most recent <i>Developer's Dispatch</i> TOR will have 5 hours of original score, the score from both <i>Knight of the Old Republic 1 and 2</i> AND the original score from the Star Wars movies. So when BioWare says that this is their biggest project to date, they aren't just blowing hot air. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for details and a video of the music in the game. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/733-music-of-the-old-republic.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:33:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/733-music-of-the-old-republic.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/732-riaa-takes-another-loss-this-time-in-tenenbaum-case.html <p>This week, more evidence came to light that RIAA is crazy as another judge, this time in the Joel Tenenbaum case, found that the ordered $675,000 fine for copyright infringement was just a little too much for an individual to pay. The fine has since been reduced to a tenth of that, or $67,500. U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner has decided the original amount was "unconstitutionally excessive", furthering showing that judges aren't happy with the damage amounts that juries are allowed to set under the current federal law. </p><p> </p><p>Check after the break for more on the case. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/732-riaa-takes-another-loss-this-time-in-tenenbaum-case.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:22:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/732-riaa-takes-another-loss-this-time-in-tenenbaum-case.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/731-blizzard-gets-the-cold-shoulder.html <p>One of my favorite aspects of posting on forums is the anonymity behind it all. So if I have something to say about a particular thread i can use my alternate account or something to put in my honest two cents in. Blizzard however doesn't or rather didn't think that I should have that privilege. For those of you that have been on a public forum before I am sure you are familiar with terms like flame wars, or trolls ect, and keeping those terms in mind, is how Blizzard came up with the Real ID system. </p><p> </p><p>The Real ID system essentially requires you to give your real life name, and have your name show up on every official forum post you make. Can you say privacy concerns? After the announcement on their brilliant idea...lets just say that the Blizz Boys had a ton of complaints to deal with. So much in fact that they ended up deciding that it was in their best interest to not go ahead with the plan. </p><p> </p><p>Blizzard stated Tuesday: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations, and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven't been connected before</div> </p><p> </p><p>So you can kind of see where they are coming from but forum users didn't see it the way that Blizzard did. After all of the forum posts made by users the following quote basically sums up the communities thoughts in saying: </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">I know a lot of people are going to just simply STOP using the forums when you do this, you're not bringing us together, you're making us all too afraid to interact with each other out of fear of identity theft</div> </p><p> </p><p>Blizzard also made it clear that the Real ID system they were going to implement in the forums was not the same as the optional feature to link the real life names of players on your friends list. In its effort to improve forums, Blizzard said Friday, it will still move ahead with new features such as the ability to rate posts up or down and highlight posts based on rating, as well as improved search functionality, and more.</p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:24:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/731-blizzard-gets-the-cold-shoulder.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/730-public-testing-for-star-wars-the-old-republic-begins.html <p>If you've slowly become interested in <i>Star Wars: The Old Republic</i> by way of my shoving information down your throats, or if you were already following the game before I brought it to your attention, I have some great news for you. This week BioWare finally stated that "testing has begun" for <i>TOR</i> and that if we were invited to partake in testing we would have received emails and should be able to access the game immediately. They also stated that if you didn't get into beta on the first wave of invites, you needn't worry because there will be several other invitation waves hitting us in the near future. </p><p> </p><p>There were, of course, some naysayers in the forums stating that we already knew that testing was going on, so this was a waste of an update. However, I beg to differ. It is obvious that BioWare would do in-house testing, as any other developer would. As helpful as beta's can be a majority of the time, players who gain access often are looking to just play the game rather than test it like they should. The reason why BioWare's announcement is exciting is because we now know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that players are getting their hands on the game, which means that we will also be getting a lot more information about the game. </p><p> </p><p>Some information unfortunately has come through leaked footage. Yes, you read right, not even 24 hours after the announcement of the beta and there is already leaked footage out there on the net. Is there nothing sacred in this world? Now, granted, I am extremely excited to get my hands on the game but to basically spit in the faces of the people who gave you access to beta by leaking footage is just wrong. That being said, if you were lucky enough to get access to the beta, feel free to tell us, if it isn't a breach of the non-disclosure Agreement of course. </p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:04:07 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/730-public-testing-for-star-wars-the-old-republic-begins.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/729-googles-street-view-cars-now-refueled-and-goodtogo.html <p>Google's Street View cars are back up and running and will be going to town in Ireland, Norway, South Africa and Sweden next week, after Google finally explained its processes to the respective countries' regulators. All of the WiFi collection equipment have been stripped out of all the cars globally, which included all hardware and software. </p><p> </p><p>"Our cars will no longer collect any Wi-Fi information at all, but will continue to collect photos and 3D imagery as they did before," said Google Geo engineering vice president Brian McClendon in the blog post. </p><p> </p><p>More of the backstory and the future of Google's Street View process is after the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/729-googles-street-view-cars-now-refueled-and-goodtogo.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:38:26 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/729-googles-street-view-cars-now-refueled-and-goodtogo.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/728-china-opens-their-great-walls-to-blackberry.html <p>Research in Motion, makers of BlackBerry phones, has been having a little trouble figuring out where they go next. They used to be the most popular device for business and email, but have quickly been losing ground to the iPhone, Android and Palm phones that have all understood better what communication should look like and feel like on a modern mobile device. </p><p> </p><p>RIM has also tried to move into the consumer smartphone market with almost no success. The Storms have been slightly better received than <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=724" class="UpStreamLink">Microsoft's Kin</a>. All of this information still leads me to announce that on July 9th, RIM's stock rose over 7%. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to find out why. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/728-china-opens-their-great-walls-to-blackberry.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:24:10 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/728-china-opens-their-great-walls-to-blackberry.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/727-woman-sent-to-jail-for-texting-threats-to-herself.html <p>The normal person who was having a bad day or didn't like themselves would just be sad, angry or depressed. The normal person would maybe post a Facebook status about it or even keep a journal and write these feels of sorrow down. </p><p> </p><p>It seems, however, that 25-year-old Jeanne Mundango Manunga did not feel any of those options were appropriate for her. Manunga felt that she should make people believe it was others who disliked her. Specifically, she decided those two people would be her sister-in-law and her ex-boyfriend. </p><p> </p><p>Check after the break to find out what happened. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/727-woman-sent-to-jail-for-texting-threats-to-herself.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:23:56 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/727-woman-sent-to-jail-for-texting-threats-to-herself.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/726-onlive-going-online-slowly.html <p>We have spoken about creative online gaming solutions many times over the 3 years we have been here at PLuGHiTz Live! From <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/comment.php?s=184" class="UpStreamLink">BringIt</a> to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/comment.php?s=636" class="UpStreamLink">Virgin Games</a> to <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/radio/episode.php?s=1&e=91" class="UpStreamLink">OnLive</a>, there have been a lof of ideas. This week, I am going to revive the OnLive topic because their service is getting closer to being a full reality. </p><p> </p><p>OnLive is a service that allows you to play games (like <i>Assassin's Creed II</i>) without having to download or install the game. It, in essence, is trying to give Steam and our sponsor Direct2Drive a run for their money, claiming the model is out-dated. The problem is that their model doesn't seem to work right. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the link for details on what is wrong and a video of the evidence. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/726-onlive-going-online-slowly.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:56:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/726-onlive-going-online-slowly.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/725-nasdaq-shows-some-silver-in-times-square.html <p>Everyone has seen the NASDAQ ticker display. It is the backdrop for all NASDAQ news throughout the world and it is hard to miss at the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square. Well, the screen we all know and love is getting a visual and technological makeover with the help of Microsoft Silverlight. </p><p> </p><p>Brad Vopni, Senior VP at NASDAQ OMX said, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">At NASDAQ OMX, we take pride in the speed and reliability of our products. That's why we were delighted to see how quickly and easily we could use Silverlight to build powerful and rock-solid applications. With Microsoft's Silverlight technology, we were able to create graphics that reflect the real-time changes that happen in the stock market and we redesigned the stock ticker at the NASDAQ MarketSite with higher-quality graphics. The technology is nimble and extensible, giving us a platform upon which to build future products while taking advantage of existing Microsoft software already in place at the NASDAQ MarketSite.</div> </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/725-nasdaq-shows-some-silver-in-times-square.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:13:29 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/725-nasdaq-shows-some-silver-in-times-square.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/724-microsoft-searching-for-next-of-kin.html <p>It was an astonishing 48 days of nonstop advertising from Microsoft, Sharp and Verizon for their newest media baby, the Kin One and Kin Two. At the end of the 48 days, however, Microsoft has pulled the plug on its project citing poor sales. With over 2 years of development and million and millions of dollars in marketing, how could Microsoft kill its creation in just 6 weeks? </p><p> </p><p>A Microsoft rep said in a statement, </p><p> </p><p><div style="padding-left:50px;font-style:italic;">We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones.</div> </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for what went wrong. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/724-microsoft-searching-for-next-of-kin.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:37:15 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/724-microsoft-searching-for-next-of-kin.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/723-theres-nothing-foursquare-about-googles-new-parking-app.html <p>It seems Google just never knows enough about you. Well now they seem to be trying to build a list of your commonly visited places through their new Android app, Open Spot. </p><p> </p><p>When you leave a parking lot, you run the Open Spot app and log the spot as open, then a nearby user can run the app and see the location on their map, thus finding a parking place. For each spot you mark you get awarded "karma points" which you can use to keep score against your friends. Of course with points being introduced, people are always going to find some way to cheat the system. Google is marking these people as "griefers" and they "have a couple of mechanisms available to make sure someone can't leave a bunch of fake parking spots." </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/723-theres-nothing-foursquare-about-googles-new-parking-app.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 11:43:32 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/723-theres-nothing-foursquare-about-googles-new-parking-app.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/722-att-and-iphone-exclusivity-lawsuit-now-certified-as-classaction-to-include-every-att-iphone-customer.html <p>A couple months ago we heard some rumors about Apple lawyers confirming that the manufacturer really did have a five year exclusivity agreement with AT&T but didn't hear much more about it. It looks as though this is just the tip of the iceberg now, as the judge in the case has officially certified the case as a class action, which means it now will include every person who has ever bought an iPhone on AT&T. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see what the terms of the lawsuit are. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/722-att-and-iphone-exclusivity-lawsuit-now-certified-as-classaction-to-include-every-att-iphone-customer.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:28:37 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/722-att-and-iphone-exclusivity-lawsuit-now-certified-as-classaction-to-include-every-att-iphone-customer.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/721-winpho-7-launch-still-months-away.html <p>We have been keeping you up to date with news of Windows Phone 7 Series comes to light, with exclusive chats on <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=652" class="UpStreamLink">app development</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=543" class="UpStreamLink">gaming</a> with Microsoft's team leaders on the project. Microsoft has always said that WinPho 7 would be launched around the holidays and has never given any specific information beyond that until a couple weeks ago, when a Microsoft rep mistakenly let slip that the launch would be around October. </p><p> </p><p>More speculation and rumors started flying when we learned that AT&T stores were receiving marketing materials with WinPho 7 on it, which meant launch time could be when the stores were to refresh their signage - anywhere from July 24th to September. </p><p> </p><p>Check after the break to see if Microsoft can launch WinPho 7 in time! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/721-winpho-7-launch-still-months-away.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:12:56 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/721-winpho-7-launch-still-months-away.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/720-ftc-direct-messages-twitter-about-security-breaches.html <p>I have posed the question before about what Twitter will do with their virtually endless supply of investor capital and while we still don't have a clear answer we now know that it wasn't spent on keeping your information safe. According to the FTC Twitter has had "serious lapses in the company's data security." What exactly does that mean? It means that during January through May 2009 hackers were easily able to get into Twitter admin accounts by using simple password guessing programs. They then reset the password to the accounts so others could have access. In an unrelated instance, another hacker was able to break into a Twitter employees Gmail account in which they had users passwords stored in plain text... IN PLAIN TEXT! </p><p> </p><p>The FTC has given Twitter a written warning about using simple passwords and also for storing them IN PLAIN TEXT. The company will have their security tested every 3 years by an independent company. They will also be fined $16,000 per every instance of a security breach. The icing on the cake however, is that Twitter is also not allowed to lie about their privacy and security settings for the next 20 years. The only reason I can think of as to why 20 years is the requirement is that the FTC doesn't expect them to be around that long.</p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:59:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/720-ftc-direct-messages-twitter-about-security-breaches.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/719-bittorrent-using-facebook-to-do-legal-things.html <p>The evidence has always existed that large corporations will find useful, excellent ways to use torrent services and Facebook has joined the list of big businesses supporting torrents by stating this week that BitTorrent helps with the transfer of new code between each and every one of its servers. </p><p> </p><p>Read more about what the Facebook engineers had to say after the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/719-bittorrent-using-facebook-to-do-legal-things.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:19:13 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/719-bittorrent-using-facebook-to-do-legal-things.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/718-apb-ingame-ads.html <p>An <i>APB</i> beta participant recently noticed a "VOIP Premium" option in his account management page, which promises to keep ads off of the in-game chat program in exchange for real-life monies. Developer Realtime Worlds was quick to clarify the terms of these ads: they'll only play when traveling between Districts, and only if the player hasn't heard an advertisement in the last three hours. </p><p> </p><p>So you don't need to worry about being in the middle of a conversation and have a McDonald's commercial interrupt you, telling you to get a delicious quarter pounder or something. The reason behind the in-game adds are unknown but I have my own theory. When we talked about the <I>APB</i> payment method a little while ago, I pointed out that for 30 days of gameplay it is only $9.99, making 30 days of gameplay 5 dollars cheaper than your average MMO monthly fee of $15. I believe the in-game ads are what make their price possible. So if I have to listen to a few ads to shave a few bucks off of a monthly fee, sign me up. </p><p> </p><p>Luckily for all you readers and listeners out there, we have been granted access to an exclusive beta of <i>APB</i>, and we will give you updates and details as we're allowed to. We here at the show are excited about this new game! Look out for the PLuGHiTz Platoon!</p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:01:54 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/718-apb-ingame-ads.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/717-zune-store-now-accepting-credit-cards-too.html <p><a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.bing.com/entertainment" class="UpStreamLink">Bing Entertainment</a> launched this week and with it, Microsoft has given users the ability to stream and purchase music through the Zune MP3 store right from the search results. It only made sense for the Zune store to now also accept credit cards, after a long time of only being able to accept Microsoft points. Zune.net hasn't been able to be used to purchase music until this change was made; users would have to buy Microsoft points before they could actually purchase the songs they wanted. Adversely, consumers would have to access the Zune Marketplace or install the Zune software to accomplish what they wanted to do. Microsoft had to consider all consumers who may not have these devices or software installed who could be potential users of their services. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see what Microsoft had to say about this change. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/717-zune-store-now-accepting-credit-cards-too.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:27:01 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/717-zune-store-now-accepting-credit-cards-too.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/716-sonys-playstation-plus-package-in-detail.html <p>Sony posted a new entry on their PlayStation blog this week, hoping to clarify some questions and confusion regarding their new <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=701" class="UpStreamLink">PlayStation Plus package announced at E3 last week.</a> </p><p> </p><p>We have some more details about the plan. While this is for Europe (who cares) and other foreign countries, we can assume the details of the plan will be similar here in the States. Sony looks to launch the service on Tuesday, June 29th and it will include games, discounts, exclusive items in the PlayStation Store, full game trials and automatic downloads of content. The current PSN features will stay free, as Sony looks to not alienate their existing customer base with these additions. As we discussed in our original article about this, subscriptions can be purchased in three month or one year duration. One new detail we found out, however, is that if you sign up between launch day and August 3rd for a one year subscription, you will also receive a downloadable copy of <i>LittleBigPlanet</i> for free. The copy will be yours even after your subscription should expire. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know what else is included and some more details? Hit the break and check it all out! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/716-sonys-playstation-plus-package-in-detail.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:56:55 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/716-sonys-playstation-plus-package-in-detail.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/715-nintendos-plans-for-3ds-games-of-the-future.html <p>Ever since last week's Nintendo press conference at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/e32010.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3 2010</a>, everyone has been talking about the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/comment.php?s=697" class="UpStreamLink">new Nintendo 3DS</a>. What everyone seems to have forgotten is that no real games were announced, other than <i>Kid Icarus: Uprising</i>. </p><p> </p><p>Satoru Iwata had something to say about that in a Q&A: </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/715-nintendos-plans-for-3ds-games-of-the-future.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:53:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/715-nintendos-plans-for-3ds-games-of-the-future.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/714-foursquare-checksin-to-investors-wallets.html <p>Everyone here at PLuGHiTz Live! Radio that has a phone capable of using <a target="NewWindow" href="http://foursquare.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Foursquare</a> uses it constantly but fortunately for Foursquare their user base extends beyond us and continues to grow by leaps and bounds. This is part of the reason why this location-based social networking service has been receiving enormous amounts of attention from investment groups and large Internet companies such as <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.yahoo.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Yahoo!</a> and <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.facebook.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Facebook</a>. The other reason is because interested companies like the amount of innovation the service has seen over the past several months. Many of the talks with prospective investors have come close to closing but have fallen short. Their deal with Facebook, which is who Foursquare CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley wants to work with the most, is on the rocks as they are finding it difficult to negotiate for more cash rather than stock in the social networking giant. </p><p> </p><p>Foursqure has also been involved in an on-again-off-again relationship with Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm. The two companies were discussing an 80 million dollar deal when Horowitz backed out saying the negotiating process was too complicated, lengthy and public for their liking. Three weeks ago Horowitz made another offer for less than the original 80 million but the amount is unknown. </p><p> </p><p>It seems like Foursquare is playing around with some big and wealthy companies but I'm not sure they will be in a position to drag them along much longer. They have already been in negotiations for several months with Facebook and Andreessen Horowitz, seemingly their two most interested potential investors, but they aren't getting the interest that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://twitter.com/" class="UpStreamLink">Twitter</a> received despite the fact that their service is much more useful and innovative. That being said, it will be interesting to see who they sign a deal with, for how much, and what they will be able to do with the funding.</p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:29:21 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/714-foursquare-checksin-to-investors-wallets.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/713-3dpsp2-a-no-go-for-sony.html <p>Everyone seems to agree that one of the biggest wins at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) was Nintendo's announcement of the glasses-less 3DS. Sony, however, was the banner-waver for 3D gaming as they have been in the rest of the entertainment industry for 3D content. </p><p> </p><p>The surprise, then, will be that Sony has no plans to incorporate any type of 3D experience into their next version of the PSP, affectionately called the PSP2 among the industry. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/713-3dpsp2-a-no-go-for-sony.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:44:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/713-3dpsp2-a-no-go-for-sony.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/712-icann-youcann-we-all-cann.html <p>Are you tired of scouring the Interwebs for porn sites with names like www.somethingsemidirty.com or www.somethingharmless.edu? Well, your search just got a lot easier. ICANN, the international board in charge of the Internet has approved the addition of another top-level domain - .xxx. I bet you can guess what that's for. </p><p> </p><p>Somehow, according to the board, they have been working for 6 years to create a place for adult content on the web. In the interest of full disclosure, in the past, ICANN has denied the addition of .xxx to its roster of top-levels. I wonder what else they were considering that they thought might be better. </p><p> </p><p>Right now, ICM has over 110,000 pre-reservations for domain names and expects that number to continue to grow until release day. The excitement has gone to their heads and everyone is now speaking in innuendo. Example: </p><p> </p><p>"It's been a long time coming" - ICANN Chairman Stuart Lawley. </p><p>"Our expectation is that this step will proceed smoothly" - ICM spokesperson. </p><p> </p><p>Clearly this is an amusing topic, but there is a serious side, too. It will be easier to find you some boobies! </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for some of our suggestions on discarded top-level domain ideas. WARNING - NSFW! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/712-icann-youcann-we-all-cann.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:14:48 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/712-icann-youcann-we-all-cann.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/711-jackson-taking-over-the-hobbit.html <p>It is nice to be able to write about the upcoming 2-part film <i>The Hobbit</i> and not have bad news. It is the reason I have mostly avoided the topic until now. Today I have some of the best news nerds all over the world could possibly get. Guillermo del Toro is officially out as director and his replacement is Peter Jackson! </p><p> </p><p>Peter Jackson is the now legendary director who was responsible for the original trilogy of films that were <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>. He has been onboard as producer for the new series of prequel films, but bringing him out of the shadows and sitting him in the director's chair is a big move, bound to change the look and feel of the films, and hopefully the direction. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for some of the changes and more. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/711-jackson-taking-over-the-hobbit.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:28:31 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/711-jackson-taking-over-the-hobbit.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/710-youtube-vs-viacom-round-2-fight.html <p>Wednesday June 23rd, 2010 marks the end of round 1, which began back in 2007, for the Google owned YouTube vs. Viacom lawsuit with an unanimous decision in favor of YouTube. Judge Stanton's summary judgment states that <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sec_17_00000512----000-.html" class="UpStreamLink">section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act</a> offers safe harbor to ISPs that take an active role in responding to copyright infringement complaints. He also stated that, "the DMCA is explicit," meaning sites like YouTube do not have to actively seek out infringing content, they only are required to respond to complaints. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to read about Viacom's stance on the issue. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/710-youtube-vs-viacom-round-2-fight.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:20:43 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/710-youtube-vs-viacom-round-2-fight.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/709-kinect-demos-going-live-at-four-locations.html <p>The Microsoft Store's official Twitter account is inviting folks to try Kinect at its stores "nationwide," which sounds a lot more impressive before the realization hits that there are only four locations in the entire country. The MS Twitter account also notes that Kinectimals will be shown off this weekend, so looks like those of you nearby will be able to play with skittles, which sounds a lot better than playing with a wet monkey. The miracle to me is that something interesting actually came out of twitter. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for the locations and more information about the Kinect test-drive. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/709-kinect-demos-going-live-at-four-locations.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:04:52 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/709-kinect-demos-going-live-at-four-locations.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/708-microsoft-just-dropped-a-bieber-bomb.html <p>The drums of war are sounding over the motion-controlled gaming market, and efforts have escalated significantly earlier this week, when Microsoft's Kinect gained an endorsement from one of the world's foremost cultural leaders: Teen sensation Justin Bieber. Click past the jump to see the intro video to one of Bieber's recent performances: A clip which shows Bieber and company trying out <i>Dance Central</i> and <i>Kinect Adventures</i>, unlocking a few lucrative (albeit fake) Achievements along the way. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/708-microsoft-just-dropped-a-bieber-bomb.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Sun, 27 Jun 2010 09:30:19 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/708-microsoft-just-dropped-a-bieber-bomb.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/707-e3-2010-konami-brings-us-two-new-castlevania-games-.html <p>I am pleased to announce that there were some good things that came from Konami this year. Everybody clap at Konami! Koji Igarashi, a producer for Konami Digital Entertainment announced one title I'm really excited for. This title is part of a 25 year old franchise that all of us NES lovers remember fondly. I'm talking of course about <i>Castlevania Harmony of Despair</i>. </p><p> </p><p>This is a new take on the original 2D versions for the NES and looks to bring new life to the old 2D platform. The maps are now connected so monsters can actually follow you through the game creating a more continuous world. It is also the first multiplayer game of the franchise with a co-op mode and versus mode so you can play with or against each other. Koji also talked about the graphics getting a face lift as well so you can expect a more vibrant atmosphere. We didn't get to see a lot of game play but it certainly looks exciting. </p><p> </p><p>For information on the next <i>Castlevania</i> title, hit the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/707-e3-2010-konami-brings-us-two-new-castlevania-games-.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:33:30 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/707-e3-2010-konami-brings-us-two-new-castlevania-games-.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/706-e3-2010-def-jam-rapstar.html <p>At Konami's E3 press briefing, we got a more in-depth look at 4MM's <i>Def Jam RapStar</i>. With Konami's backing, 4MM looks to offer the best interactive hip hop experience to date, with four game modes: Party, Career, Freestyle and Battle. </p><p> </p><p>We were able to see the vocal recognition so precise that it would show which words you messed up on, giving you an opportunity to learn all the songs you perform. After your set, you can even take the footage from your Xbox Vision camera, edit it and add stickers, animation and effects to make the video stand out. </p><p> </p><p>There's a reason you're going to want to edit the video, too. That is because there is an online social aspect of <i>Def Jam: Rapstar</i> that gives stats on every <i>Rapster</i> player. You can access it via the game itself or through your computer, which has more details available, like the top player and an option to compare your success against others. You can even challenge other players to certain tracks. The online community also has the option to post real-time updates to your Facebook and Twitter. </p><p> </p><p>The game includes crews and rivals in an attempt to really build this game to become more than just a karaoke machine, and instead, make it more of a platform for you to immerse yourself into the game entirely. </p><p> </p><p>If you want to be creative, <i>Def Jam: Rapstar</i> has a Freestyle mode, with beats from producers like Just Blaze. Freestyle mode is basically a studio, letting you put together tracks in your very own way. These tracks can then be shared with the community and Def Jam also informed us that there is even a chance to get recognized by A&Rs if your video gets a lot of views and positive responses. </p><p> </p><p>This is definitely a game I see myself playing just to see if it lives up to its hype. I think it will but we'll see when the game releases, hopefully this holiday. </p><p> </p><p>Also, don't forget to check out <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/radio" class="UpStreamLink">PLuGHiTz Live! Radio</a> Thursday night @ 9PM Eastern for our Nintendo and Konami recap show where we will break down this topic.</p> Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:55:40 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/706-e3-2010-def-jam-rapstar.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/705-e3-2010-metal-gear-solid-rising.html <p>We got the privilege yesterday to attend Konami's in-house-hosted press conference and needless to say it was....different. With men in cowboy hats to people who at least reminded me of Ando from the recently cancelled NBC series <i>Heroes</i>, we were certainly entertained in at least some sense of the word. </p><p> </p><p>There were tons of interesting presentations throughout the press conference but the one that caught my eye and interest was <i>Metal Gear Solid: Rising</i>. Although we already saw the trailer for the game earlier in the week along with gameplay, Konami decided to take us even deeper into the game mechanics and characters of <i>MGS:Rising</i>, peaking my interest. </p><p> </p><p>One of the first things they talked about was the stealth system and how it's not exactly what we have encountered in the past. Rather than relying on hiding in the shadows and using boxes as hiding places, Raiden uses his acrobatic abilities, speed and agility to go unseen (so no need to worry about back problems). With the cyborg suit he has on, it would not surprise me if it has some sort of cloaking ability that might be on a timer of some sort. </p><p> </p><p>For more on MGS, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/705-e3-2010-metal-gear-solid-rising.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:49:59 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/705-e3-2010-metal-gear-solid-rising.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/704-e3-2010-dancing-like-a-master.html <p>Anyone who is a fan of the <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.ddrlover.com" class="UpStreamLink">rhythm genre of gaming</a> should know the name Naoki. He is the creator of the genre, responsible for the Bemani series that defined what music games would be - <a target="NewWindow" href="http://ddrlover.plughitz.com/game_mixes.php?g=3Dance Dance Revolution</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://ddrlover.plughitz.com/game_mixes.php?g=7" class="UpStreamLink">ParaParaParadise</a>, <a target="NewWindow" href="http://ddrlover.plughitz.com/game_mixes.php?g=8" class="UpStreamLink">beatmania</a> and much more. Naoki was on hand for the Konami media briefing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles to talk about his newest addition to the genre. </p><p> </p><p><i>Dance Masters</i> is a dancing simulator similar to <i>Dance Central</i>, which was shown off at <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/radio/episode.php?s=1&e=153" class="UpStreamLink">Microsoft's media briefing</a> earlier in the week. The separator is in the classic Naoki feel. Instead of just learning the dance moves from the screen and following along, there are shadows or silhouettes that show you what upcoming moves will be, similar to the arrows in other Bemani titles. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for more info on the game. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/704-e3-2010-dancing-like-a-master.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:37:27 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/704-e3-2010-dancing-like-a-master.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/703-e3-2010-twisted-fun-with-twisted-metal.html <p>We saw a lot of game titles thrown around during the Sony's E3 Keynote this year but <i>Twisted Metal</i> for the PS3 was a truly shocking announcement. The series is the oldest of all the PlayStation titles dating all the way back to the original PlayStation system. I'm glad to say that the new version for the PS3 still has the feel of the original but includes some new life as well. There are new vehicles to look forward to as well as new game play modes. </p><p> </p><p>One of the modes played during the live demo was called "Nuke," which requires a team effort to overcome the opposing faction by kidnapping their leader and dragging them back to an area with your team's missile launcher, then feeding them to it. After three missiles hit their giant metal mascots suspended by helicopters in the air, the game is over. Keep in mind the maps are huge which leaves plenty of room for specialized vehicles in the air and on the ground. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for more on <i>Twisted Metal</i>. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/703-e3-2010-twisted-fun-with-twisted-metal.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:01:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/703-e3-2010-twisted-fun-with-twisted-metal.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/702-e3-2010-sony-moves-into-motion-gaming.html <p>Sony's Move has been the under-appreciated technology of the past year. Microsoft's announcement of <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/theupstream/comment.php?s=684" class="UpStreamLink">Project Natal, now Kinect</a> last year at E3 completely overshadowed Sony's own ice-cream cone-shaped motion control system, now dubbed Move. The lack of interest is probably derived from the fact that their system requires that you hold something, like the Wiimote, whereas Kinect does not. After today's live demos it is clear that might not be the issue we all thought it was. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for info on Sony's Move including Move-capable games. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/702-e3-2010-sony-moves-into-motion-gaming.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:39:28 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/702-e3-2010-sony-moves-into-motion-gaming.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/701-e3-2010-sony-our-competition-charges-for-online-experiences-so-will-we.html <p>Last year we talked about how Sony was <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=366" class="UpStreamLink">announcing there would be a premium level subscription</a> for their PlayStation Network and even that they were <a target="NewWindow" href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/permalink.php?s=403" class="UpStreamLink">surveying people, asking how much they would pay for such a service.</a> Once we broke that news, Sony fanboys around the world were up in arms, exclaiming that they would never touch a PlayStation 3 again if that were to happen. At CES, Sony officially confirmed they would be announcing a tiered plan at E3 and that same group of people backed Sony completely, shouting from their rooftops that this was the best idea for Sony, which is something we at the show have been saying for years! </p><p> </p><p>Well, we finally have their pricing structure and somewhat of an idea on what it includes. However, we also have the hugest blunder Sony made when announcing this new plan. Hit the break to find out! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/701-e3-2010-sony-our-competition-charges-for-online-experiences-so-will-we.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:37:58 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/701-e3-2010-sony-our-competition-charges-for-online-experiences-so-will-we.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/700-e3-2010-little-big-planet-2.html <p>The reason why the E3 conference marks my favorite time of year is because of all the awesome reveals that come along with it, and because it shows us where the gaming industry is heading the rest of the year. Since its original release on the October 27th, 2008 <i>Little Big Planet</i> was and still continues to be what I call a game changer, and with the release of Little Big Planet 2, it looks like the guys of Media Molecule are not pulling any punches for the sequel. </p><p> </p><p>As I watched the gameplay demo I got really excited thinking about all the possibilities that we now have when it comes to creating our own games, and showing them to the world. With the addition of choosing what genre of game you want sock boy to play in, ranging from racing games to RPG's, player will have a lot more at their creative disposal. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for all the details on the <i>Little big Planet</i> sequel. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/700-e3-2010-little-big-planet-2.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:24:34 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/700-e3-2010-little-big-planet-2.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/699-e3-2010-shaun-white-skateboarding.html <p>Okay, I didn't know Shaun White skateboarded until he came to the stage at Ubisoft's press briefing. Did you? Good, so at least we're on the same page when I tell you that he's apparently so good at skateboarding, he is working with Ubisoft for the third time to create <i>Shaun White Skateboarding</i>. Shaun White has always had a hand in his games and this one is no exception. He is providing voiceover work and even doing some of the motion capture in the creation of the title. </p><p> </p><p>The idea came about when Creative Director Nick Harper and Executive Designer Alexi Jolis-Desautels came together and asked skateboarders like Shaun White how they see the world. Shaun explained that skaters see it differently than we do, by looking at it as a sandbox where they see rails and things to grind and jump off of. The design team looked to implement that into the game. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know the backstory of the game? Hit the break </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/699-e3-2010-shaun-white-skateboarding.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:13:33 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/699-e3-2010-shaun-white-skateboarding.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/698-e3-2010-madden-nfl-11-should-you-care.html <p>This year's E3 has put a lot of pressure on EA Sports to really step their games up when it comes to the quality of the titles they are putting on the market. <i>FIFA 2010 World Cup</i> was a huge improvement over <i>FIFA 2010</i> and <i>FIFA 2009</i>, and even <i>Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010</i> was graphically cleaner than in year's past. We were really hoping the same for <i>Madden NFL 11</i>, especially after the release of <i>Backbreaker</i> this month, but it seems like there's mixed emotions across the industry. </p><p> </p><p>Want to know what we think? Hit the break for our take on the game. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/698-e3-2010-madden-nfl-11-should-you-care.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:27:22 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/698-e3-2010-madden-nfl-11-should-you-care.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/697-e3-2010-nintendos-3ds.html <p>This year at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, it has been a year of 3s. We have seen <i>Gears of War3</i>, <i>Fable 3</i>, the third installment of the <i>Assassin's Creed</i> family and <i>The Sims 3</i> coming to the console. Nintendo took this a step farther and announced the Nintendo 3DS. </p><p> </p><p>The 3DS is different from previous DS family changes because this is the first time Nintendo has done a real upgrade on the hardware. In the past, we went from the original DS to the DS Lite, which just made the handheld lighter and smaller. The DSi made the screens a little bigger and added the extra camera. The DSi XL gave us even bigger screens, but the hardware was still the same as the original. That is not the case this time. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for all the changes on the Nintendo 3DS. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/697-e3-2010-nintendos-3ds.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:20:24 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/697-e3-2010-nintendos-3ds.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/696-e3-2010-nintendo-aims-for-the-sky-with-the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword.html <p>This year's Nintendo Keynote kicked off with Regie Fils-amie unveiling a new Zelda game for the Wii console, The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword. Just when you thought you had mastered the Master Sword, Nintendo has changed up the control scheme to reflect the capabilities of Wii Motion Plus. </p><p> </p><p>In the live demo by Miamoto we saw that the player will need to use the new controls to their advantage in order to put down the enemies of Hyrule. For example, enemies with weapons will actually use them for defense as well as attacking. Therefore, you have to swing your sword in such a way that you will hit the enemies opening. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to read about the shield and more! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/696-e3-2010-nintendo-aims-for-the-sky-with-the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:53:50 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/696-e3-2010-nintendo-aims-for-the-sky-with-the-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/695-e3-2010-espn-and-xbox-now-playing-for-the-same-team.html <p>At last year's <a target="NewWindow" href="http://plughitzlive.com/events/e32009.php" class="UpStreamLink">E3</a>, Microsoft was big on making the Xbox 360 the center of all family entertainment in the living room, by announcing the additions of Facebook, Twitter, last.fm, the integrated Zune Marketplace and the then-named Project Natal - now Kinect for Xbox 360. We were all in agreeance that moving into 2010, Microsoft would be in a perfect position to further their stance as the premier entertainment console for the family. </p><p> </p><p>It seems that Microsoft has definitely progressed in that mission by announcing at this year's E3 the partnership between Xbox 360 and ESPN. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break to see what's in store for your console! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/695-e3-2010-espn-and-xbox-now-playing-for-the-same-team.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:49:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/695-e3-2010-espn-and-xbox-now-playing-for-the-same-team.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/694-e3-2010-assassins-creed-brotherhood.html <p>Last night the highlight of Ubisoft's presentation was showing us the trailer for the new installment of the <i>Assassin's Creed</i> series entitles <i>Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood</i>. The trailer at first seemed to be just like all the rest of the AC trailers. You see an assassin in the traditional all white assassin get-up, walking through a crowd, showing who he's after you know the deal. But then you see a shot of a guard spotting the assassin- who happens to be Ezio from the second game- and begins to take aim, until suddenly it seems the guard is mysteriously disposed of. </p><p> </p><p>For the full <i>Assassin's Creed: Brotherhod</i> preview, hit the break! </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/694-e3-2010-assassins-creed-brotherhood.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:32:35 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/694-e3-2010-assassins-creed-brotherhood.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/693-e3-2010-future-so-bright-you-got-to-wear-shades.html <p>You may remember <i>Golden Sun: Dark Dawn</i> being officially revealed at last year's E3, and not much else was mentioned on the topic. Today, however, Nintendo featured the first video of the upcoming epic in their keynote speech. Naturally, <i>Golden Sun</i> has made the transition to full 3D, along with the series' famous Djinn battle animations. </p><p> </p><p>Hit the break for the full game rundown. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/693-e3-2010-future-so-bright-you-got-to-wear-shades.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:13:00 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/693-e3-2010-future-so-bright-you-got-to-wear-shades.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/692-e3-2010-star-wars-the-old-republic.html <p>It is another week and once again I am going to write about how excited I am for BioWare's MMO <i>Star Wars: The Old Republic</i> to finally grace us gamers with it's presence. This week thanks to E3 I now have a reasons that everyone should be excited for. Some critics of the game, namely old <i>Star Wars Galaxies</i> veterans, have been concerned with the lack of player housing. Today BioWare has gotten rid of any reason to worry about where you're characters will virtually sleep while you aren't out exploring the galaxy. Because it looks like every character on TOR will be getting their own ship! </p><p> </p><p>What will you be able to use your ship for exactly? Well... we don't exactly know yet, but BioWare did say that we would be able to use them as a base of operations, as well as a way to get around the galaxy. Will we be able to let fellow players board our ship and possibly show off trophies and the fruit of our endeavors? We will just have to wait and see to get those questions answered possibly later in the week. </p><p> </p><p>For more <i>Star Wars</i> news, hit the break. </p><p><br /><a href="http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/692-e3-2010-star-wars-the-old-republic.html" class="LiveLink">Read full article</a></p> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:06:23 MDT http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/692-e3-2010-star-wars-the-old-republic.html http://www.plughitzlive.com/theupstream/691-e3-2010-they-all-said-i-would-never-be-a-jedi.html <p>A short while ago in a state far far away from Florida, us here at PLuGHiTz Live! got a chance to see a sneak peek of Lucas Arts new <i>Star Wars</i> based project utilizing the newly named Kinect. If you didn't get to see it yourself in the comfort of your homes, I suggest you start searching for the footage now. </p><p> </p><p>While the Lucas Arts representative didn't give any details besides the fact that it would be coming to us in 2011, I will try my best to paint a picture for you of what we saw. I grew up watching the <i>Star Wars</i> movies and all I ever dreamed about was having my own lightsaber and defending the galaxy against the evil Empire. Thanks to the Kinect, it looks like I'll be able to realize that dream. </p>&l