Technology Viewer

Google Acquires Gizmo5 VoiP Service

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:54:14 -0500

This is an interesting pick up for the ole goog…

Google Voice is currently under attack from AT&T and other carriers about not having to adhere to telecom rules. Google Voice defends itself by stateing (truthfully) that they don’t carry any communications, just use existing networks such as AT&T to place the calls.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Meanwhile back at the Google Campus….

Larry, Sergey, & Eric ink a deal to purchase Gizmo5, a VoIP provider that would allow Google to actually carry it’s own voice traffic though an interface such as… Google Voice?

Oh sure I suppose that Gizmo5’s open source SIP backend could also be used in Google Talk’s Voice and video service too, but come on. Google Voice is where it’s at right now, pushing that out into a full fledged phone service really makes sense.

I just think someone might want to mention this to the Google Voice legal team, and point out that AT&T might actually have a point. ;-)

…

amazon.com: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

OS X 10.6.2 Does Not Ditch Atom Support, Hackintosh netbooks breathe a sigh of relief

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:42:49 -0500

OS X 10.6.2 Does Not Ditch Atom Support, Hackintosh netbooks breathe a sigh of relief:

A correction to a previous story. It seems the latest developer build of OS X 10.6.2 puts Intel Atom chip support back in.

It seems that Apple’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy on unofficial hardware is back in effect.

Nothing to see here, move along… move along.

Analyst warns Droid will hurt BlackBerry, Palm

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:50:00 -0500

Analyst warns Droid will hurt BlackBerry, Palm:

This is interesting. Money analyst Citigroup is telling investors to sell RIM and Palm stock all on news of the Motorola Droid hitting the streets Friday.

The droid is marketing itself as an iPhone competitor but it makes sence that the market share it will eat first and facstest isn’t iPhone market share. It’s the other iPhone competitors, namely RIM’s Blackberry, and Palm’s Pre.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Personally I think the Blackberry line is too well entrenched in the corporate world. I doubt that an Android handset is going to take a serious dent out of that share, however, the Pre is struggling to remain relevant on the dying Sprint network alone. The Google Android based Droid and it’s fellow android based phones on every carrier have to be keeping the Palm execs up at night. Palm has been so slow to move what is really a solid device to any other carrier.

…

amazon.com: Palm Pre Phone (Sprint)

OS X Killing Intel Atom Support– No Hackint0sh for You!

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:13:40 -0500

OS X Killing Intel Atom Support– No Hackint0sh for You!:

That’s right. In the next update to snow leopard Apple will no longer support the Intel Atom Processor. Which means…

Apple no longer has plans (if they ever did) to use that processor in any of their future releases. That’s right there will be no Apple Netbook, or Nettop.

and/or…

Apple is attempting to stop the spread of the hackint0sh netbooks. In cas you didn’t know it is somewhat trivial for the average techie to install OS X Snow leopard on a Atom netbook (or at least it was).

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

If the latter is the case, I suspect it won’t be long before the Hackint0sh community has a work around. Heck there are instructions out there for using AMD processors on hackint0shes and AMD has never been been supported by Apple.

So I’m sure it will just be a matter of time before one of the renegade EFI systems will be able to tell Snow Leopord that an Atom is a Core2duo processor. But in the mean time if you have one of these hacked netbooks (like I do) watch out for the 10.6.2 upgrade.

…

amazon.com: Dell Inspiron Mini IM10-2863 10.1-Inch Obsidian Black Netbook

"Ultimately, the DROID won’t usurp the iPhone from the public’s collective mindshare or..."

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:03:10 -0400

“Ultimately, the DROID won’t usurp the iPhone from the public’s collective mindshare or convince casual users that they must switch to Android, but it will make a lot of serious geeks seriously happy — and that’s good enough for us.”

- Motorola DROID review

Palm Pre Application Catalog finally gets to 300 Titles

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:54:06 -0400

Palm Pre Application Catalog finally gets to 300 Titles:

Finally it looks like the App development pace it picking up for the Palm-Pre. They have managed to get 300 titles in their app store.

Of course Google’s Android leapfrogged them a long time ago, and has nearly 10,000 apps, and of course the iPhone is getting a tad silly with it’s number fast approaching 100,000.

But 300, is a decent number, keeping the Pre a competitor, it’s just too bad the phone isn’t on any service other than the limping US only Sprint network.

…

Apple TV 3.0 software update is out, with iTunes Extras, LP & Genius

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:44:58 -0400

Apple TV 3.0 software update is out, with iTunes Extras, LP & Genius:

Oh Apple TV, your still here? oh hi, well here is an update for you.

The Apple TV is finally getting an update to let it take advantage of the iTunes extras, genius and LP stuff it has been missing.

If you don’t have an Apple TV then there is nothing to see here, move along, move along.

…

amazon.com: Apple TV with 160GB Hard Drive - MB189LL/A

Hello Humans: Droid By Motorola Arrives November 6th.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:56:20 -0400

Hello Humans: Droid By Motorola Arrives November 6th.:

Via official Verizon Press Release, the Google Powered Droid handset should hit stores next week.

Yes, I am already conniving a plan to score one as soon as possible.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Why you may ask? Would an known self proclaimed apple fan boy be itching to put his hands on anything besides an iPhone?

Well, it’s simple. Through my day job I am locked into Verizon as my carrier. That’s certainly the biggest reason, but I also have an iPod touch, and a MiFi, which is the next best thing to an iPhone and honestly some of the limitation s of the iPhone do annoy me.

I use my Blackberry Storm to stay connected to G-Talk all day, you can’t do that on an iPhone. Even with the push notifications the IM services can’t seem to stay connected, and I find myself constantly having to log back in after just switching applications.

So yes the very geeky droid advertising is playing right to me. I want background apps, I want a good media player, and I want it all on a network that works. That’s the promise of Droid, and I want to see if it lives up to it’s hype.

…

amazon.com: Acer AOD250-1613 10.1-Inch Black Android/XP Netbook - Up to 9 Hours of Battery Life

Apple's new iMac is one heck of a deal.

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:40:46 -0400

marco:

The more I think and learn about the curious pricing of the 27” iMac, the more bizarre and incredible it seems.

It has a resolution of 2560x1440, which no other monitor in the industry seems to have (that I can find). 30” LCDs are the same width but 1600 tall. Shrinking 2560-wide into a screen that’s 3” smaller diagonally yields an impressive pixel density, especially given the panel’s still-immense size.

It has an IPS panel. IPS is the best and most expensive LCD type, giving the best viewing angle and the least color- and brightness-shifting as the angle increases in any direction. Nearly every panel on the market, including every laptop panel, is the cheap TN type. (TN panels wash out as soon as you move your head slightly, especially vertically, which is why it’s so hard to find a good viewing angle for your laptop lid while watching a dark movie.) Other 27” TN panels exist (only at the lower 1920x1080 resolution), but I can’t find any other 27” IPS panels.

It’s also LED-backlit.

So it’s a very high-specced, brand new panel that’s apparently not being mass-produced yet (since no other monitors for sale are using it). That must be expensive. How much of the base 27” iMac’s $1700 retail cost does this represent?

The closest existing panel for comparison, spec-wise, is the 30” IPS panel that Apple uses in their Cinema Display. It has the ultra-high resolution and size, but doesn’t compete with the 27” iMac’s panel for brightness, contrast, power efficiency, or color range. It’s overpriced by today’s standards at $1800, but not by much — Dell’s original 30” monitor with the same panel is $1200, and a newer version with better specs (although still not as good as the new iMac’s) is $1700.

A standalone monitor with the new iMac’s panel would be perfectly reasonably priced at about $1500. From Dell. Apple’s only charging $200 more than that for theirs, and there’s an entire high-end computer stuck to the back of it.

When they mentioned on last week’s quarterly earnings call that they expected lower profit margins for a new product, I don’t think anyone expected a change of this magnitude. How are they making anything — or even not losing money — with the base-model 27” iMac?

My guess: a massively successful negotiation with the panel’s manufacturer (most likely LG) to get not only an incredible price on these panels, but also apparent exclusivity for a while. It’s a hell of an accomplishment, and presumably a hell of an effort, for a computer that isn’t even Apple’s most-selling model (or even product line). That raises a more interesting question: Why?

Until we know why the panel is so cheap, I bet we’re going to see a lot of Mac Pro owners buying 27” monitors for $1700 and trying to figure out what to do with the free computer stuck to the back. For new-computer shopping, a lot of people are going to abandon whichever laptop or Mac Pro they were considering and get this instead.

That helps answer the “why” question: Maybe Apple wants to push more buyers away from today’s default system-type choice — laptops — and show them why they should consider getting a fast, spacious desktop instead. And, for the time being, it’s a desktop with absolutely no equivalent in the PC world.

And then there was one... Amazon ditches the Sprint powered Kindle

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:09:00 -0400

And then there was one... Amazon ditches the Sprint powered Kindle:

Just weeks after it was launched, the AT&T powered international version of the Amazon Kindle is now the only 6” version of the Amazon Kindle.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Good bye Sprint don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Now I believe the Kindle DX is still Sprint powered and therefor US only, but…. how long can that last?

I wondered when Amazon announced the Kindle powered by Sprint what they were doing as Sprint’s CDMA technology is locked to the USA, and maybe a handful of other countries. Well here is the market correction.

Amazon Kindle, and the Barnes & Noble Nook, both powered by AT&T GSM wireless and available for use world wide.

It makes you feel bad for Sprint, but… There is still time for them to get off this silly WiMax bandwagon (again it would be US only) and switch to LTE (worldwide standard).

The new 6” Kindle is now $259, anyone who ordered it at the old price is getting a $20 refund.

…

amazon.com: Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6

Google's Android, it's bigger than you think and spreading fast.

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:23:00 -0400

Google's Android, it's bigger than you think and spreading fast.:

It has taken at least six months longer than expected but this Google Android thing is for real.

It’s More than just the G1 on T-Mobile. We are finally seeing devices hit all the major carriers in the states and many world wide.

If you follow the Smart Phone market at all, you know of the G1, and you may have heard of Sprints Hero, and of course Motorola Droid is getting a lot of prime time advertising right now. But there is way more than that.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

There are at least 20 phones either out now or about to be released world wide. Click the link int he title above to check out a Tech Crunch article with specs on each one.

T-Mobile G1 aka HTC Dream
T-Mobile MyTouch 3G aka HTC Magic
T-Mobile G2 Touch/Sprint HTC Hero
Huawei U8230 Pulse T-Mobile UK
Samsung Galaxy Europe (all carriers)
HTC Tattoo Vodaphone Europe
Motorola ClIQ T-Mobile USA & Orange UK
Motorola Droid Verizon USA
Samsung Moment/InstinctQ Sprint USA
Motorola Heron aka Iron Man AT&T USA
Acer A1 AKA Liquid unlocked GSM
Samsung Behold 2 unknown carrier
Archos Phone Tablet unlocked GSM
Dell mini i3 China Mobile
Lenovo O1 China Mobile
LG Etna Vodaphone Europe
HTC Lancaster AT&T USA
Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 unknown carrier
Motorola Calgary Verizon
Phillips V808 unknown carrier
HTC Click unknown carrier
Samsung Bigfoot T-Mobile USA
HTC Dragon T-Mobile USA
Samsung Galaxy Lite aka Spica unknown carrier

My interest is peaked, as finally Verizon is getting a decent Non Blackberry Non Windows Mobile Smart Phone.

Palm you had a chance with the Pre, the Android roll out was slower than expected but instead of moving fast to fill a gap and maybe gain more than just a foothold in the Smart Phone market, you have been slow to add apps, and even slower to put your device on other carriers, in the US and World Wide. I think you are about to be buried in a slew of great open devices with a strong developer base, available on every carrier.

…

amazon.com: T-Mobile G1 Phone with Google, Bronze (T-Mobile)

Dell’s Android MID, a smart phone with everything except the...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:24:00 -0400

Dell’s Android MID, a smart phone with everything except the phone…

From who? Dell, seriously? Dell putting out some really cool gear? Hell yes. Dell has been on a roll lately and look at their latest foray in the video above.

The Dell Streak a MID (Mobile Internet Device) it comes with a 5” Multi Touch Screen, Google’s Android OS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G connectivity. That’s right, it sports 3G cellular data but no phone functionality.

Man this is the right size for a media tablet. A 5” screen blows away the iPhone and iPod Touch screen size, but the 800x480 display feels a bit wanting. I’d like to see a resolution that could support 540p or even better yet 720p video for high def streaming and local playback.

There is a 5mp camera on the back, and a front facing web cam too, so this could probably pull off a nice sype connection in place of cell phone calls. In fact Skype plus Google Voice on one of these could be a killer combo.

No word on the price of this yet, but should it be around $299 in say time for the Holidays, it would make my wish list.

…

Apple Magic Mouse

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:32:00 -0400

Apple Magic Mouse:

So wait what, there was a slew of new product launched by Apple yesterday that didn’t involve a press conference or frail man dressed in black? Oh snap… it happens folks.

One of the most interesting things announced yesterday wasn’t all the shiney new computers, with shiney new specs. No it was a new mouse.

Apple has been experimenting with unique mice designs for a long time. First there was the puck, which was about as ergonomic as a hockey puck. Then came the Mighty Mouse, which failed to be very mighty at all. But now we have the Magic Mouse, and Apple may have finally got one right.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

The Magic Mouse is a small curved form, with no obvious buttons. But it will register both left and right click by just forgetting about the lack of physical buttons and “clicking.”

However the best part of the new mouse is that the whole top surface of it is multi touch sensitive. meaning you can use two fingers to scroll swipe and pinch your way around the elegant Apple Interface.

Gizmodo has a full review (link in title) and they seem to be fairly impressed with it, claiming that you can use almost the whole surface of the mouse to scroll down a page.

All my macs are notebooks now, which obviously include all this int he track pad, but, I have been considering adding a Mac Mini at home for podcasting and maybe even my photography. If I do that I will be checking out on of these pretty little things.

…

amazon.com: Apple Magic Mouse

AT&T Tells Every Employee and Their Families to Complain to the FCC About Net Neutrality

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:46:00 -0400

AT&T Tells Every Employee and Their Families to Complain to the FCC About Net Neutrality:

What, you mean AT&T’s ability to slow down or block delivery of content they don’t like in favor of content that they do like is a threat to the way they do business? So much so that they are asking everyone who draws a paycheck from AT&T to make their voice heard in favor of AT&T’s monopolistic business practices?

Yep.

Oh if you want to go make your voice heard either for or against net neutrality, weather or not you are employed by AT&T or any other large ISP. You can go here.

Verizon's Motorola Droid Android Smart Phone could be my next phone.

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:25:07 -0400

Verizon's Motorola Droid Android Smart Phone could be my next phone. :

Well it took at least six months more than I thought it would but it looks like Google’s Android OS is finally making the rounds and hitting all the major US carriers.

If you are a long time reader you know that for business reasons I am locked in with Verizon. So no iPhone for me, no Palm Pre, in fact my best option as of my last renewal was the Blackberry Storm. So yeah that’s what I am toting right now.

Don’t get me wrong the Storm is not nearly as bad a phone as most pundits make it out to be. In fact for mobile email it’s rated number 1 of any phone by jkontherun, and I agree. But for mobile web it’s terribly slow and even though the Blackberry app store has gotten better in the last few months it’s still way behind other offerings.

But my contract is up sometime soon, I think December-ish, so I am looking at what’s coming for the big V, and low and behold it looks like the most powerful Android handset thus far is on it’s way. The Motorola Droid.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Formally known as Sholes (thank god they switched that name) Motorola has even started a media blitz with prime time TV advertising and so on.

SO what’s so great about the Motorola Droid? Well hit the link in the title for Boy Genius Report’s hands on review including a slew of pictures. But here is the short and the sweet as to why I am interested in it.

It’s thin, in fact it may just be the thinnest handset with a slide out full qwerty keyboard yet.

It’s fast, The TI OMAP3430 processor is way more powerful than anything else out there running Android to date.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

The Display is HUGE, for a pocket-able handset.

It has a 5mega pixel auto focusing camera.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

It makes that cool “DROID” sound effect when you turn it on. (yeah I know that’s lame but it’s the little things that make me happy.)

See my previous article for a You Tube Video with the Droid start up sound.

http://technologyviewer.com/post/214342554/motorola-droid-startup-teased-robot-voice-and-all

…

amazon.com: Archos 5 32 GB Internet Tablet with Android

Motorola Droid startup teased, robot voice and all (video) Am I...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:09:27 -0400

Motorola Droid startup teased, robot voice and all (video)

Am I the only one who thinks the “droid” robot voice at the end of the start up is super cool! Of course I am one of the few people who actually like the Blackberry Storm too…

Oh tell me this will be out on Verizon by Christmas. :D

Mystery UFO halo in clouds over Moscow | The Sun |News A very...

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:30:44 -0400

Mystery UFO halo in clouds over Moscow | The Sun |News

A very bizar natural phenomenon is happening over Moscow right now. A white circular cloud has formed over the city and when looked at set against the normal grey overcast sky of Moscow, it is very reminisent of a UFO Mothership.

Reporters and people on the street are unnecessarily comparing it to the movie Independence day, which is further hyping the event.

No expert anyway is saying it’s anything other than an odd cloud formation, but… It certainly stirs the imagination.

…

amazon.com: Independence Day [Blu-ray]

Wind farms can hinder weather radar

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:04:00 -0400

Wind farms can hinder weather radar:

An interesting article in the local paper this morning. Kudos to the local gannet team for peaking my interest for once.

It seems there is a growing problem with the adoption of wind farms. The mass of spinning blades can interfere with Doppler weather radar. The farms can appear as precipitation in some cases but also block or magnify the perceptions of storm systems behind the wind farm.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

“It’s more of an annoyance than a critical issue,” said Bill Hibbert, a meteorologist and radar specialist with the weather service in Buffalo.

But I have to think this is more than just an annoyance in the Midwest where the adoption of wind farms as an alternative energy source is on the rise, and the threat of fast developing tornadoes is serious.

the weather service is trying to update the software to better detect and ignore the effects of the wind farms, and I’m sure they will come up with something soon.

But it’s an interesting thing to watch how different technologies interact and sometime interfere with each other in unanticipated ways.

…

amazon.com: La Crosse Technology WS-2317 Professional Weather Station

Unemployed? Blogging? Don't Put Ads On Your Site Or You Might Lose Your Unemployment Check

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:53:00 -0400

Unemployed? Blogging? Don't Put Ads On Your Site Or You Might Lose Your Unemployment Check:

The government has declared the recession over. But for the rest of us the economic collapse is still being felt and probably will be for the next few years.

So here is a helpful tip from me via techdirt. If you do lose your job and are planning to collect unemployment be sure and take down any advertising on and and all blogs you run.

It seems crazy but even the pennies you get from Google Adsense can cause you unemployment woes.

“Forbes is reporting that a lawyer’s unemployment benefits were greatly reduced, because his blog earned about $1/day in ad revenue. “

Let me assure you, that if you are using Google Adsence to generate revenue from, your blog or website and you are pulling in $1 a day, you are doing fairly well. Most of us make far less per day. Full disclosure, the combined totals of all four websites* I manage make less than $0.40 a day from Google.

It’s asinine to think that this constitutes “work” or “income” to the people at unemployment, but… I understand the slope and she be slippery for sure.

So anyway, if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself out of work, be sure and disable any advertising on your websites. Just in case.

…

amazon.com: iJobless: 50 ways to Survive Unemployment

…

* All four websites I manage

Wolfman-K (.com) TechnologyViewer happy time magic hour Photography by Wolfman-K

What happens if you drop Palm Pre in Beer? Why?!?!? yet like...

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:20:57 -0400

What happens if you drop Palm Pre in Beer?

Why?!?!? yet like a car wreck, I had to watch, and share.