In an informal interview, a RIM executive strongly hinted that the company’s BlackBerry line would be getting a front-facing camera for videoconferencing in early 2010. It’s still officially unconfirmed, but totally plausible. Anybody out there dying for some videoconferencing? [TinyComb]
YouTube may be testing changes to its navigation design, according to reader Eric Calouro. While visiting the site’s homepage today, he grabbed a screenshot of a previously unseen design that puts a large search box at the top of the page, removes the “Broadcast Yourself” tagline and de-emphasizes all menu items. In other words: the site looks increasingly like a video search engine.
However, the change has not been rolled out to all users: Eric’s is the only report we have so far, seen in Google Chrome on the PC – in Firefox, he sees the old design.
Whether it gets a full rollout remains to be seen, but such a move would continue Google’s moves to put search at the center of the YouTube experience. Watch this space.
Tags: design, Google, redesign, Search, youtube
Online advertising stops its nose-dive — Second-quarter global ad revenues, at $7.864 billion, were down 3.4 percent from a year ago. But admit it: After the past year, a 3.4 percent drop almost feels like growth.Is this a “reset” of base level from which the ad market can now grow again? TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld plots the line and explains the economist-speak. Erick, I hate to be all VentureBeat fussy, but do you have more granular data to work with? I’d love to see week-to-week revenues, rather than a plot that jumps in three-month increments. Really, why aren’t we able to keep a real-time ticker on our screens by now?
How to profit from Bubble 3.0 – “Don’t be afraid of a bubble” is the first big step, says Wall Street Journal writer James Altucher. He offers his educated guesses on where the next bubble might appear, and how people in different roles can profit from it.
Windows 7 pricing is higher than home buyers had probably hoped — A box of Windows 7 Home Premium will cost about $150. Upgrade packages will be in the $80-90 range. Buying made simple: You want the Premium edition. The Basic edition lacks the faster, slicker Aero interface that uses your desktop or laptop’s graphics chip — yes, your laptop has one. The Professional and Ultimate editions have office-IT-network tools and applications that only your boss should pay for. Stick with Premium, which really should be called Normal, and you’ll be fine. Ed Bott at ZD has the long version.
Windows Mobile, meanwhile, has been kicked out of Motorola in favor of Android – Om Malik talked to Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha, who explained that Motorolla has decided that the way for a smartphone handset maker to succeed is to pick one OS and focus everything on it.
David Pogue’s Take Back the Beep campaign continues — The New York Times’ Broadway-trained gadget reviewer has struck a nerve with his attack on “the obnoxious, drawn-out, 15-second instructions that Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile tack on to your own voice mail greeting” in order to run up your monthly minutes usage.
Here’s the cheat sheet on which key to press to skip past voicemail intros on America’s four major carriers.
Verizon: *
Sprint: 1
T-Mobile: #
AT&T: #
Pogue today recounts the responses he got from readers, who seemed unusually polite, and from wireless carrier PR people, some of whom seemed to barely understand their own voicemail systems.
Space Shuttle Endeavor puts in a perfect landing — Seven astronauts spent the last sixteen days docked to the International Space Station, building an addition to Japan’s billion-dollar lab. Shuttle landings are cool. While the Shuttle is smaller than an airliner, it comes in a lot faster — 215 mph rather than 160 — and with its nose high in the air. Then it pops out a 40-foot parachute to brake itself to 110 mph before rolling to a stop.
Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Performance, Porsche
You know what the biggest problem with Porshce’s 997 Turbo is? Too slow. They’re like German desert tortoises. Just kinda clumsy and always in the way. 480 horsepower and 457 lb-ft of torque rotating all four wheels might sound fast on paper, but it just isn’t. Understanding this, Porsche came out with the more powerful GT2. However, 530 horsepower is still like standing still and rear-wheel drive is for drag racers. You need the traction of AWD, and something with more power than some dirty old Cadillac. A lot more power.
Meet the Switzer Perfomance P800 997. Here’s the quick stats: 800 hp, zero-to-sixty in less than three seconds and the quarter-mile in just a smidge over ten seconds. Now that’s fast. Oh yeah — the P800’s AWD, too. No one is going to mistake you for a Mustang with a blower. Where does an extra 320 hp vs. stock come from? Custom GT30 turbochargers, Switzer MONSTER intercoolers, electronic boost control, fancy headers and exhaust, plus a carbon clutch pack. We’ll take it. In yellow. Full press release and video of a P800 on a Dynometer after the jump.
Gallery: Switzer P800
Continue reading Switzer Performance P800 997 Twin-Turbo: The world is never enough
Switzer Performance P800 997 Twin-Turbo: The world is never enough originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPhone, App Store
Earlier today, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) sent out letters to Apple, AT&T and Google, readable here [FCC's letter to Apple, to AT&T & to Google] asking each company about its involvement in the Google Voice app rejections. The agency is asking Apple to explain why the Google app was rejected and the third-party apps removed, if any VoIP apps have been approved, and whether there are general rules and regulations covering application approvals (something many developers would also love to know).
It’s worth noting that none of the Google Voice apps are VoIP (voice over IP) applications in the traditional sense, as they rely on the cellular carrier’s voice network to handle calls, so it’s not clear if the FCC understands this or if the agency is heading down a blind alley on this particular topic.
To Google, the letter asks if any other Google apps have been accepted in the store (we know there are a few), whether Apple explains the rejection process or the reasoning behind the treatment of Google Latitude, if there are other ways to use Google Voice on the iPhone (again, a somewhat naive question, as the service works fine via touchtone commands and Mobile Safari), and lastly and most intriguingly, what the app approval process is for Android applications (should be a short answer: “C’mon in, the water’s fine!”).
Finally, the agency is asking AT&T how the carrier was consulted on this decision, if any VoIP applications are running on their network (again, missing the point, since GV ≠ VoIP — more relevant that there are Blackberry apps for Google Voice that are happily on AT&T handsets), and whether AT&T can provide a list of rejected applications on the store while detailing the role it plays in approving 3G-enabled services like Sling.
The FCC has given the three companies until August 21 to respond to their letters; while the overall scope of the questions betrays quite a bit of agency unfamiliarity with the workings of the Google Voice service and the App Store, any movement toward openness and clear answers is positive. Hopefully, these responses will offer some insight into the story of this whole mess that has given everyone such indigestion over the past week.
[via Engadget, links to FCC via BusinessWeek]
TUAWIt’s the Feds! FCC quizzes Apple, AT&T and Google about Google Voice apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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What does this mean for EA and future sports videogames?
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM
Back in the 1960s and early ’70s, when musclecars ruled America roads, manufacturers were known to either purposely understate (for insurance purposes) or, more likely, overstate horsepower levels in the race to woo buyers to their massively powerful vehicles. Might something similar be happening in today’s eco-friendly wars?
According to Chevy Volt Design Director Bob Boniface, yes. In a recent webchat, Lyle Dennis from GM-Volt.com asked how the Volt’s aerodynamic properties will compare with other electric vehicles, in particular with the claimed .27 coefficient of drag of Tesla’s Model S. Here’s what Boniface had to say:
People may think we are skirting the aero issue by not quoting our tunnel figures… If I quote an actual GM-derived tunnel figure, it may not look impressive to you when, in fact, it is superior to most, if not all our competition. It is very much like the horsepower race back in the ’60s. The Volt aero performance is second only to the EV1 in GM history.
We should have a bit more to go on soon regarding the Volt’s aero properties. Boniface also said that GM would soon be testing a new 2010 Prius in its own wind tunnel and expects the Volt to compare favorably with Toyota’s hybrid hatchback.
Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt
[Source: Inside Line]
Don’t buy the hype, says GM; Volt’s aerodynamics “superior to most, if not all our competition” originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple's decision to reject Google Voice apps for the iPhone — possibly at AT&T's request — has prompted an FCC investigation into the anti-competitive nature of the move.
Here’s something fun to start your weekend with. Amazon’s German site now has a listing for “PlayStation 3 Konsole slim” from Sony Computer Entertainment, and really, it doesn’t take years of foreign language class to figure out that English translation. It’s listed as “platform independent” (har) and has its own Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN), but on the flip side, we’re lacking a picture, release date, or any other tangible details. Can’t say we’ve got a feel for the site’s track record on random listings, but after all the rumors and possible sightings as of late, it really makes ya wonder.
[Thanks, Mitchell B]
Filed under: Gaming
PlayStation 3 slim listing pops up on Amazon Germany originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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