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Top Tech Story of the Day
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Apple admits iPhone 4 antenna issues |
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 Since the iPhone
4 went on sale Thursday, numerous reports have begun to appear online about
consumers having strange issues with the antenna. Namely, that if they put their
hand over the new steel band that encases the iPhone, they lose reception.
Apple has responded with a statement:
"Gripping any mobile phone will result in some
attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than
others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for
every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid
gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the
black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases."
We did a test call today, and found that yes, indeed,
put your hand on the bottom of the iPhone (something most people tend to do) to
hold it while chatting, and reception takes a nose dive. Then we tried putting
one of Apple's new "Bumper" products, similar to a case, over the phone, and
reception improved. The bumpers come in several colors, and sell for a whopping
$29.99 each. All it is is a plastic strip that goes around the iPhone. But if it
lets you hold the phone while speaking, it is worth considering as an
investment.
Read more... |
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Latest Tech News Headlines
 Sony, Hulu In Talks
For PS3 Service |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 As
multimedia home consoles continue to battle for the living room, reports are
surfacing that say a deal between Sony and Hulu to bring the streaming web
service to PlayStation 3 could be announced "as soon as next week."
Citing two unnamed sources, Bloomberg says the two companies are
"close to an agreement." Hulu offers a wide variety of television programming,
plus original content unique to the site, for free. The article also notes
previous reports of a $9.95 a month Hulu service potentially on its way to Xbox
Live.
Spokespeople for both companies declined to comment, but as more
and more media services from Last.fm to Netflix make their way to video game
consoles, a partnership could be a net gain for Hulu, which would expand its
reach and attract more advertisers. The PlayStation Network has 50 million users
worldwide as of Sony's latest count.
The report also says that, hoping to make its paid service more
attractive, Hulu is in discussions with CBS, Viacom and Time Warner to bolster
its content the better to offer a paid service alongside its free one.
Either way, adding Hulu to video game consoles would mean gamers
would have streaming access to hundreds of current and past episodes of TV
series like The Simpsons, The Office and Saturday Night Live, in addition to
user-rated clips and movie trailers.
Read more... |
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Crowds Queue Up
Across U.S. For iPhone 4 |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 After a
global launch that saw the iPhone 4 land in Japan, Germany, France, and the
U.K., U.S. customers had their chance to get their hands on Apple's newest
smartphone Thursday morning. And, despite early shipment to some customers and
limited iPhone supplies, the crowds still turned up at Apple Stores across the
country for the iPhone 4's official release.
In New York, hundred lined up outside of the flagship Apple Store
on Fifth Avenue, with the line stretching for blocks amid a festive atmosphere.
But that same scene played out at other Apple Stores as well. In Farmington,
Conn., the lines outside the Westfarms Apple Store stretched halfway down the
mall where the store is located. According to General Manager Kevin Keenan, as
of 7 a.m. local time "over 500 people" had lined up to purchase Apple's newest
iPhone. Surprisingly, both reserved and standby lines were equally long, curving
and twisting around the mall's second floor.
Jerod Dikeman and Bill Brookshire, a pair of friends from
Torrington, Conn., were the first in the reservation line-where they had been
standing since 7 p.m. the night before. "Gotta be part of the party, right?"
said Dikeman, gesturing to a series of Red Bull soda cans on the floor.
The pair didn't bring sleeping bags, "just soda," and slept for a
combined total of 45 minutes while protecting their coveted position. "Not too
bad, we made some friends," Brookshire said, glancing back at the rest of the
line with a smile.
Read more... |
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Judge sides with
Google, YouTube in Viacom's $1B suit |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 Entertainment
companies may find it harder to keep movie and TV show clips from circulating
for free online after a federal judge on Wednesday threw out Viacom's hotly
contested $1 billion copyright infringement suit against Google's YouTube.
U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton said that the popular
video website could not be held responsible when people post clips from
productions such as Viacom's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert
Reportwithout the entertainment giant's approval.
He rejected Viacom's argument that YouTube's business model
depended on a sleight of hand: It attracts millions of visitors who want to see
hit entertainment for free. Viacom said the site ensures that there's plenty to
see, without paying a license fee, by making it easy for users to post clips and
hard for copyright owners to keep track of those posted without permission.
Every minute of the day, people post 24 hours' worth of videos to
YouTube, the ruling noted.
But Stanton said that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
includes a "safe harbor" provision. It was designed to relieve websites from the
burden of checking user-generated material before it's posted.
Even at YouTube, where lots of people violate the law, "mere
knowledge of the prevalence of (copyright violations) in general is not enough"
to make the site liable, Stanton said.
Read more... |
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Apple iPhone 4
Antenna Concerns Worry Owners |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
It usually
takes a couple of days before the negative reports about hot new products crop
up. People are just starting to receive their new iPhones, and there's already a
slew of online complaints that point to what appears to be one major design flaw
in the latest iPhone.
According to numerous reports, holding the phone's new external
antenna band has the tendency to completely block reception. The issue seems to
have first popped up (as many do) on a Mac Rumor board. Gizmodo put out a call
to readers with the new phone and got a flood of responses from users who seem
to be having the same issue.
Perhaps it's because a product like the iPhone 4 is bound to be
under the microscope upon its release--or maybe this is a legitimate concern.
Either way, it seem like this is something Apple is going to have to address
soon.
Read more... |
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Apple's iOS 4 already
hacked |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 That
didn't take long. Just one day after iOS 4 was officially released from Apple,
the iPhone Dev-Team has already released a hack to jailbreak and unlock iPhones
using the software.
There are a few important caveats with the latest release.
PwnageTool 4.01 will work fine with an iPhone 3GS as long as it was previously
jailbroken with the old boot ROM and you didn't use the Spirit method. However,
if your 3GS has the new boot ROM, you will not be able to use PwnageTool.
A previously jailbroken iPhone 3G should be fine with the new
PwnageTool, as well, if you didn't use Spirit.
The new hacks only support the official iOS 4 release and not the
developer release issued at WWDC.
The Dev-Team said that currently the iPhone 2G, iPod Touch, and
iPod Touch 3G are not supported by their software. They are working on ways to
fix this for future releases.
Baseband unlockers--the method that allows you to use an iPhone on
carriers other than AT&T--are reportedly working for all basebands from 04.26.08
and up. The unlockers currently support the iPhone 3G and 3GS.
Read more... |
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Motorola Droid X:
The Best of the Droids |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 The
follow-up to Motorola's wildly popular Droid on Verizon, the Droid X ($200 with
a two-year service contract from Verizon; available July 15) is one of the
hottest phones to debut this summer. Its specs outshine those on the other Droid
phones available on the network, but it falters a bit when it comes to
performance. Nonetheless, the Droid X is one of the top phones to debut this
summer, on a par with both the HTC EVO 4G and the iPhone 4.
Like the original Droid, the Droid X has a black, soft rubberized
back. Unlike the original, however, the X doesn't feel thick and clunky when
held. This is due in part to the fact that the X does not have a slide-out
QWERTY keyboard. But the X looks and feels much more refined than the original
Droid. Its corners are more rounded and its rubberized edges make using it much
more comfortable. Another welcome improvement: The X has physical hardware
buttons (the familiar Menu, Home, Back, and Search buttons) as opposed to the
original Droid's touch-sensitive buttons. The X's buttons are small and
unobtrusive, too, and they light up brightly when activated. Overall, the Droid
X looks much more elegant and modern than its predecessor.
The X also feels noticeably slimmer than the HTC EVO 4G, which
also has a 4.3-inch display (The Droid X is 0.4 inch thick, while the EVO is 0.5
inch thick). Nevertheless, I prefer the EVO's rounded back. The Droid X has a
flat back with a bump where the camera and flash are located. Though this bump
isn't especially annoying, it is noticeable. The Droid X weighs in at 5.47
ounces--a bit less than the 6-ounce original Droid.
Read more... |
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Microsoft Adds
Entertainment Features to Bing |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 Microsoft Corp.’s
Bing search engine is adding an entertainment page that allow users to watch
television shows, play games and listen to music without leaving the website.
Bing is providing local TV times, movie listings and access to song lyrics,
Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft’s online audience business, said
yesterday in an e- mailed statement. The company invited press to an event in
West Hollywood, California, to announce the updates.
The features may help Microsoft gain ground on Google Inc.’s dominant search
engine. A survey of Bing users found that 76 percent want one online destination
for entertainment options to eliminate clutter, Redmond, Washington-based
Microsoft said. Bing organizes search results into TV shows, music, video games
and movies.
“As the content on the Web has exploded, it has become difficult to navigate and
find what you are looking for,” Mehdi said in the statement. “So we see a great
opportunity to help customers make important entertainment decisions.”
Read more... |
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Zynga releases
FarmVille for iPhone |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 Whether you
spent all day waiting in line, or gushing over your new iPhone 4 that arrived in
the mail, or simply bemoaning that you’re stuck with your old 3GS instead, the
fine folks at Zynga have a new iOS game you can now kick back and relax with.
Yes, FarmVille has arrived for the iPhone (and of course it works on the iPad,
too).
Not familiar with FarmVille? It’s the virtual farming game with more than 100
million users on Facebook—including nearly 64 million active members per month.
You grow and harvest virtual crops, take care of virtual livestock, and post
Facebook status updates that bombard all your non-FarmvVlle-playing friends.
If you already have a FarmVille farm on Facebook—and sheesh, given the numbers,
you probably do—you can access it from your iOS device. But you can also create
a brand new farm, too. While the game is free, Zynga makes its money by charging
for in-game items and gifts, which on the iPhone uses in-app purchasing,
naturally. Zynga promises “several exclusive market items and gifts” will be
available only to folks farming from iOS devices.
FarmVille requires iOS 3.0 or higher, is iOS 4.0-tested, and is compatible with
the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
Read more... |
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Superman, Batman
conquer iPhone, iPad and PSP |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 Famed
comic book publisher DC Comics announced today that they are launching a roster
of comic books in digital format for the first time, making super-heroic stories
from the likes of Batman and Superman available on iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches
and PlayStation Portable game devices.
DC Comics has partnered with both comiXology and the PlayStation
Network and will begin distributing digital versions of their comic books on
demand starting today.
Both PSP and Apple device owners will be able to pay for classic
titles from DC Comics, Vertigo and WildStorm. Among them: “Batman: Hush,” “Green
Lantern: Rebirth,” “Fables: Legends in Exiles” and “Planetary: All Over the
World and Other Stories.” In both cases, the digital comics will be priced
between 99 cents to $2.99 per issue.
Until today, DC had been an important holdout on the digital
publication front, with comic book publishers like Marvel and Dark Horse already
offering many of their series through the App Store and PlayStation network.
Read more... |
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Twitter Lets You Find
Facebook, LinkedIn Friends |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 Are you
following a bunch of strangers on Twitter? The micro-blogging site is making
your tweeting experience a bit more friendly, with the addition of Facebook and
LinkedIn to its Find Friends feature.
The Twitter Facebook app now lets you know which of your
friends are on Twitter. It lets you save those users to a list or follow them
instantly. Users can now also post tweets directly to their Facebook pages, in
addition to their profile.
"[O]ne of our most frequent requests from users is how
they can find and follow the people they are connected to on their social
networks," Twitter said in a blog post.
LinkedIn's new Tweets application, meanwhile, show you
which of your connections are on Twitter. You can follow your connections
directly from the app. Like the Facebook app, Tweet lets you feed Twitter posts
directly to LinkedIn.
There's one hitch, though: the Facebook app cannot
currently access your Facebook friend list. "We believe this is an issue on
Facebook's end," Twitter said.
Read more... |
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Apple Sells Three
Millionth iPad 80 Days After Launch |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 Apple
Inc. (AAPL) said it sold three million iPads in the tablet computer's first 80
days on the market, a performance that cements the device's position as a driver
of the consumer electronics giant's rapid growth.
Sales of the touchscreen device, the first of a new category of
tablet devices aimed at consumers, mark another triumph for Apple, which has
successfully redefined the mobile market. The figures trump analysts' initial
estimates for sales of roughly 1.7 million iPads in the quarter ending June 30.
The iPad represents one of the fastest-selling new products in
Apple's history, with an iPad leaving stores a little over every second. Even
Apple's popular iPhone, now the company's biggest revenue driver, took more than
two months to crack the one-million mark after it debuted in June 2007.
The sales figures come as Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple jumps from
the strength to strength. In addition to the iPad, a new generation of its
iPhone will go on sale Thursday amid expectations it too will generate
blockbuster sales. A new version of its mobile operating system, iOS 4, was
released on Monday and is expected to lure more customers to Apple's handheld
products.
The iPad represents a new opportunity for Apple to broaden its
presence in the consumer electronics market, where its iPod devices already
dominate among digital music players. The iPad is expected to be popular with
publishers and Apple has already opened a bookstore that competes with market
leader Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) digital book platform.
Read more... |
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YouTube Adds a
Vuvuzela Button |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
The vuvuzela
has now cracked the big time: nearly every movie on YouTube can be, um,
enhanced!
From Techland, TIME's Allie Townsend explains:
"Press on the tiny soccer ball located on the bottom
right corner of any YouTube video and you'll be greeted with the sound of the
vuvuzelas, and possibly prompted to bang your head against the surface of your
desk. What is it about these annoying little horns that has us so amused?"
Read more... |
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Apple Launches iOS 4
for iPhone, iPod Touch |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
The new
software update for Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices is out today.
Dubbed iOS 4, the free update brings over 100 new features to its fleet of
devices, the company announced.
Chief among these is multitasking, a feature that allows multiple
apps to run simultaneously, and which has available on competitors' mobile
device operating systems such as Android and BlackBerry for some time.
This multitasking will not work across all Apple devices, with the
first generation versions of the iPhone and iPod Touch being left out, for
example. Also, to take advantage of multitasking, the apps must have been
developed for use with iOS 4.
Speaking of apps, folders for sorting them are now available, as
well as iBooks, a digital reader and bookstore.
The latest software was released just before the next-generation
iPhone 4 is scheduled to go on sale this Thursday.
The update can be downloaded using the newest version of iTunes.
Since demand is expected to be high, manual downloads of iOS 4 are also
available at MacRumors and elsewhere. A manual download can take from 40 minutes
to an hour.
Read more... |
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New Xbox 360
Replaces RRoD with Red Dot of Doom |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 Apparently
Microsoft has learned from their past mistakes, because the newest iteration of
the Xbox 360- officially dubbed the "Xbox 360 S-" features a failsafe meltdown
deterrent that causes the system to shut down automatically should it become too
hot to operate safely. Players are apparently notified of the impending shutdown
by a message that pops up on the screen, after which the system turns off to
prevent damage to its internals.
This is, no doubt, a step up from the previous heat warning
employed by Xbox 360s, which only warned players after it was generally too late
to do anything about it. The "red rings of death" have become infamous for
destroying countless Xbox 360s, and the hit to Microsoft's image, as well as
their profits, has no doubt been considerable. The sheer volume of players all
crying foul even forced Microsoft to extend the Xbox 360's warranty by two extra
years, and they now take care of most red-ringed Xbox 360s at no charge to
players (though sometimes with a lengthy wait to get the console back).
How many players will lose hours of save data before this becomes
as big a debacle as the red rings? Imagine finally obtaining that ultra horse
armor in Oblivion, after hours of painstaking, tedious grinding, only for the
Xbox 360 to shut itself off just before you can save. The console can apparently
be turned back on after the "power light stops flashing-" but by then it's too
late for that precious save data.
Read more... |
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Toshiba Unwraps
Libretto Ultra Mobile PC |
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Tech Junkeez Latest Tech News
 Toshiba
on Monday announced the launch of the Libretto W100 ultra-mobile PC, which some
observers are calling a hybrid between a mini-notebook and an e-reader. The
announcement was made in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the company's
entry into the portable PC market. The manufacturer also introduced other models
for different market segments.
The Libretto W100 has dual 7-inch, diagonal multi-touch screens
that work horizontally or vertically. When held vertically, users will be able
to page through both displays. When held horizontally, the lower screen serves
as a keyboard and the upper screen as the display monitor. The Libretto measures
4.84 inches by 7.95 inches, weighs under two pounds, and has a clamshell design.
It runs on Windows 7 and has built-in Bluetooth 5 and 802.11n wireless
networking.
Users can surf the web on one screen while simultaneously checking
e-mail on the other, according to Toshiba. The Libretto W100 also lets users
share, stream, and synchronize files and multimedia. It also comes with a USB
port and built-in memory reader for transferring information to and from
external hard drives and other types of devices.
Toshiba released its first laptop, the T1100 in 1985. To
commemorate its 25 years in the PC business, it is also launching other models,
including the 25th anniversary edition Portégé R700 ultra-portable laptop, which
is geared at business users. The Portégé R700 has a 13.3-inch screen with a full
keyboard and a DVD drive, with prices starting under $1,000. A consumer version
of the laptop will sell for $889 at Best Buy.
Read more... |
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