Quick video update from the show floor at Macworld 2009 in San Francisco!
And yes, I know. I didn't have time to shave before the keynote. It was early in the morning. Give me a break!
The lying liars who run the Chinese government are at it again. This time realizing that "Immediate action is needed to purify the Internet environment," China is taking a whole month to purge its internet of "porn," according to Cai Mingzhao, deputy director of the State Council Information Office.
China has blacklisted 19 major sites and portals, including Google, for allegedly spreading obscene content. The country has 253 million internet surfers. Big Chinese Brother continued:
"The government will continue to expose, punish or even shut down those infamous Web sites that refuse to correct their wrongdoing,"
Google China shot back with the rational response:
"Google is neither the owner of those Web sites and porn nor does it spread (that) information intentionally,"
China, being immune to rational discussion, declined to comment further. But just a few months ago Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao lied to CNN's Fareed Zakaria's face, saying:
"The freedom of Internet in China is recognized by many, even from the West."
And then, in the same lying breath:
"Nonetheless, to uphold state security, China, like many countries in the world, has also imposed some proper restrictions. That is for the safety, that is for the overall safety of the country and for the freedom of the majority of the people."
Oh, China.
Report: China targets Web sites with 'porn' content [CNN]
UK's The Times reported Monday that corporate upheaval of nearly cataclysmic proportions is coming to Sony, in the form of desperately needed cost-cutting moves. According to sources, Sony is looking at "sacred cow-slaying measures" that "will abolish or fundamentally alter many of Sony's long-established business practices."
Word is that the big shakedown will become public knowledge sometime before CES ends on January 11.
It's hard to imagine that the PlayStation brand - or even just the money-hemorrhaging PS3 part of the business - could ever, ever be "abolished." But with sales of the PS3 tanking even as Wii and Xbox 360 sales continue to rise compared to the same period last year, and in such a dismal economy, it's hard to imagine that the PS3 isn't on the Sony bigwigs' list of troubled properties.
As the PS3 enters its third money-bleeding year in a row, the facts are almost moot - never mind that it now has a respectable game library and features on par with the 360, it's price is still far higher than the 360, its capabilities as a Blu-ray player continue to be undersold, and Blu-ray itself on shaky ground... who can say?
One bone-chilling possibility is that Sony might end up taking the same dose of medicine it once forced upon Sega: dropping manufacturing to focus more exclusively on content production.
Other things that could be on the block: the PSP, continued investment in Blu-ray hardware (there are likely to be huge contracts with studios regarding Blu-ray disc development), or a massive shift from within Sony's consumer electronics business.
"Sacred Cow Slayings" Rumored at Sony... Is PlayStation In Jeopardy? [GamePolitics]
OK, I do understand that I have a slightly different taste in music lots of times. I get it. But I'm just a tad bit irritated with iTunes at the moment. Since the introduction of their Genius Playlists, I've been pretty addicted. I genuinely like them. They aren't 100%, sure, but it's a quick and easy way to set up a solid play list on the quick. I use them a lot.
The problem I'm having is with particular albums, albums that I'm guessing may not be as popular. For example, Scott Weiland's new Happy in Galoshes. I'll fire up one of my favorite tracks then select Start Genius, but I'm told Genius doesn't have enough data. So I do the whole Genius thing and update my Genius information like it asks, but still nothing.
Now, I'd understand with brand spanking new music. But this album has been out for a few months now, and still nothing. I'll admit that it could be an anomaly, but that's exactly why I'm looking for ways to make it work, and don't seem to be finding much. It looks like the songs are tagged properly (I ripped them straight from the retail CD...), and I listen to them frequently, but apparently no one else does. Any thoughts?
Aside from that, I'm still loving Genius. I know, old news, but what can you do? All this MacWorld buzz has me thinking Apple today.
Welcome to our live-blog coverage of the Macworld 2009 Apple Keynote event!
I've settled myself into Fruit Brute's humble abode here in San Francisco and scouted out the Moscone Center, and now it's time: the Macworld 2009 Apple Keynote is here!
My live coverage of the event, live from San Francisco and complete with running commentary, will begin at 9AM PST, 12PM EST Tuesday morning/afternoon.
To go directly to my live coverage, hit the "read more" link at the bottom.
To check out my analysis of what we can expect today in terms of new, shiny gadgets, check out my rumour post below:
Macworld 2009: Pre-Keynote Rumour Analysis
After catching up on the rumours, you should be ready! Hit the jump for our live coverage!
Or maybe just a good time on a Saturday Night at the Bathhouse?
I kind of want to be outraged by this kind of overt stupidity, but really, it's just funny.
ACE Hardware Is Tired Of People Asking For Double Ended Male Adapters [Consumerist]
I'm going to take a detour from Mac-centric news for a bit and bring you news on another one of my passions: Robotics. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) has announced the rules for the new 2009 competition, and this one aims for an awesome new goal: replicating conditions on the moon!
Let me provide a little background: FIRST is an annual robotics tournament for high school teams that releases a set of rules for a game each year, and the objective is to build a robot to beat other teams in a competition field. I had the privilege of participating all four years of my High School career, and the competition is just plain awesome!
This year's contest, called "Lunacy," involves a field covered in a polymer that reduces traction and slippery wheels required on the robot to simulate the low traction environment on the moon. As usual, balls are involved with various ways of scoring to beat the opposing teams. FIRST has a more in-depth description on their site.
Check out the past competitions, they're awesome stuff!
FIRST Home Page [FIRST]
[via: MAKE]
While Den Den Boy is busy getting actual news from the impending Macworld event, I'm left behind in the Homotron Laboratories scrounging for tasty tidbits. But what tidbit could be tastier than Steve Jobs finally saying something public about the rumors concerning his health. And while what Jobs said was definitely spun for the public (and of course, impossible to confirm), an open letter to the Apple community is scads more than we got during Jobs' bout with pancreatic cancer.
For the first time in a decade, I'm getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.
As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.
Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause--a hormone imbalance that has been "robbing" me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.
The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment. But, just like I didn't lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple's CEO during my recovery.
It's difficult not to speculate on Jobs' health, particularly when it comes to cancer. And when a man's health is so intimately tied to the health of an enormous corporation, what would normally be an inviolate personal matter becomes, for better or worse, a matter of public discussion.
In that light, it's great to see something from the Jobs camp about the elephant in the room. We're certainly wishing Steve Jobs has a speedy return to wellness. Now: Macworld!
If you've been looking for just that right touch of holiness to add to your iPhone app library, look no further: the iPhone has just gained its very first Vatican sanctioned iPhone app: iBreviary, by Father Paolo Padrini of the Catholic Church.
Boing Boing Gadgets has posted a short interview with Father Padrini:
The idea of the application "iBreviary" is born from a double awareness.
First of all, I believe firmly that today man needs to socialize, he needs moments of listening, and also moments of silence, of prayer and meditation.
Today man has the need for God, even if he doesn't realize it; today man needs spaces to talk with God and to reflect on life and death and so on...
Second thing: the new media are demonstrating more and more great possibilities, together with a lot of risks, but the possibilities are a lot indeed.
The media can become places of reflection, also of silence.... and surely they can contribute to a new socialization.
If you want your iPhone accompanying and guiding *your* prayers, iBreviary is available in the iTunes App Store for $1 in both English and Italian. Is it just me, or shouldn't an application like this be... free?
When even Catholic priests are getting into the App Store action, you *know* the App Store has hit the mainstream.
Interview: Father Paolo Padrini of "iBreviary", the first Vatican-sanctioned iPhone app [BBG]
Cowon's touch-screen MP3 player, the Cowon S9, has arrived in time for the new year, and the music/video/photo player looks fantastic. It also incorporates an FM radio (why isn't this feature standard, I've always wondered?), Bluetooth, voice/radio/inline recording, a Flash player, a text reader, and a sexy 16:9 widescreen OLED display with 480x272 resolution. In fact, it is the first player to feature an AMOLED display with 16 million colors.
Like some other debut touch-screen MP3 players, the S9 comes in 8GB and 16GB sizes, priced respectively at $199 and $239. That's not a bad deal, especially for those who eschew all things Apple/iPod/iTunes.
The Cowon S9 is also the first device to include BBE+ sound enhancements, which upgrades BBE, Mach3Bass, 3D Surround and MP Enhance. The BBE upgrade is the most exciting:
BBE+ restores natural warmth and aural detail with sound effect optimized for portable devices to give a realistic, more dynamic listening experience.
I hope I'll get the chance to compare BBE+ to the original technology - according to the hype, BBE+'s improved sound fidelity is a luxuriant experience.
I think the only way you are not aware of the current Twitter hack scheme going around over the weekend is if you aren't on Twitter... and even then, only if you don't read tech blogs, because everyone has been all over it. However, if you haven't, I'll give you the quick low-down.
Someone sends you a direct message saying something about "check out this blog" with a link to a blogspot address. Thinking your friend is sending you something cool, you click on it, but are immediately redirected from the blogspot link to a page that looks kinda sorta but not really Twitter login page and asked to put in your screen name and password. And if you haven't ever logged on to the Internets before, you log in your information like an obedient little scam whore.
Once you do that, you are, of course, hacked. They have your account. It's quaint isn't it? The funny thing to me is a) It still works. This same crap has been happening for years on various social networks with very little variation... and it still gets people. b) the results.
I have to say that IF you are going to hack Twitter accounts just for shiggigles, then this is the way to do it. Did you know that Bill O'Reilley came out this morning? Awesome, right? And the picture shows the Great Brit-Brit's hack at work.
Moral of the Story? There's two: 1) Don't be an idiot and make sure when you're logging in to a webpage that it's the actual, for real-real website. 2) If you're going to hack, make it fun for all the rest of us! ;)
I'm a Control Freak. I've said it a million times on this site, and I'm not shy about the fact. I want what I want, I want it to do it the way that I want, and I want it done know. I also want to be able to take the further step in the Control chain and customize it to my liking.
I suppose I should clarify here that I'm talking specifically about gadgets, gizmos, computers and electronics. I've always known that in order for some piece of tech to truly make me happy, I'll need to have full control over it, or at the very least the feeling of full control. I've argued for that benefit many times, and it's one of the reasons I prefer Windows over Mac (I've always felt more in control on a Windows machine), and one of the reasons I'm experimenting with Linux distros now. I want it to work, and I want it done now and in the exact manner that I want it done, and if it doesn't work, I want the uninhibited ability to find out why.
I've always thought myself to be a bit on the extreme end though, but that may not be so true. A Computer World article speculates that control, or perception of it, is the biggest reason products succeed or fail. Of course, other factors play in like UI and User Experience, but the article suggests that even if those two items are nailed in Testing, if the concept of control doesn't exist, the product will fail in the real world.
It's an interesting read, and definitely an interesting proposition. When we look at Gmail, for example, we see that it's not a pretty interface, yet many of us have converted because it feels like we have more control over our email than with any other mail service. Look at the rather meteoric success of the iPhone 3G over the original iPhone (the first did not perform badly, but the 3G has sold many more), which could be attributed to price as well, but I think it's the App Store more than anything else.
How much does control factor into your tech decision making process? With people looking to upgrade their tech this year, I have to wonder if this idea of control is a conscious decision making trait we look for, or if it's something we subconsciously look at, or maybe we don't look at all. What do you think?
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