
<?phpxml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" 
xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
>
<channel>
<title>Haaze.com / Sarah02 / Voted News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:11:22 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Joi Ito dives into the MIT Media Lab (Q&A)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=joi-ito-dives-into-the-mit-media-lab-qa</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=joi-ito-dives-into-the-mit-media-lab-qa</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:11:22 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>kingservice0</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=joi-ito-dives-into-the-mit-media-lab-qa</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Joi Ito was named the director of the MIT Media Lab on Monday.(Credit:MIT Media Lab)Consider this list of institutions and companies that are at the center of the Internet and technology worlds: Creative Commons, Mozilla, Technorati, ICANN, Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet &amp; Society, Twitter, Six Apart, and Flickr. What do they all have in common If you answered Joi Ito, you're spot on. And now you can add the MIT Media Lab to that list. Ito is a Japanese venture capitalist and entrepreneur who has been running and investing in technology companies like those listed above and serving on the boards of important institutions for years. And on Monday, he was named the new director of MIT's Media Lab, the cutting-edge research center founded in 1980 by Nicholas Negroponte, who among other things, is known for the One Laptop Per Child initiative.Ito's appointment makes perfect sense to many, given the breadth of his experience, his impressive personal network, and his many interests. But as someone who doesn't hold a degree of any kind himself, he is an unexpected choice to head up such an important academic institution. Still, when news of his selection by the lab broke Monday, many of the digerati's best and brightest could barely contain their pleasure. Across the board, Ito was seen as a great fit.For Ito, who pioneered the idea that World of Warcraft is the new golf--building a now-famous guild populated with CEOs and other luminaries, and getting his teams to work together inside the virtual world of WoW--the lab may be the intellectual opportunity of a lifetime. But as anyone who follows him on Twitter knows, staying still is not Ito's thing, in any way. This is a man who travels the world at a rate unlike almost anyone else, and so a position at the helm of a place like the Media Lab would seem certain to curtail his accumulation of airline miles. Yesterday, while he was on a brief trip to Jordan, Ito sat down with CNET for a 45 Minutes on IM interview and talked about whether he'll have to give up looking out the windows of airplanes, about what the Media Lab opportunity means to him, and much more.Q: Thank you so much for doing this, especially on no sleep. So, the first thing I thought--after being very pleased about the news--was, How's Joi going to keep flying all over the world with this new job Is it going to be like George Clooney getting grounded in the film &quot;Up in the Air&quot;Joi Ito: Ha. I think there will be a few phases. I think I'm going to have to ground myself for a bit to get to know the lab well. But I think a lot of what the lab wants from me is to be a conduit to lots of external things, people, sponsors, institutions, cultures. So travel will be part of my job once I've synched with the lab. Also, a lot of my crazy lack of focus is because I quickly break out of molds or want to go do new stuff. My feeling is that the lab can almost do anything. It will allow me to almost &quot;focus on everything&quot; while being focused on the lab because of its diverse and interdisciplinary nature. So I don't know how that translates exactly into my travel schedule, but I think that at least I'll have more of a &quot;home base.&quot;So, you sort of already answered this, and it is kind of a duh question, but why did you want thisIto: The main thing is that there are so many smart, cool students and faculty there empowered to think creatively and big and I really connected with the energy of the place when I visited. That's the main reason. And it turns out that I have accumulated some skills that fit some of the needs and the role of the director position they were looking for. It lets me continue to be interested in just about everything I'm already interested in, but in a community with a platform that will enhance everything. Also, I really enjoy providing context to people who have lots of substance and depth. I learn through interacting with smart people and love to surround myself with mentors and friends who stimulate my thinking. My output is usually context and connections and overall trajectories and vision stuff. So it's also a perfect fit for that kind of activity. Also, there's the right balance of academics, theory, business, short-term, long-term, etc.Can you give a synopsis of the kinds of things that most interest youIto: Not exactly in order, but: Diving, human rights, innovation, copyright, Internet policy, media, art, the Middle East, the mind, video games. Sort of everything actually. I'm trying to think of things I'm NOT interested in.I liked how in your blog post about joining the lab you said that your initial conversation with Nicholas Negroponte was over a horrid cell phone connection. Did you worry that this great opportunity might get lost to the haze of a bad signalIto: Well, there are challenges. We're definitely in a honeymoon period. We're all very excited about each other, which is a good thing. But the devil is in the details in delivering impact. Raising money, etc. There's lots to do. I've never worked in an academic institution and the Media Lab and MIT have never worked with someone like me. We're going to have a challenge, but I think everyone's going to give it their best shot. I met many of the senior administration at MIT and they were all supportive--not just the Media Lab folks. It was very heartening, and also added a great deal of positive momentum for me.The Media Lab is obviously already a great and important institution. But do you have a sense of a couple of the initial things that you'll do to put your impact on the placeIto: I think that the Internet has changed the way that we communicate with the rest of the world, and I think the Media Lab--although it invented a lot of this stuff, hasn't yet embraced all of the tools out there. I think there is a lot of Creative Commons-like openness and sharing, as well as external community building that can happen. Having visited the Media Lab, it's very easy to see how you could spend your whole life immersed there. But I think that some of the things could be opened up more and connected to more outside things. It's not that they don't collaborate, but it could be augmented. Also, the connection to Silicon Valley could be strengthened, as well as with other regions in the world. Nonprofits could have more of a connection. There are some relationships like with the Knight Foundation, but there could be much, much more, especially with social entrepreneurship becoming such an important part of the nonprofit landscape. I think there is a good fit there. But really, I'll decide more once I know what's going on and have a better inventory of what's going on. I want to understand before I make too many recommendationsSo, be honest with me. You said &quot;the Internet has changed the way that we communicate with the rest of the world.&quot; Does that mean you'll be having all your faculty and students doing classes and interaction through World of Warcraft Ito: Ha ha. No, although I'd be happy to have students and faculty join the guild. There are several levels I guess and I'm being sort of intentionally vague because I don't yet know what will work exactly. But I think that the Media Lab could do more with online communities or the Web in general. Also, IP policy is an important part of universities, but I think it can also be friction when trying to connect online. But I'm sort of out on a limb here so I don't want to commit to anything specific since I haven't had long conversations about operational details yet.In your blog post, you talked about merging your existing network with the lab. That sounds like a scary powerful new network. What do you imagine that would be likeIto: Simple stuff initially. I'll have my friends come to the lab and meet the students and faculty, and also bring students and faculty to meet people in my network and join interesting meetings. It's really about connecting people in my network to people at the lab and vice versa. It's not like one big connection, but in a highly contextual way, like synapses in a brain. It's not about power or influence. It's about exactly the right connections that have exactly the right effect. It's all about nuance, which I think people don't really get sometimes when they talk about &quot;networking,&quot; since traditional structures are so monolithic. The key is to make sure that the biologist in Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) working on turning sand into bricks talks to the architect working on open architecture.You've been involved in so many amazing initiatives--Creative Commons, Mozilla, ICANN, Technorati, Neoteny, and on and on...That's more than most people do in a lifetime. How do you do it all Do you sleepIto: Well, I try not to get too &quot;operational&quot; and focus on my areas of strength, which is the high-risk periods, the connections. At Creative Commons I did more &quot;operations&quot; than I normally would because the organization needed it. And at the Media Lab, I have more operational responsibilities too. But in the past I sort of avoided operational stuff and tried to work in a project-oriented way, with exits and ends sort of built in. Like my three-year term at ICANN. Also, since I'm mostly a connector, doing stuff in parallel has a positive network effect even though it limits focus sometimes. But I wouldn't recommend this mode for everyone. It's hard to manage, and you don't get much sleep.I'm sure. Well, getting back to the lab, based on the time you've spent there, and conversations I'm sure you've had, can you tell me about any projects you've seen there that you're particularly excited aboutIto: All of them/lots of them. I'd rather not call out any one in particular right now until I've spent more time there. But I love that they connect all of the areas--biology, art, robots, artificial intelligence, etc.You said that being at the lab made you feel at home for the first time Can you say a little more about what that means to youIto: Well, the focus of the lab, and the fact that it's a good thing to be interdisciplinary. The energy just felt really familiar and made me happy.One of the things I saw pointed out was that you don't have a degree yourself. Did that pose any kind of problem with faculty or anyone Or is that not important in any wayIto: I think the faculty were OK with it, but it was probably tricky for them to think about how it might affect various things. I wasn't privy to all of the conversations, but you have to remember that part of my role is to convince students to finish their Ph.Ds. But I think they were very courageous to do this, frankly. I don't think a Japanese school could do it.Is there anything you can imagine about being in an academic institution that will present a particular challenge for you versus having been in private or nonprofit type organizationsIto: Yeah. The biggest thing is my lack of experience. I'm a quick learner, but there's lots to learn. Also, I need to support my faculty and I worry that my lack of experience and &quot;creds&quot; might hamper my ability to support tenure arguments, etc. Which is important in a university.Switching gears, you said earlier that one of your interests is scuba diving, and when we were setting up this interview you said you were about to take your instructor's exam. How did that goIto: I passed! I'm a PADI open water scuba instructor.I assume that means that the lab should worry that you're going to chuck it all and go teach scuba in Thailand someday soonIto: No, but I might start bugging people at the lab to go diving. Or play World of Warcraft.What is it that you love about divingIto: It requires a lot of focus, so it serves both as a focused thing to do, but also something where I'm not thinking of anything else. It's like a reset. I also learn so much--physics, physiology, ecology, etc. And, many, many of the divers I meet are really cool people. And I can do it everywhere, sort of.I remember your blog post about going and visiting a friend in Costa Rica. Why was that trip so important for you, especially the surfingIto: That trip was important because the town he lives in has no sense of time. You're never anticipating the future. You're living in the &quot;now.&quot; Surfing is kind of like that. And scuba diving, once you get the organization down to a ritual, it's like that too. It's important to live in the &quot;now&quot; to embrace serendipity. That sounds a bit hippie, but it's true.Last question, and it's my standard last question in this interview series. But I think it's particularly applicable for you. So, I love doing IM interviews for many reasons: I get a perfect transcript, and it gives my interviewees a chance to think a bit more and be a bit more articulate than they might otherwise be. But also, IM allows you to multitask. So, tell me what else you were doing while we were chattingIto: Ha ha. I was watching my Twitter stream. I triaged a bit of e-mail. I sent all of my IM info to everyone at the Media Lab and have been accepting connection requests. And I looked at my World of Warcraft guild forums, and wrote a note saying that I've invited my Media Lab community to join the guild.Well, thank you so much. And again, congratulations! I'll be putting in my application to the lab soon. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA['South Park' MusicSkins: Cartman on your phone]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=south-park-musicskins-cartman-on-your-phone</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=south-park-musicskins-cartman-on-your-phone</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>ccretspql</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=south-park-musicskins-cartman-on-your-phone</guid>
<description><![CDATA[You must respect my authority! (Click to enlarge.)(Credit:MusicSkins)Television shows have a way of escaping from the small screen into the real world. Now you can share your devotion to the foul-mouthed young residents of South Park, Colo., on your smartphone, laptop,iPod, ortablet with MusicSkins' new line of &quot;South Park&quot; images.There is a reason for this special skinning occasion. &quot;South Park&quot; just arrived for its 15th season (that's a long time to be stuck in fourth grade). Choose from character portraits or memorable scenes such as the &quot;Last Pizza Party.&quot; Am I the only one wishing Mecha-Streisand and the Loch Ness Monster were options MusicSkins are made from glossy 3M ControlTac vinyl for a tight, but removable, fit. Expect to pay around $15 to $20 per skin.The skins are available for most brands of cell phones and laptops, as well as a menu of more obscure devices. Consider sticking Chef to your Seagate external hard drive or slapping Captain Chaos onto your kids' Fisher Price iXL preschool learning device. It's never too early to start forming a crude sense of humor. They'll thank you when they get to college and &quot;South Park&quot; is still on the air.If &quot;South Park&quot; doesn't float your boat, you can upload your own images for a custom MusicSkin or browse the huge list of images that are ready to go. I'm totally checking out the Justin Bieber collection, but I think I'd rather skin my iPad with a panorama of run-down Baltimore buildings from &quot;The Wire.&quot;Decorating your phone or laptop with &quot;South Park&quot; is a good way to signal to potential mates that you're into skewing celebrities, social satire, and singing Christmas Poos. Now, every time you drop youriPhone, you can shout, &quot;I killed Kenny!&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Ten old features we don't miss on modern laptops, and three that we do]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ten-old-features-we-dont-miss-on-modern-laptops-and-three-that-we-do</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ten-old-features-we-dont-miss-on-modern-laptops-and-three-that-we-do</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:10:20 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>raslaria</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ten-old-features-we-dont-miss-on-modern-laptops-and-three-that-we-do</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:CNET/Sarah Tew)Scary things lurk in the closets and attics of laptop fans everywhere. With an average lifespan of three to five years, old obsolete models can gather dust for a long time, and can be as hard to get rid of as the annoying bloatware that probably came preloaded on those very same laptops. Old features we do and don't miss on modern laptops (photos) While spring cleaning, your two intrepid laptop reviewers dug up a pile of old laptops from circa 2001-2006--a motley collection straight out of Al Component's Vault. Fortunately, there are several good ways to recycle outdated electronics, from Best Buy's in-store drop-off program to periodic free electronics collection events hosted by NYC's Lower East Side Ecology Center. The City of New York lists resources for local electronics recycling here' check with your municipality for similar resources in your area. (And yes, most will even take things as shopworn as Scott's battle-damaged PowerBook G4.)Hey, got any old PS/2 mice(Credit:CNET/Sarah Tew)But before we remove the hard drives and send these old laptops into the great beyond, it's worth a look at the various features that have vanished from most modern laptops. Most of these are things we don't really miss, such as S-Video ports and locking screen latches, but there are a few things we wouldn't mind seeing make a comeback. Check out our list of retired laptop features here, and let us know what you miss--or don't miss--when comparing yesteryear's laptops to today's models. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Paul Allen's book an unabashed bid for computing industry credit]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paul-allens-book-an-unabashed-bid-for-computing-industry-credit</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paul-allens-book-an-unabashed-bid-for-computing-industry-credit</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>gamesqjrhzjx</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=paul-allens-book-an-unabashed-bid-for-computing-industry-credit</guid>
<description><![CDATA[review Much like Paul Allen's current publicity tour, his new book, &quot;Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft,&quot; feels as though as Allen is yearning for credit he has yet to receive. He seems to want so much to be something more than &quot;the other Microsoft founder.&quot;Allen creates the construct early in the book, which hits bookstore shelves today. He was the guy who came up with the big breakthrough ideas, according to Allen's telling of the story. Gates' role in those early days was largely pushing Allen's thinking, refining his logic and honing his approach. &quot;I was the idea man, the one who'd conceive of things out of whole cloth,&quot; Allen wrote. &quot;Bill listened and challenged me, then homed in on my best ideas to help make them a reality.&quot;At the dawn of the PC era, Allen writes about bringing innovative ideas to Gates, who would often shoot them down because the market didn't exist or the technology wasn't far enough along. Allen wanted to use BASIC, the simple computer language of the day, to program an Intel 8080 microprocessor. In hindsight, it was the breakthrough idea that launched the PC revolution. But when Allen first suggested it to Gates, he says that his friend shot him down because no computer existed to run it. &quot;Come back and tell me when there's a machine for it,&quot; Gates said, according to Allen.(Credit:Penguin)The book is full of those sorts of stories in which Allen repeatedly seeks glory that is either unattributed over the years or often attributed to others. At one point, Allen reprints a snippet from a 1977 interview with Microcomputer Interface, in which he describes a future, when computers are &quot;connected to a centralized network by phone lines, fiber optics or some other communication system&quot; that could be used to sellcars, shop for houses and check out the price of asparagus at a local market. &quot;Fifteen years before the World Wide Web,&quot; Allen writes, &quot;I imagined a computerized society that was far-flung yet intimately linked.&quot;Allen also recalls a conversation with Apple's Steve Jobs in the early 1980s, shortly after Gates had signed off on Allen's proposal to start the Microsoft Hardware Group. Jobs was showing off an early version of Apple's graphical user interface, navigating with a one-button mouse. Allen wondered if a two-button might be more useful, something he writes that Jobs dismissed as too complex. &quot;Today, that extra button helps millions of Windows users gain access to context menus and a host of other convenient features,&quot; Allen writes, noting that Apple eventually introduced the multi-button Mighty Mouse in 2005.Allen even wants credit for naming the company he and Gates created. &quot;We considered Allen &amp; Gates, but it sounded too much like a law firm,&quot; Allen writes. &quot;My next idea: Micro-Soft, for microprocessors and software.&quot; Allen wants you to know that one of the most iconic brands in the world came from his brain.It's not that Allen shouldn't get credit that he may well be due. It's just a bit unseemly for the multibillionaire, who has collected yachts, professional sports teams, and rare aircraft, to seek so desperately the one thing he can't buy: recognition. Because of that, Allen never really comes off as sympathetic in his book. Instead, all his yearning for credit makes him, well, a bit pathetic.Much has been made in the last few weeks about Allen's allegation, revealed in a Vanity Fair excerpt of &quot;Idea Man,&quot; that Gates and current Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer allegedly sought to reduce his 36 percent stake in the company shortly after Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Allen claims he overheard Gates and Ballmer discussing ways to cut his share in December 1982 because he had become less productive, a result of his lymphoma treatments.Allen writes that he burst in and shouted, &quot;This is unbelievable! It shows your true character, once and for all.&quot; As he drove home that night, he thought, &quot;I helped start the company and was still an active member of management, though limited by my illness, and now my partner and my colleague were scheming to rip me off,&quot; Allen writes. &quot;It was mercenary opportunism, plain and simple.&quot;Allen writes that Ballmer visited him at his home that night to apologize. And Gates sent him a note a few days later, apologizing as well.Microsoft and Ballmer have offered no comment on the book. Gates declined to be interviewed about the book. His only comment came after the Vanity Fair excerpt, in which he only vaguely rebutted Allen. &quot;While my recollection of many of these events may differ from Paul's, I value his friendship and the important contributions he made to the world of technology and at Microsoft,&quot; Gates said.The story is certainly the most dramatic in the book. But Allen throws plenty of other body shots at Gates, offering up anecdotes about his legendary temper. He says, though, that he never shared his feelings with childhood friend. &quot;Too angry and proud to make an emotional appeal, I never went in and told Bill, point-blank, 'Some days working with you is like being in hell,'&quot; Allen writes.For all his pent-up anger, Allen often portrays Gates with admiration, even deference. Allen marvels at Gates' code writing abilities in Microsoft's first days, when the duo were writing software for an Albuquerque, N.M., company called MITS. Allen recalls a time when Gates needed to complete some complex code before heading back to Harvard, where he was still a student. Gates checked into a local hotel with three legal pads and 10 pencils and emerged five days later with thousands of bytes of assembly language code. &quot;Later on, as the company grew and his executive duties multiplied, Bill would get fewer opportunities for such high-wire creativity,&quot; Allen writes. &quot;In a way, that was too bad--he had a rare gift for programming.&quot;The book has plenty for the geek who wants to know the gritty details of the early days of computing. Much like the classic &quot;Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented and Industry--and Made Himself the Richest Man in America&quot; by Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews, Idea Man offers up charming details of the earliest days of computing and particular about Gates. At one point in Idea Man, Allen writes about meeting Gates for the first time, describing him as &quot;gangly, freckle-faced...all arms and legs and nervous energy.&quot; Allen remembers Gates' outfit--a pullover sweater, tan slacks, and saddle shoes. &quot;You could tell three things about Bill Gates pretty quickly,&quot; Allen writes. &quot;He was really smart. He was really competitive' he wanted to show you how smart he was. And he was really, really persistent.&quot;Later, Allen writes about having Gates over for dinner one night when Allen was a student at Washington State University. Allen's girlfriend at the time made chicken and marveled at Gates dinner-table etiquette. &quot;He ate his chicken with a spoon,&quot; she told Allen after Gates left. &quot;When Bill was thinking hard about something, he paid no heed to social convention,&quot; Allen writes.The first half the book primarily covers Allen's Microsoft years. That's the best part of the book, mostly because of Allen's insights into Gates.Paul Allen and Bill Gates in 1981, shortly after signing a contract with IBM to write software for their upcoming line of PCs.(Credit:Microsoft)Much of the second half of the book are tales from Allen's post-Microsoft eccentricities. Allen writes about buying the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, his funding of SpaceShipOne, a manned rocket that won the $10 million Ansari X Prize competition as the first privately financed rocket to fly to the edge of space. He writes of his love for Jimi Hendrix and of playing guitar on &quot;Satisfaction&quot; with Mick Jagger and Bono.For my tastes, Allen spends far too little time in Idea Man on his bad ideas, particularly his disastrous Wired World investment strategy. Seven years ago, Allen spoke with me at length about his investment missteps, which drained $12 billion from his portfolio, for an article I wrote for BusinessWeek. His candor in those interviews made him far more likeable character than his book does. &quot;Over the last couple of years, we drank some castor oil,&quot; Allen told me (a quote that Allen cites in the book). &quot;It doesn't taste good going down. And you don't really relish drinking any more.&quot;In Idea Man, Allen only shares the smallest bit of insight about his failed investments. Allen opens up most about Charter Communications, his money-hemorrhaging cable play. He wrestled to get his cable holdings under control for years, firing two CEOs and his longtime investment adviser along the way.&quot;With the clarity of hindsight, I could say that I took the wrong people's advice in plunging into Charter,&quot; Allen writes. &quot;I needed savvier, more experienced executives to assess my risks and to run the company, and I didn't have them until it was too late. But the fact remains that the investment was mine, and I made serious miscalculations.&quot;But Idea Man isn't really about those missteps. It's about Allen's attempt to claim his spot among the legends of technology. Allen's bid for more credit, though, isn't likely to alter perceptions. In the end, Idea Man does nothing to change the fact that Allen remains Microsoft's other founder.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Vudu streaming comes to Web browsers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vudu-streaming-comes-to-web-browsers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vudu-streaming-comes-to-web-browsers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:10:15 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>tihixaf</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=vudu-streaming-comes-to-web-browsers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Vudu streaming is coming to Web browsers.(Credit:Vudu) The Vudu video-on-demand streaming service has long been available on a wide variety of connected home entertainment products, including networked TVs, Blu-ray players, and even the PlayStation 3. But now subscribers will be able to watch Vudu movies through computer Web browsers, too.As with rivals Netflix and Amazon, the Vudu browser experience is pretty much the same as what you'll find on those other Vudu venues--the identical content library (albeit limited to standard-definition, thanks to studio restrictions) at the identical pricing. The video should work on any computer browser (Windows,Mac, Linux) that's compatible with the latest version of Flash. (In-browser Vudu streaming should be active at Vudu.com later today.) Watching premium video in a Web browser is hardly a unique offering--plenty of providers from Hulu to Facebook already deliver similar services. But for Wal-Mart Stores-owned Vudu, adding PC screens to the mix adds yet another way to access videos you rent or own. Where else might we see Vudu in the future Vudu general manager Edward Lichty told CNET that &quot;any device that can connect to the Internet is something we want to be on.&quot; When asked specifically about products like theiPad, he replied that he suspectsyou'll be seeing Vudu ontablets this year, but added &quot;we have nothing specific to announce&quot; at this time. Other interesting tidbits: Lichty said 80 percent of Vudu customers are also Netflix subscribers, but they use Vudu to watch new releases that aren't available on Netflix streaming. And--while Vudu is the only Internet-delivered video service that offers 3D content, Lichty indicated that 3D streaming on Vudu is &quot;fairly modest&quot; to date.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Samsung Factor review: Competent communicator]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-factor-review-competent-communicator</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-factor-review-competent-communicator</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 06 Apr 2011 07:10:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>amandakark</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-factor-review-competent-communicator</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It&amp;39's got a smooth body that feels good in the hand, but tends toward the slippery side. (Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)At first glance, the Samsung Factor is a sturdy and attractive little flip phone that looks like nearly every other appealing Samsung flip phone to predate it.While it's true that the specs are deliberately modest--an e-mail app and browser are its only software trills--the Factor does a few things right. Call quality was good enough in our tests to add the Factor to the ranks of simple phones with strong call quality, and the dial pad is very nice to use.The Factor does elicit one major complaint, however. Find that, plus a video and other details and photos in our Samsung Factor review.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Analyst: MacBook Air sales continue to be strong]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-macbook-air-sales-continue-to-be-strong</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-macbook-air-sales-continue-to-be-strong</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mainsitess34</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-macbook-air-sales-continue-to-be-strong</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)The second-generation MacBook Air is proving to be a strong seller for Apple, and one that could bring the company $2.2 billion in annual revenue if the current pace keeps up. That's according to a note by J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz sent to investors earlier today, and picked up by the Financial Post.Citing data from Gartner, Moskowitz notes that Apple shipped 420,000 MacBook Air units in the fourth quarter of 2010, which is up 333 percent from the same quarter last year, and 326.8 percent from the previous quarter. Moskowitz said that if Apple can keep up that pace, both in production and sales of the Air line, it could go on to pull in revenue of $2.2 billion or more. Even if that target isn't hit, Moskowitz contended that the MacBook Air is becoming a bigger player in theMac lineup, representing more than 10 percent of Mac units in the fourth quarter, and 15 percent of total notebook unit sales versus the 5 percent from the year before. The big sales jump coincides with the release of the second-generation MacBook Air, which went on sale in late October and represents the first major redesign since the Air's introduction in early 2008. During that time, the Air received two updates, which tweaked things like processor speed, graphics power, storage, and the price (which went down). Apple offered up the newest version of the Air in two different sizes, as well as lowering the entry-level price to $999. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[RIM says it will pull drunken-driving apps]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rim-says-it-will-pull-drunken-driving-apps</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rim-says-it-will-pull-drunken-driving-apps</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 07:10:55 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>mark876611</dc:creator>
<category>Politics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=rim-says-it-will-pull-drunken-driving-apps</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Following yesterday's letter from four U.S. senators that asked Apple, Google, and Research In Motion to remove applications that could help drunken drivers evade police checkpoints and other law enforcement efforts, RIM has agreed to the request, saying such applications will soon be removed from its BlackBerry App World.&quot;RIM's decision to remove these apps from their online store proves that when it comes to drunk driving, there should not be an app for that,&quot; Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement this morning. Schumer had been joined in the effort by fellow Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.).The group didn't name specific apps in its letter, which was addressed to Google CEO Eric Schmidt' Scott Forstall, Apple's senior VP ofiPhone software' and James L. Balsillie and Michael Lazaridis, co-CEOs of RIM. It did, however, cite an application with a database of DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoints, and one that crowdsourced finding those same checkpoints and sharing them with a user base of &quot;more than 10 million.&quot; Each of the three mobile-application marketplaces has its own set of rules and guidelines. Apple formally introduced its guidelines in September, following criticism that its approval process did not clearly spell out what application makers were and were not allowed to include, short of the code itself. RIM's rules are viewable here, and they prohibit anything &quot;that is illegal (e.g., against any criminal, civil, or statutory law or regulation).&quot; As for Google, its Android Market policies take a similar stance to RIM's, putting the kibosh on apps that engage in the &quot;promotion of dangerous and illegal activities.&quot; Google denies such apps and can also terminate the creator's publishing account.A Google spokesperson told CNET that it would remove apps that violate its Android content policies, but that the note from the senators had not named specific applications. However based on the description of functionality alone, the company said that the apps do not appear to violate those policies.Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the original letter.According to the announcement by Schumer's office, the apps in question--which remain unnamed--will be removed by RIM within the next day or so. What's unclear is if the application developers have been given a heads-up or a chance to remove features prior to any action. CNET has not yet heard back from RIM about whether that's the case. Updated at 2:34 p.m. with comment from Google.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Microsoft's antitrust deal still alive, but so what]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-antitrust-deal-still-alive-but-so-what</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-antitrust-deal-still-alive-but-so-what</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 07:10:33 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>marwinmarfinancial8819</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=microsofts-antitrust-deal-still-alive-but-so-what</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The irony for Microsoft is pretty hard to escape.The federal judge overseeing Microsoft's 2002 settlement with antitrust regulators noted at a hearing today (subscription required) that the software giant had made &quot;extraordinary&quot; progress in resolving outstanding issues. But just consider the much bigger story of the day: Mozilla's newFirefox 4 browser was downloaded 6.5 million times in less than 24 hours. (Check out Mozilla's real-time Firefox 4 download data here.) Compare that to Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9, introduced a week earlier and downloaded 2.3 million times in the first 24 hours.Turns out the marketplace is doing a pretty good job of what the court tried to do. The Justice Department brought the case, alleging that Microsoft illegally used Windows to monopolize the browser market. A federal judge ruled against Microsoft, leading the company to ultimately settle with trustbusters, a deal U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has spent nearly a decade overseeing.It may seem odd that a judge is still overseeing the nearly decade-old settlement. But Microsoft's deal with regulators requires it to abide by a series of guidelines--most notably, disclosing key technical information about making software applications compatible with Windows. Kollar-Kotelly continues to monitor Microsoft to make sure it abides by the consent degree.In the meantime, though, the battleground for computing has shifted. Windows, the source of so much of Microsoft's power, no longer gives the company the cudgel it once used to thwart rivals. It's still the dominant computer operating system. But Mozilla doesn't need to play by Microsoft's rules to reach the masses. That's because the Internet, of course, matters much more than Windows.Just look at the browser market. When Microsoft settled the antitrust case, it controlled more than 90 percent of the browser market. In February, according to Net Applications, Internet Explorer held 57 percent market share. It's still the leader. But Firefox has 22 percent of the market, followed by Google's Chrome with 11 percent and Apple'sSafari with 6 percent. Certainly one reason for that shift is that the rival browsers are every bit as good, and sometimes significantly better, than Internet Explorer.Internet Explorer(Credit:Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Firefox 4's outpacing Internet Explorer 9 in downloads is to some extent Microsoft's own doing. The company put itself at download disadvantage by making IE9, released March 14, incompatible with Windows XP, which, though long in the tooth, is still used by more than 40 percent of Web surfers. The company said it wanted to have a browser that could take advantage of the modern graphics technology of its newer operating systems. And surely, it doesn't hurt to encourage folks using the old operating system to upgrade by limiting the availability of the latest software.To be fair, the antitrust case has played some role in shrinking Microsoft's power. It'd be hard to argue that the terms of the settlement have prevented Microsoft from using Windows to monopolize other markets. But the antitrust case raised the specter of drawn out regulatory hurdles to major acquisitions, likely tempering Microsoft's acquisition ambitions. And the company instituted corporate accountability guidelines in the wake of the settlement intended to curb the abuses that led to the antitrust case in first place.The antitrust settlement is set to expire May 12. Much has changed in the intervening years. It faces emboldened rivals such as Google and Apple, as well as new technologies harnessed by Facebook and Twitter. Today's technology landscape would have been unthinkable when Kollar-Kotelly agreed to the antitrust settlement. The biggest change of all may be that Microsoft no longer dominates computing the way it once did. Just ask the folks at Mozilla.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Logitech launches Squeezebox app for Android]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=logitech-launches-squeezebox-app-for-android</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=logitech-launches-squeezebox-app-for-android</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 22 Mar 2011 07:11:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>svetalasw</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=logitech-launches-squeezebox-app-for-android</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Logitech Squeezebox Controller for Android in action.(Credit:Logitech)Android users will now be able to control their Squeezebox digital-music players from their smartphones andtablets.Logitech announced today that it has officially launched its Squeezebox Controller for Android. The program actually hit the Android Market yesterday.With the app, users will be able to control any Squeezebox player in the house from any room over their Wi-Fi network. The app lets users play music, customize tracks, sync content, and search for songs. The app also comes with the ability for users to &quot;view files, station, or playlist album art,&quot; the company said in a blog post today.Those hoping to use their iPhones and iPads to control Squeezebox players are out of luck for now. Currently, Logitech's Squeezebox Controller is available only on Android. It's available for free in the Android Market.With the help of a mobile app, Logitech hopes to breathe some new life into its Squeezebox line. Some of the better Squeezebox players have been around for years. And they're still among the top music-streaming devices on the market.The Squeezebox Radio, for example, is a favorite of the CNET Reviews team, earning four stars out of five in a 2009 review. Like other Squeezebox players, the Radio, which is supported by this app, lets users stream music over their home network. It also includes access to streaming services, like Pandora, Slacker, and Rhapsody. It retails for $179.99.The Squeezebox Duet, also supported by this app, is another favorite of the CNET Reviews team. That device also earned four out of five stars, in a 2008 review, thanks to its ability to offer &quot;an ideal way to stream the full range of digital music--including files on your computer's hard drive, premium subscription music services, and free Internet radio--to your living room stereo system.&quot; The Duet is currently on sale for $399.99.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Facebook to acquire app maker Snaptu]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-to-acquire-app-maker-snaptu</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-to-acquire-app-maker-snaptu</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 20 Mar 2011 07:10:34 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>biophotographs</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-to-acquire-app-maker-snaptu</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Facebook has agreed to acquire Snaptu, an Israeli start-up that makes apps for feature phones, for an estimated $70 million.Facebook recently worked with the mobile development firm to build an app for lower-end cell phones that will be accessible free of data charges in a handful of overseas markets. The company says its app provides a smartphone-like experience to more than 2,500 devices.The deal was announced today by Snaptu in a company blog: Earlier this year, we announced the launch of a new Facebook mobile application to give people a great mobile experience on a broad range of feature phones. The Facebook for Feature Phones app currently works on more than 2,500 devices.We soon decided that working as part of the Facebook team offered the best opportunity to keep accelerating the pace of our product development. And joining Facebook means we can make an even bigger impact on the world.Facebook confirmed the acquisition but declined to reveal financial details. &quot;Snaptu is a start-up run by a highly innovative collection of engineers and entrepreneurs, who we already work closely with to offer a Facebook mobile application for feature phones,&quot; Facebook said in a statement today. &quot;As part of Facebook, Snaptu's team and technology will enable us to deliver an even better Facebook mobile experience on feature phones more quickly.&quot; The acquisition is expected to close in a few weeks and has been estimated by the Israeli media to be worth about $70 million.While smartphones command the most attention in the mobile sector, feature phones still dominate sales. Of the 417 million mobile phones sold worldwide in the third quarter of 2010, smartphones accounted for 19.3 percent of sales, or about 81 million units, according to market researcher Gartner.Snaptu was founded in 2007 with principal backing from Sequoia Capital and Carmel Ventures.Updated at 10:55 a.m.: with Facebook statement.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[iPad 2 mic quality said to differ between models]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-2-mic-quality-said-to-differ-between-models</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-2-mic-quality-said-to-differ-between-models</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 07:10:26 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>svetalash</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-2-mic-quality-said-to-differ-between-models</guid>
<description><![CDATA[An iPad 2 with 3G. The microphone is the small hole in the middle.(Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)If choosing between the 18 different models of theiPad 2 wasn't hard enough, new findings suggest that the hardware differences between the Wi-Fi-only and 3G models of the iPad 2 lead to different audio recording quality, with buyers of the less-expensive Wi-Fi only versions coming out on top.That claim, made by iLounge as a footnote to its iPad 2 review, centers on how the same microphone is placed in the two different models. On the Wi-Fi-only version, the microphone hole is simply carved out of the larger piece of metal that makes up the back of the device, whereas on the models with the 3G antenna, it's built into the antenna casing.&quot;Perhaps due to this change in materials, the Wi-Fi model offers markedly cleaner audio than that of the 3G, which sounds slightly muffled and echo-prone as a result,&quot; wrote iLounge senior editor Charles Starrett in a post about the findings. With the iPad 2, Apple changed the location of the microphone from right next to the headphone jack to the very top of the unit. With the original iPad, this situating meant that the 3G antenna, which sits along the top of the device, did not affect the microphone's placement. Along with the audio differences between the 3G and Wi-Fi-only models, Starrett said that the site had discovered further differences between the two different 3G models--the GSM AT&amp;T version, and CDMA Verizon version--finding the GSM 3G model &quot;slightly preferable&quot; by comparison. The microphone has become an exceedingly important aspect of the iPad 2's hardware specifications with the inclusion of FaceTime, Apple's video chat service. Besides FaceTime, recent iPad-specific applications from Apple like GarageBand and iMovie also take advantage of the microphone to let users do things like create audio samples and record voice-overs. Worth noting on top of these observations is that the iPad--like theiPhone,iPod Touch, and Apple's Mac computers--can record audio from external microphones through the 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as attached accessories via the 30-pin dock connector. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Chrome still shines, 10 versions later]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chrome-still-shines-10-versions-later</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chrome-still-shines-10-versions-later</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2011 07:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Fiectcerreoge</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=chrome-still-shines-10-versions-later</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[At SXSW, Apple schools the marketing experts]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=at-sxsw-apple-schools-the-marketing-experts</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=at-sxsw-apple-schools-the-marketing-experts</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 13 Mar 2011 08:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>zoranzrnrr</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=at-sxsw-apple-schools-the-marketing-experts</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Despite the fact that no one confirmed there was an Apple Store behind the butcher paper, day-long lines appeared at what turned out to be the pop-up iPad 2 launch at SXSW(Credit:Caroline McCarthy/CNET)AUSTIN, Texas--Let's face it folks: when it comes to marketing at SXSW 2011, Apple out and out dominated everyone. On the first day. The game is already over.The South by Southwest Interactive conference (SXSW) has become the essential place for social-marketing experts to come to show how good they are. And for those experts to try to show their clients they know how to manage explosive launches the way Twitter did here in 2007 and Foursquare did in 2009.But no matter how many giant stages Pepsi builds, or parties Facebook or Digg throw, no matter how many giant buses CNN has here or group texting apps are the thing everyone's discovering, when all is said and done, there's no question that the one launch everyone will remember from SXSW this year will be the pop-up Apple Store and theiPad 2 going on sale.And lest anyone think that it was a one-day splash, let me point out that on Saturday, the next day, there were still people lined up outside the store waiting to pay many hundreds of dollars for an iPad 2. The other big lines around town were for free beer. Or barbecue. Or maybe for that hottest reward of all, a free iPad 2.Though everyone in the world knew that there was a temporary Apple Store behind the butcher paper in the windows of the classic Scarbrough Building at Sixth Street and Congress Avenue, the company wouldn't confirm it. And yet daylong lines lines nearly a block long sprung up. Let's see any other company in the world try to make that happen at a retail location that could, or maybe couldn't, exist.All day Friday, Apple, the iPad 2, and the pop-up store were the talk of SXSW--and even in the midst of a national buzzfest about the launch of the newtablet, people noticed the fantastic splash in Austin. But the conversation hasn't really locked in on the more subtle idea that Steve Jobs &amp; Co. just put on one of the most in-your-face examples of stealing the show in years. This is an interactive conference, after all. It's where companies that are changing the game with what they do online show the rest of the technology world how it's done. It's not where a hardware company--albeit one with a pretty healthy online presence of its own--comes to drop in about five blocks away and say with all the calm confidence in the world, &quot;Who's your daddy&quot;The fact is, the reason few are putting it in these terms is because it's a given that Apple could pull this one out of its hat. It's like air. It just is. Everyone's amazed at what they pulled off. But find me someone who's surprised.The ones who should be asking themselves what just happened to them are the social-media marketing experts who came to here with promises to their clients that they'd be the talk of the town. And they might be. But only after folks are finished talking about what Apple did.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Samsung to release Nexus S across all Canadian carriers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-to-release-nexus-s-across-all-canadian-carriers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-to-release-nexus-s-across-all-canadian-carriers</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:10:55 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>tithasperie</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=samsung-to-release-nexus-s-across-all-canadian-carriers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Nexus S heads to Canada where it will be offered by all carriers.(Credit:Samsung)Samsung is taking the Nexus S north of the border this spring and releasing the handset on all major Canadian carriers.Much like it did with the Galaxy S series of smartphones, Samsung should use a blanket approach for the handset. So instead of releasing exclusive devices or handsets tailored specifically to the various wireless providers, Sammy will keep the Nexus S's stock Android 2.3 interface. According to Samsung executives, the phone will ship to Canada later this month with an early April sell date. Pricing has yet to be announced, but I would expect it to fall in line with the $199 currently supported by T-Mobile. What's more, some carriers could offer it at a lower price with a three-year agreement.For some of the newer Canadian players such as Wind Mobile and Mobilicity, this device will help expand their smartphone lineups with a reputable handset. And we may see the Samsung follow suit here in the United States. Already there are signs that the device is headed to other carriers such as Sprint, which is rumored to be announcing a Nexus S with WiMax support atCTIA later this month.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Google faces new French antitrust claims]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-faces-new-french-antitrust-claims</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-faces-new-french-antitrust-claims</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:10:52 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>abriamanaccessories</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-faces-new-french-antitrust-claims</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ A search company has made fresh antitrust complaints against Google to the European Commission, alleging that Google blocked some of its rivals from using its AdSense advertising platform.  Today, 1plusV--the publisher of legal search engine eJustice.fr, which has a longstanding complaint against Google--said AdSense was &quot;the only truly effective way of obtaining targeted advertising on a search engine,&quot; and Google's refusal to allow vertical search engines such as eJustice.fr access to AdSense was designed to stifle competition.  According to 1plusV, when eJustice.fr complained to the Commission over other practices in February 2010, Google delisted it, severely curtailing the traffic the site received. However, the company said, Google then relisted it in December--shortly after the Commission began its investigation into the giant--which contradicted Google's claim that eJustice.fr was not of much value to users. Read more of &quot;Google hit with fresh French antitrust claims&quot; at ZDNet UK. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Ultrathin ThinkPad squeezes in Sandy Bridge chip]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ultrathin-thinkpad-squeezes-in-sandy-bridge-chip</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ultrathin-thinkpad-squeezes-in-sandy-bridge-chip</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>zujexota</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ultrathin-thinkpad-squeezes-in-sandy-bridge-chip</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Presaging laptops to come from Apple and Dell, Lenovo announced an ultrathin ThinkPad today that houses Intel's newest Sandy Bridge chip. The 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad T420s is only 0.83 inches thick but integrates an optical drive and packs a Sandy Bridge processor. It is also offered with an option for Nvidia graphics. (Credit:Lenovo)The 14-inch Lenovo T420s is svelte for a 14-inch business laptop at 0.83-inches thick--reminiscent of the ultrathin X300 and X301. It weighs in at 3.94 pounds with a six-cell battery. Battery life can be extended up to 10 hours by adding an additional battery that goes into the optical drive bay, Ross Compton, a market manager at Lenovo's ThinkPad laptop group, told CNET today. &quot;We're getting 30 percent better battery life when users are watching video, listening to music, and browsing the Web,&quot; Compton said. &quot;So, for instance when somebody's watching a movie. We've come up with technology to reduce the power draw on the e-SATA port or SD (Secure Digital) card, or different places on the system board [where power isn't needed].&quot; Lenovo has also out-turboed Intel's standard Turbo Boost 2.0 technology, which throttles the processor speed up and down, according to performance and power savings needs, respectively. &quot;With Lenovo's Turbo Boost+ we enable our system to boost longer, allowing [users] to be more productive,&quot; Compton said, adding that Lenovo has integrated dual exhaust pipes and dual vents on opposing corners of the notebook to reduce heat. The T420s starts at $1,329 and is expected to ship at the end of March, Compton said. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[SolarCity taps GroSolar to bring solar leasing east]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=solarcity-taps-grosolar-to-bring-solar-leasing-east</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=solarcity-taps-grosolar-to-bring-solar-leasing-east</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:10:58 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>arisggal</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=solarcity-taps-grosolar-to-bring-solar-leasing-east</guid>
<description><![CDATA[SolarCity said today that it has acquired the residential solar business from GroSolar, giving it presence in four states in the eastern U.S.Through the move, SolarCity will offer its solar panel leasing program to homeowners in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania starting March 1, said SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive. Financial terms for the cash deal were not disclosed. GroSolar will continue to operate its distribution business and installation for commercial customers.The deal adds about 55 people to SolarCity, giving it about 1,100 employees. It now works in 10 states, including California, Arizona, Colorado, and Texas, giving it the largest footprint in its line of business, according to the company.SolarCity is a pioneer in solar financing, through which consumers avoid the upfront cost of buying solar photovoltaic panels. The model initially took hold in California and is spreading to other states, particularly in places with high electricity prices or policies to encourage solar power.With a solar lease, consumers have solar electric panels installed and pay a monthly fee. Between reduced electricity consumption from the grid and the leasing fee, the net result is about a 10 percent reduction in electricity bills, Rive said. SolarCity also bought an energy efficiency company and intends to offer residential efficiency services in the new states later this year.Although not a giant acquisition, it does point to a trend of consolidation among solar installers. Whereas many residential installers have historically been small operations, Rive expects that larger companies will be able to operate with lower costs and expand further.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Filmmaker: Motorola anti-Apple ad looks like my film]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=filmmaker-motorola-anti-apple-ad-looks-like-my-film</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=filmmaker-motorola-anti-apple-ad-looks-like-my-film</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 12 Feb 2011 08:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>aviahaters</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=filmmaker-motorola-anti-apple-ad-looks-like-my-film</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Imagine you're an L.A. independent filmmaker watching the Super Bowl and your phone starts ringing. Simultaneously, people are sending you texts.This would be annoying enough, if it wasn't for the fact that they're all wanting to talk about the same thing: that Motorola's anti-Apple &quot;1984&quot; ad bears some remarkable similarities to a movie that you funded yourself. Oh, and shot in 2009. &quot;I know, I know,&quot; you say, if you're Mike Sarrow. &quot;But what can I do&quot;The mere concept of plagiarism is a very difficult and delicate one. Inspirations can just as easily be unconscious as conscious. However, Sarrow says his film, called &quot;Do Not Disconnect&quot; has been on the film festival circuit for some time. And many people volunteered their services to its creation.&quot;We're really disappointed that Motorola and the Anomaly New York ad agency have made their Super Bowl ad 'Empower the People' with an identical concept,&quot; he told me.I am not sure that these two concepts can be called identical at all.However, I have embedded the two films, so that you, the vast and neutral jury, can decide whether you think there are similarities between these two pieces or not. Is this a case of a filmmaker desperately clutching at a little fame Or is Sarrow more than an extremely sensitive artist, trying to protect his work and his reputationSarrow himself understands that this could all be one vast coincidence. However, he points out: &quot;All I know is that I have been in and around the commercial production business as well as the film business for the past couple years, trying to get this concept off the ground. I think the concept could have been coincidentally thought of, but the similarity of the ending sequence is striking.&quot;I have contacted Motorola for its view and, should the company reply, I will update.Even if this is a mere coincidence, perhaps you will, at least, enjoy Sarrow's vision of our current world, especially the sweet shot in the pool hall when the woman takes her cue to the ping-pong balls.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Report: Apple retail stores to nix boxed software]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-apple-retail-stores-to-nix-boxed-software</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-apple-retail-stores-to-nix-boxed-software</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>carecraige889</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=report-apple-retail-stores-to-nix-boxed-software</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple has a long history of happily killing off a feature, plug, or technology in the name or progress, and next on that extinction list could be boxed software from the company's retail stores.MacRumors is reporting that Apple plans to do just that sometime in the future. The move, the report says, would be made to direct users to Apple's digital software distribution system, theMac App Store. The company made the store available to users just last month in the latest version of the Mac OS, 10.6 &quot;Snow Leopard,&quot; and will be making a it center point of 10.7 &quot;Lion.&quot;As MacRumors notes, the extra space taken up by boxed software within Apple's more than 300 retail stores could be replaced with room for goods the company makes more money on, like accessories. The move also has the potential to encourage end users to purchase software through the Mac App Store, where Apple gets a 30 percent cut of the sales. One other thing that gives this rumor extra credence are the reports from November that Apple was developing models of its MacBook Pro line that removed the optical drive. Apple offers the same thing in its MacBook Air line in favor of a weight and size reduction, as well as in the server variant of the Mac Mini. If that same design ethos were to make it into the rest of Apple's portable lineup, it would certainly seem out of place to sell software in a format that would require additional hardware for installation. As for optical discs and Apple's own software, in the latest iteration of the MacBook Air, the company began shipping out the computers with a recovery version of the system software and bundled applications on a USB thumbdrive. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA['Compostmodern' fertilizes the creative mind]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=compostmodern-fertilizes-the-creative-mind</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=compostmodern-fertilizes-the-creative-mind</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:11:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>feofanovv</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=compostmodern-fertilizes-the-creative-mind</guid>
<description><![CDATA[editor's notebook SAN FRANCISCO--I had the great good fortune this past weekend of attending Compostmodern, a two-day conference here devoted to exploring different ways in which designers can help create a sustainable future. And I'd like to mention a few of the tech- and Internet-related highlights--some of which are new, some of which you, like me, may have missed the first time around. There's a variety of supercool stuff here, so read on.Organized by the San Francisco chapter of AIGA (one of the country's premier professional groups for designers)--and sponsored by Adobe and other companies, the conference attracted designers and design thinkers of every stripe. Web designers, industrial designers, branding and communications specialists, architects, builders, educators--you name it--all were on hand to absorb and contribute.The first day was devoted to a series of brief presentations by the likes of Scott Thomas, the guy who oversaw design for the Obama campaign' Julie Cordua, who helped Motorola launch the Razr phone and went on to work with the &quot;(RED)&quot; campaign, which piggybacks on global superbrands like Nike and The Gap to raise money for AIDS relief in Africa' and Yves Behar, designer of the One Laptop Per Child campaign's $100 laptop. The second day was billed as an UnConference, where presenters and attendees broke into groups and engaged in several rounds of brainstorming, on topics generated by the attendees themselves.Samuel Cabot Cochran and Teresita Brigitte Cochran&amp;39's &amp;34'solar ivy,&amp;34' a project from the Pratt Design Incubator. (Credit:Samuel Cabot Cochran and Teresita Brigitte Cochran / Pratt Design Incubator)Following are some of the highlights from day one, along with links that allow for further exploration.Onetablet per childBehar kicked off his talk by adapting something he'd heard bad-boy filmmaker John Waters say: the job of the young is to annoy the old. Behar's twist The job of a designer is to annoy the rigid. The Switzerland-born, S.F.-based industrial designer then gave an overview of his work to date and talked about the importance of making sustainable design sexy and fun for mainstream consumers--and of creating innovative products that allow people to indulge their current lifestyle in sustainable ways. As an example, he offered up the all-electric Mission One motorcycle his Fuseproject firm designed. Unveiled in 2009, it sacrifices nothing in the way of sex appeal or performance--it can reach speeds of 150 mph. Behar also talked about the One Laptop Per Child campaign's effort to develop--surprise!--a tablet computer.GoodGuide on iPhone.&quot;GoodGuide&quot; goes AndroidGoodGuide founder Dara O'Rourke talked about how he came up with the idea for his Web site, which lets consumers search on products they buy to see how healthy, safe, and environmentally friendly those products are (or aren't). He was putting sunscreen on his toddler's face, he said, when he thought to investigate its ingredients. After far too difficult a search, he discovered that the product contained a carcinogen that was activated by, of all things, light. After working through his anger, he made it his mission to make such information easily available to consumers. The GoodGuide is already available as an iPhone app, which lets shoppers hold their phones up to barcodes for instant info (how completely awesome is that). O'Rourke said an Android version is due in about a month. (And for those without a smartphone, there's a version that operates via text messages.)Crowdsourcing the creative brainNathan Waterhouse of renowned design firm IDEO discussed OpenIDEO, a Web site that taps the crowdsourcing model to create a global brainstorming tool for designers eager to tackle issues of sustainability. Here's a sample &quot;challenge&quot; posted on the site: &quot;How might we increase the availability of affordable learning tools &amp; services for students in the developing world&quot; Winning concepts run the gamut, from the high-tech (a repurposed mobile phone loaded with a free educational software bundle) to the decidedly low-tech (a mobile puppet theater that teaches crafts and storytelling while highlighting social issues). Anyone interested in how technology might be used to fight global problems--and anyone who's simply interested in great, inspiring ideas--should take a peek at OpenIDEO.Here's a video that gives an overview of how the site works:Introduction to OpenIDEO / OpenIDEO.com from IDEO on Vimeo.Sharing the sustainable loveLisa Gansky, who founded Flickr competitor Ofoto and later sold it to Kodak, talked about her recently released book &quot;The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing&quot; and gave a glimpse of the online Mesh Directory. The directory is a guide to companies and organizations that &quot;create, share, and use social media, wireless networks, and data crunched from every available source to provide people with goods and services at the exact moment they need them, without the burden and expense of owning them outright.&quot; The idea is to help people buy less and use more. Companies/organizations included in the directory range from tool-lending libraries to car and bike sharing setups to home-swapping groups to online bartering services. There's also a section full of organizations devoted to developing socially conscious software applications. Does the site help promote Gansky's book Sure. But, hey, it also points you toward online book swaps.From homework to world-changing productDebera Johnson, founder of the Design Incubator at Pratt Institute in New York--one of the country's top art and design schools--talked about the Incubator's genesis. Johnson got tired of seeing impressive student projects end up in the student's senior portfolio and then just simply disappear. The Incubator's mission is to help bring the best of those efforts into production in the real world. Johnson showed off some stunners, including Samuel Cabot Cochran and Teresita Brigitte Cochran's &quot;solar ivy,&quot; small solar panels designed to be mounted vertically and that can, among other things, be shaped into letterforms to create lighted signage that generates enough electricity during the day to power itself at night.Those are only a few of the presenters. You can check out info (and links) on the others here.The biggest round of applause went up for Dan Phillips and his Phoenix Commotion project, which provides housing for low-income families, using recycled materials as well as materials salvaged from the construction industry. Phillips truly enchanted the crowd with his down-home charisma and fascinating images. You can check out a TedTalk with him here, in which he reveals how to make architectural details out of chicken eggs and Bondo. Go, Dan!If its goal was to inspire, Compostmodern did the job. I can't wait to see what sorts of sustainable gizmos and solutions all those pumped-up designer attendees produce in the coming years.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[BlackBerry PlayBook: Who will buy it]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blackberry-playbook-who-will-buy-it</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blackberry-playbook-who-will-buy-it</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:10:19 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rezinu-PKv2011</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blackberry-playbook-who-will-buy-it</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:BlackBerry/RIM)After spending some quality time with RIM's in-production BlackBerry PlayBook at CES, I can tell you it's a beautiful 7-inchtablet. A sharp, high-resolution screen, pleasing rubberized perimeter, and gesture-based interface converge to create a piece of electronic equipment that I would proudly make my mini-computing companion. (Hands-on CNET videos here and here.)However, the PlayBook comes with several thick strings attached that are awkward enough to trip up prospective tablet-buyers. No 3G without a BlackBerryThe tautest tripwire pertains to data. Many top-tier tablets come in Wi-Fi and data (3G) versions. For a little less, you can buy the Wi-Fi version and access Web content (from apps, e-mail, and the browser) whenever you're connected to a Wi-Fi network. For a little more, you can often buy a 3G-capable model--and a carrier's monthly data plan--that lets you access the Internet so long as there's coverage.RIM, on the other hand, has decided to sell the PlayBook as a Wi-Fi-only device. The only way to access 3G data on the PlayBook will be through a BlackBerry smartphone.Tethering the PlayBook to a BlackBerry will work wirelessly through Bluetooth pairing, but it means that your BlackBerry needs to be powered on for you to use 3G on your PlayBook. On one hand, using your phone as a portable hotspot is handy--but only if you already own a BlackBerry smartphone. On the other, hotspot tethering also drains a phone's resources.No native e-mail, calendar eitherA 3G data connection isn't the sole thing you'll give up if you want use the PlayBook without a BlackBerry. Without tethering, you're out of luck accessing BlackBerry's secure e-mail client, the calendar, BlackBerry Messenger, and the address book. Sure, there will be Web apps that Wi-Fi-only customers can use instead, like Gmail.com and Google Calendar.Missing out on native e-mail apps may not bother some non-Blackberry-owning PlayBook buyers who wouldn't be using a RIM-controlled e-mail address or calendar anyway, though it doesn't hurt RIM to offer all buyers a native experience.Those with a BlackBerry on hand, however, will be able to use the BlackBerry Bridge software to access contacts and content, plus transfer files between the smartphone and tablet. Tethering will let companies that supply BlackBerrys to their employees also extend IT policies to the PlayBook.To RIM, '3G' is spelled 'BlackBerry.' (Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)So, who is the PlayBook forWith one set of options for BlackBerry owners and another set for everyone else, RIM seems to have a disjointed, unrealistic vision of the PlayBook's audience. But that's not the case. RIM knows exactly who it wants to buy the tablet--everyone.The problem is that RIM can't get the kinks worked out with things like e-mail--controlled by one set of software on the smartphone--in the new BlackBerry Tablet OS technology in time for the PlayBook's release. What we're left with are work-arounds until the OS further develops.Because of 3G tethering, current BlackBerry owners will benefit from the PlayBook most, at least at the tablet's launch. There's an even more specialized case for corporate BlackBerry users, whose companies could control secured e-mail and calendar items on the tablet as well as on the phone.Prospective PlayBook buyers with other cell phones have less incentive to invest in a PlayBook over an Apple iPad, Motorola Xoom, or other tablet, despite the very competitive specs. Even if they predominantly use Web mail and Wi-Fi, and don't give a hoot about missing out on BlackBerry Messenger, many people I've talked to still feel the alienating effects of being told what they can and can't have. That's not encouraging for a company that's trying to appeal to first-time owners of any BlackBerry product.4G, updates aheadThat isn't to say that RIM will be forever mired by tethering troubles. The company did confirm a 4G model coming out later this spring with Sprint, which opens the data door for those first-time buyers who don't own BlackBerrys. RIM PlayBook product manager Ryan Bidan has also mentioned the possibility of future firmware updates that might soothe some of these launching pains.Still, if RIM doesn't carefully manage its perception, the PlayBook could well remain a hidden gem. That's one of the last things the Canadian mobile hardware-maker could want. RIM, which is struggling to remain relevant in an ecosystem largely dominated byiPhone and Android, has already poured research and manufacturing dollars into bringing the PlayBook to market as a big-time competitor. Of course, it's far too early to eulogize the PlayBook, and indeed, I hope I don't have to. The tablet won't hit shelves until later this fiscal quarter (Q1), which gives RIM time yet to nail down a strategy for attracting and keeping new customers.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[CES: 2011 home theater wrap-up]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-2011-home-theater-wrap-up</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-2011-home-theater-wrap-up</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 09 Jan 2011 08:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>brittabiti</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-2011-home-theater-wrap-up</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Samsung BD-D7000 was our pick for Best of CES in the home theater category.(Credit:Samsung)From 3D to online streaming video, home theater has been a hot category at the last fewCES shows, but this year there wasn't much new technology, with design innovations taking centerstage. A few major trends stuck out to us over the course of the show.Design innovations, especially from SamsungThe most impressive part of CES on the home theater side was Samsung's striking new form factors. The ultracompact Samsung BD-D7000 won the Best of CES award in the home theater category for shrinking down a Blu-ray player to the size of an external DVD drive. Samsung also got a home theater Best of CES nomination for the slick HW-D7000 AV receiver/Blu-ray player and Best of CES design nomination for the HT-D7100 cubelike HTIB. Aside from some high-end speakers from LG, we just didn't see the same kind of design innovations from other manufacturers.Almost everyone has an app storeSamsung and Vizio were ahead of the game with their app stores last year, and now competitors such as LG and Panasonic have rolled out their own. Panasonic couldn't confirm if its new Viera Connect app store will come to its Blu-ray players this year, but we expect most major manufacturers will get onboard sooner or later.2D-to-3D conversion is new for Blu-ray playersAnother new feature we saw rolling out across most manufacturers' lines was 2D-to-3D conversion, which means the players can take standard 2D movies and automatically convert them to 3D. We haven't been fans of &quot;converted&quot; 3D in general and most3D TVs already have this feature, so we're not that excited about this upgrade. Maybe we'll change our minds when we actually try the products.B&amp;W Zeppelin Air(Credit:B&amp;W)AirPlay-compatible products are comingApple's new streaming audio platform was launched late in 2010, but we already saw a couple of compatible products at CES, including B&amp;W's Zeppelin Air. We expect to see a lot more AirPlay-compatible products in 2010.More portable Blu-ray playersPanasonic had been the only company making portable Blu-ray players for two years running, but now it has competition from Sony and LG. We still think this will be a relatively niche product category, but it will be more mainstream as prices fall and more people get onboard with Blu-ray.Google TVAside from some unannounced Samsung products (that had no real product information), there was essentially no Google TV news at the show, as some suspected. We expect to see more Google TV products and software updates throughout 2011, but there wasn't anything at CES.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Volvo S60 adds performance to safety]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=volvo-s60-adds-performance-to-safety</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=volvo-s60-adds-performance-to-safety</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>husan33</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=volvo-s60-adds-performance-to-safety</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)Volvo earned its safety reputation by equipping itscars with heavy metal, making them big, boxy tanks able to protect occupants from a nuclear blast. But it's the 21st century, and Volvo has gone high-tech, using electronics to actually prevent accidents. Hence the automatic braking, collision warning, and pedestrian detection on the new Volvo S60.But this car has more to offer than just not hitting people and other cars. Its engine makes it step lively, while a tight suspension and all-wheel drive deliver impressive handling. It is the kind of car that should have BMW engineers looking over their shoulders.Check out our 2011 Volvo S60 review.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Android 2.3 coming soon to Nexus One]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=android-2-3-coming-soon-to-nexus-one</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=android-2-3-coming-soon-to-nexus-one</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:10:33 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Crespinnecips</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=android-2-3-coming-soon-to-nexus-one</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Android 2.3 Gingerbread is coming to the Nexus One.(Credit:CNET)Owners of the GoogleNexus One won't have to wait much longer for Android 2.3 Gingerbread.The Google Nexus team posted on Twitter last night that Gingerbread would be making its way over the air to Nexus One devices &quot;in the coming weeks.&quot; The team didn't provide any more information on when it would land, but owners of the smartphone can at least be reassured that it is in fact coming to the device sooner rather than later.Those who don't want to wait that long (or would like a new smartphone) can get Gingerbread right now. Best Buy is currently selling the Gingerbread-equipped Google Nexus S smartphone to T-Mobile customers. In addition, the Nexus S features a 4-inch display, 5-megapixel camera, and a 1GHz Hummingbird processor.Gingerbread boasts several updates over its predecessor, Android 2.2 Froyo. The updated operating system features an improved user interface, Internet calling with the help of SIP, the ability to switch over to voice mode to fix text errors, and more.As important as it might be that Gingerbread is coming to the Nexus One, other Android phone owners will likely be forced to wait much longer. With each new Android version launch, it takes quite a while to get the latest version of the OS on devices. Samsung's Galaxy S smartphones, for example, are still running Android 2.1.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Amazon: Outage due to hardware not hackers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amazon-outage-due-to-hardware-not-hackers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amazon-outage-due-to-hardware-not-hackers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>riauckli1</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amazon-outage-due-to-hardware-not-hackers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[An outage that took down some of Amazon's European Web sites yesterday was caused by hardware error and not hackers, according to the company.The online retailer's shopping sites in the U.K, France, Spain, and Germany were down for about half an hour starting around 9:15 p.m. GMT, leading to initial speculation that Amazon had been hit by hackers associated with the pro-WikiLeaks group Anonymous.But in a statement released to Reuters, Amazon attributed the cause to hardware problems.&quot;The brief interruption to our European retail sites earlier today was due to hardware failure in our European data center network and not the result of a DDOS (distributed denial of service) attempt,&quot; an Amazon representative told Reuters. Specifically, the hardware-related issue occurred at an Amazon hosting center in Dublin, which hosts the various European sites that were affected, according to the Register.Amazon ran afoul of pro-WikiLeaks activists earlier this month after it decided to kick the controversial Web site off its EC2 Web hosting service. In retaliation, some members of the Anonymous group reportedly called for action against the retailer, but so far Amazon apparently has been left alone.&quot;Simply put, attacking a major online retailer when people are buying presents for their loved ones would be in bad taste,&quot; Anonymous explained late last week in an apparent press release. The decision to spare Amazon is in sharp contrast to the DDoS attacks that Anonymous has launched against such companies as PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard for their roles in cutting off payments to WikiLeaks.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[MasterCard pulls plug on WikiLeaks payments]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mastercard-pulls-plug-on-wikileaks-payments</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mastercard-pulls-plug-on-wikileaks-payments</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>drpepper782</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mastercard-pulls-plug-on-wikileaks-payments</guid>
<description><![CDATA[MasterCard is pulling the plug on payments to WikiLeaks, a move that will dry up another source of funds for the embattled document-sharing Web site, CNET has learned.There are some things you can&amp;39't buy with MasterCard.&quot;MasterCard is taking action to ensure that WikiLeaks can no longer accept MasterCard-branded products,&quot; a spokesman for MasterCard Worldwide said today.That further limits the revenue sources for WikiLeaks, which has seen its finances systematically attacked in the last few days, as the Swiss authorities shut down a bank account used by editor Julian Assange, and PayPal permanently restricted the account used by the group. WikiLeaks has responded with an increasing number of fund-raising requests that urge supporters to &quot;KEEP US STRONG.&quot;Assuming that MasterCard blocks payments, the only easy way to donate electronically would be with a Visa credit card through a Web page hosted by Iceland-based DataCell.com. Representatives of Visa did not respond to requests for comment from CNET today. (WikiLeaks also solicits payments sent through the U.S. mail.)MasterCard said it was cutting off payments because WikiLeaks is engaging in illegal activity. &quot;MasterCard rules prohibit customers from directly or indirectly engaging in or facilitating any action that is illegal,&quot; spokesman Chris Monteiro said.The move to cordon off WikiLeaks comes as a noose appears to be tightening around the neck of editor Julian Assange, who is the target of an arrest warrant issued today in the United Kingdom, according to a BBC report. He is expected to appear in a U.K. court tomorrow.WikiLeaks previously was given the boot from its United States-based hosting services and domain name services. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut said last Wednesday: &quot;I call on any other company or organization that is hosting WikiLeaks to immediately terminate its relationship with them.&quot;Since then, U.S. politicians have stepped up their criticism of the document-sharing site, which has posted only about 1,000 of 251,000 State Department dispatches it says it possesses and has shifted to the WikiLeaks.ch domain. &quot;I think the man is a high-tech terrorist,&quot; Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said yesterday, referring to Assange. &quot;He has done enormous damage to our country.&quot;In addition, the incoming chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee wants WikiLeaks listed as a &quot;terrorist&quot; organization, which would prohibit U.S. banks from processing payments and make it a felony for anyone else to provide &quot;material support or resources&quot; to the group. CNET reported earlier today that some U.S. government employees are being blocked from visiting WikiLeaks' Web site and the myriad mirror sites that have sprouted in the last few days.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Cyber Monday spending up, surpasses $1 billion]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cyber-monday-spending-up-surpasses-1-billion</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cyber-monday-spending-up-surpasses-1-billion</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 02 Dec 2010 08:10:11 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>medicabc</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cyber-monday-spending-up-surpasses-1-billion</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Online retailers rang up more than $1 billion in sales this past Cyber Monday, according to data released yesterday by ComScore.Adding up to a 16 percent gain in sales over the same day last year, Monday's cybershopping spree was the heaviest online spending day in history, said ComScore, and the first to cross the billion-dollar mark. Overall, the start of the holiday season has brought good cheer to online retailers. More than $13.5 billion was spent online from November 1 to 29, a gain of 13 percent from last year.(Credit:ComScore)The growth in Cyber Monday sales was driven more by higher spending per person than by an increase in shoppers. On average, consumers spent 12 percent more than they did last year, while the number of shoppers rose just 4 percent to 9 million. But promotions and discounts on the part of retailers have also helped cook up holiday sales so far.&quot;The online holiday shopping season has clearly gotten off to a very strong start, which is welcome news,&quot; ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement.&quot; At the same time, it's important to note that some of the early strength in consumer spending is almost certainly the result of retailers' heavier-than-normal promotional and discounting activity at this early point in the season. So, while we anticipate that there will be more billion-dollar spending days ahead as we get deeper into the season, only time will tell if overall consumer online spending remains at the elevated levels we've seen thus far.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Black Friday sees online spending rise]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=black-friday-sees-online-spending-rise</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=black-friday-sees-online-spending-rise</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>hongchen</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=black-friday-sees-online-spending-rise</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Online spending on Black Friday increased nearly 16 percent compared with last year, with social networking sites gaining momentum as a source for shopping tips and mobile devices playing an increasingly important role.According to numbers from Coremetrics, which culled data from the sites of more than 500 U.S. retailers, including Bloomingdale's, Macy's, and Petco, online sales were up 15.9 percent, with the average order value rising about $20, from $170.19 to $190.80.The researcher said that though the percentage of shoppers arriving at retail sites from social networking sites was still relatively small, the phenomenon was gaining momentum, with--not surprisingly--Facebook at the fore. The company said shoppers were using sites like Facebook to find out about deals and inventory levels. It also said the slice of shoppers arriving at sites via mobile devices jumped 26.7 percent year-over-year.&quot;We're watching online retail, and increasingly social media and mobile, become the growth engines for retailers everywhere, as consumers embrace online shopping not only for its ease and convenience, but as a primary means of researching goods and services,&quot; John Squire, the company's chief strategy officer, said in a statement.Coremetrics pointed to another trend as well, saying &quot;surgical shopping&quot; seemed to be widespread, with people checking out 18 percent fewer products on sites than they did a year ago--an indication that they target a specific product rather than browsing.And health and beauty, and department-store sites saw encouraging figures. Shoppers spent 17.7 percent more time in virtual department stores, and health and beauty retailers reported a 73.1 percent increase in first-time buyers year over year, and a 53.4 percent increase in the number of visits in which shoppers actually clicked away with a purchase.Still, online shopping has yet to conquer the cash register. According to the Associated Press, online deals account for between 8 percent and 10 percent of holiday spending.Update, 2:50 p.m. PDT:Researcher ShopperTrak said Black Friday sales figures for brick-and-mortar stores barely registered an increase over last year, rising a mere 0.3 percent. The company said, however, that the message was mixed because figures for the first two weeks of November were unexpectedly strong--a rise of about 6 percent year over year. &quot;Additionally, a percentage of retailers concentrated on pushing folks to their Websites with various online-only sales, which most likely influenced Black Friday performance as well,&quot; ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin said in a statement.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[This week in Crave: The dynamic Duo edition]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=this-week-in-crave-the-dynamic-duo-edition</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=this-week-in-crave-the-dynamic-duo-edition</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 20 Nov 2010 08:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Savariya</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=this-week-in-crave-the-dynamic-duo-edition</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Dan Ackerman checks out the unusual design on the Dell Inspiron Duo convertible tablet. (Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)Too busy dreading those airport virtual strip searches to keep up with Crave this week Here's what you missed while you were getting ready for your X-ray close-up.  &amp;149' David Katzmaier faced life after cable.  &amp;149' We got our hands on the Dell Inspiron Duo.  &amp;149'PlayStation 3, say hello to Vudu. &amp;149' A 103-inch plasma TV in 3D! For just $100K! &amp;149' Or, you could just turn your iPad into a tellie. &amp;149' Eric and Bonnie took onWindows Phone 7.  &amp;149' See London--at 80 gorgeous gigapixels. &amp;149' Beatles-branded iGear: We'd love it, yeah, yeah, yeah. (Credit:PeeWee PC) &amp;149' Is comparing iOS and console game totals fair &amp;149' Get to know the birds in Angry Birds.  &amp;149' Kids need Netbooks too, right &amp;149' This bike rack totally sucks. Got a story tip that doesn't suck Tell us all about it at crave at cnet dot com. We promise, no pat-downs required! <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Renault/Nissan chief likes EV odds]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=renaultnissan-chief-likes-ev-odds</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=renaultnissan-chief-likes-ev-odds</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>germkaammg</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=renaultnissan-chief-likes-ev-odds</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Renault/Nissan expects to produce 500,000 electriccars annually worldwide at the end of 2013 and does not need a successful launch of the General Motors Volt to help spur interest in the newest green technology and sell its vehicles, Renault/Nissan's chief executive said yesterday.Carlos Ghosn told reporters that the Nissan Leaf, the alliance's signature all-electric vehicle due out in the United States and Japan in December, will be capacity-constrained in the first years.But the company expects to ramp up production as battery costs come down and believes that, within several years, its electric fleet can stand alone against conventionally powered cars without subsidies and at an annual sales of between 500,000 and 1 million vehicles.The Nissan Leaf electric vehicle.(Credit:Martin LaMonica/CNET)The figure is more ambitious than first thought and partly driven by the realization that government assistance, especially the U.S. consumer tax credit of $7,500, cannot last indefinitely.Ghosn also said the success of the Volt, a mostly electric hybrid also due out next month, is not necessary for his company to capture the public's imagination about electric vehicles and generate sales.&quot;I welcome competition for electric cars. It's part of the health of our industry,&quot; Ghosn told reporters, stressing that the Leaf will attract buyers with its own attributes. &quot;I don't think one can depend on the other.&quot;Ghosn believes electric vehicles will account for about 10 percent of the market by the end of the decade. Gas/electric hybrids command a fractional segment now.Renault/Nissan is not taking a stake in GM's public offering this week.Global auto sales should grow by about 3 percent next year over 2010, Ghosn said, noting the United States, China, and India should see gains, while questions remain about Europe and Japan.He also expects more industry consolidation through alliances and cooperative agreements partly due to a priority among automakers to be conservative with cash following the recession-fueled downturn.Ghosn said automakers face sweeping pressures in an increasingly global and greening market. Expertise and production capacity needed to compete is varied.Automakers, Ghosn said, cannot do everything at once to develop hybrids, electric cars, or diesel engines because of steep investment costs, time constraints, and the logistics of engineering and production.&quot;What you see at the top of the industry are companies coming together and trying to put synergies together,&quot; Ghosn said of deals that center on exchanges of technology and markets.The electric-car all-stars come out (photos) Story Copyright (c) 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[YouTube to test smart 'topics' on videos]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-to-test-smart-topics-on-videos</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-to-test-smart-topics-on-videos</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sanya01</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=youtube-to-test-smart-topics-on-videos</guid>
<description><![CDATA[YouTube plans to start testing user reaction to what they are calling &amp;34'topics,&amp;34' shown here to the right of the &amp;34'Explore&amp;34' link.(Credit:YouTube)SAN BRUNO, Calif.--YouTube thinks it has found a better way to help its users find exactly which videos they're looking for on its site: smart tags. At some point tomorrow evening, YouTube will turn on an experiment in TestTube, its lab, in which users will be able to see what the company is calling &quot;topics&quot; above videos they find through search results or that are shared among friends. These topics are sort of like tags, but are the product of sophisticated analysis of comments, viewing patterns, and other signals that will automatically appear above videos, said Palash Nandy, a staff engineer at YouTube, in a briefing for the media here at the company's headquarters. &quot;People don't know what to search for because they don't know what's there,&quot; Nandy said, referring to how Internet search and video search are two different problems. When you search on Google, you're generally looking for a defined result, you just don't know where it's located. But when you're looking to be entertained, and you search for something like &quot;funny videos,&quot; how is YouTube supposed to know what is actually funny, and what is merely stupid yet was labeled &quot;funny lol!&quot; by some user Or whether you find slapstick humor in the video you were sent funny but pranks and practical jokes in related videos also entitled &quot;funny&quot; actually boring To try and solve that problem, YouTube has decided to put these &quot;topics&quot; front and center on videos--at least for its experimental users--as to evaluate how they are used. For example, a video about fighter jets might have more specific topics automatically generated that relate to that video, such as &quot;air force fighter jets,&quot; &quot;blue angel bay area,&quot; or &quot;air show footage,&quot; which a user could click on to see more videos of that type. &quot;We're really creating a language of discovery,&quot; Nandy said. It's not clear when YouTube might be ready to bring this into wider distribution, but those interested in checking it out should be able to opt into the program tomorrow night at TestTube. Likewise, it's not clear when YouTube might be ready to speak the language of advertising just yet when it comes to these topics, as certain advertisers could find them valuable in the same manner that AdWords continues to rake in advertising dollars at YouTube parent Google. YouTube also demonstrated a mobile application called YouTube Remote that allows Android users to control the YouTube application on their Google TV systems with their phones, as well as pause a video on their phones and start watching it on their Google TV. That application should be available in the Android Market this afternoon.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Guide for teen-proofing Facebook released]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=guide-for-teen-proofing-facebook-released</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=guide-for-teen-proofing-facebook-released</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sonia01</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=guide-for-teen-proofing-facebook-released</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:ConnectSafely.org)If you are a parent and you want your teen to be able to use Facebook without either of you having to worry that your child is sharing too much personal information, there's a new resource that can help. A &quot;Parents' Guide to Facebook,&quot; being unveiled today, offers hands-on, step-by-step instructions and illustrations, as well as information on safety, privacy, and reputation protection' and it covers the use of Facebook on computers and cell phones. It also offers specific recommendations for configuring privacy settings, noting that the default Facebook settings are not as privacy protective as they should be, even for adults.  The guide is being debuted at the fourth annual Family Online Safety Institute conference by the iKeepSafe Coalition and Connect Safely, a project of the nonprofit Tech Parenting Group. (CBS.com contributor Larry Magid of SafeKids.com is a co-director of that group.) Facebook also has its own Safety Center, launched earlier this year, that provides information geared toward parents and teens. The guidance will no doubt be a welcome resource for parents who have trouble keeping up with their teens' activities, both online and offline. A recent survey found social networks are not doing enough to protect teens' privacy. The guide may even help teens avoid the mistake one girl made recently when she accidentally invited thousands of strangers to her private house party. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Facebook introduces single sign-on for mobile apps, services]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-introduces-single-sign-on-for-mobile-apps-services</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-introduces-single-sign-on-for-mobile-apps-services</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 03 Nov 2010 07:10:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simi</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-introduces-single-sign-on-for-mobile-apps-services</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Mark Zuckerberg addresses the media and analysts today in Palo Alto.(Credit:Photo by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)PALO ALTO, CA--Let's get it over with. There is no Facebook phone. Mark Zuckerberg made that abundantly clear with a firm denial at a Facebook mobile event today at company headquarters in Palo Alto. But Facebook did announce a single sign-on. Single sign-on is roughly an extension of (and replacement for) services like Facebook Connect, connecting you to third-party social apps and services. If you're already logged on to Facebook on your mobile phone, you'll be able to sign in to other apps using your Facebook credentials.Groupon's Mihir Shah, vice president and general manager of mobile, demonstrated single sign-on on Groupon's mobile app, a service that offers people in certain cities local deals. Like clockwork, he signed in using his Facebook credentials. Zynga also showed off a poker app that worked the same way.Other single sign-on partners include Yelp, Flixster, Loopt, BooYah, and Scvngr.While it appears like a simple measure, single sign-on may dramatically reduce the amount of typing and tapping you do on a mobile phone. However, Facebook will need to address how it will keep malicious apps from delivering dangerous payloads to unsuspecting users through single sign-on. The company will likewise have to contend with users who would prefer to keep Facebook in the dark about their individual comings and goings on partner sites and apps.Stay tuned for more news and analysis throughout the day, and check out our live blog for even more details.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Logitech keyboard goes solar]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=logitech-keyboard-goes-solar</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=logitech-keyboard-goes-solar</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>TheBestHawaiiSite</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=logitech-keyboard-goes-solar</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Just when you thought solar was headed everywhere--rooftops, utility poles, and deserts, to name a few places--it's coming to your keyboard too.Logitech&amp;39's solar-powered K750 keyboard(Credit:Logitech)Logitech today launched a wireless solar keyboard, its first. The K750 powers itself via integrated solar panels. Without light, the $79 keyboard can operate for three months.The keyboard's tech sounds very familiar to what you can find in a watch. Logitech's solar keyboard is powered by integrated solar panels across the top and comes with an app that will be available November 15. The app tracks battery levels and has a meter to alert you when power is low.Read more of &quot;Logitech launches solar-powered keyboard&quot; at ZDNet's Between the Lines.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[How to buy World Series tix online and not get ripped off (FAQ)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-to-buy-world-series-tix-online-and-not-get-ripped-off-faq</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-to-buy-world-series-tix-online-and-not-get-ripped-off-faq</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 28 Oct 2010 07:10:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>vxjkzhygoohxya</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=how-to-buy-world-series-tix-online-and-not-get-ripped-off-faq</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Seats for tickets to the World Series are selling for an average of $800, and individual seats can go for thousands each. If you are careful, you can buy safely.(Credit:StubHub)It's World Series time, and if you're a fan of either the San Francisco Giants or the Texas Rangers looking for tickets to any of the sold-out games being played over the next few days, don't despair: You can get in.Of course, it's not going to be cheap. Since the only tickets that are available are on the secondary market, they're going to cost substantially more than face value. For example, in San Francisco, where tonight's game two, and games six and seven (if necessary) will be held, the average price for all tickets is about $800 each. Good seats are going for well into four figures.So, assuming you've made the decision to spend a month of rent (or more) on one or more ducats, how can you do so and feel confident that you're going to actually get to listen to the Star Spangled Banner alongside thousands of your fellow fansFirst, you should know that it's perfectly legal for ticket owners, such as season ticket holders, to sell their unused seats, and to do so for prices above face value. But since you probably have questions about how it all works, CNET is here to help with this FAQ on the current ticket-buying environment:I want to buy a ticket to the World Series, and I don't know anyone personally who's selling. What are my options There aren't that many. If you walk up to either the Giants or the Rangers ticket window, you're most likely going to encounter someone who wants to laugh at you for harboring the notion that the games aren't fully sold out.Your best option for finding World Series tickets, regardless of the cost, is to go online to StubHub, which is the official ticket marketplace partner of Major League Baseball, and each of the individual MLB teams. Other sports use other marketplaces. The NBA, for example, partners with Ticketmaster's TicketExchange service, as does both the NFL, and the National Hockey League.There are other marketplaces, as well, but they are generally not official, unless they are affiliates of the official sites.How does the system work with these online re-sellersIt's actually very simple. Because each ticket to a major sporting event like the World Series has a bar code, sellers are able to transfer control of the ticket (for which they can set any price they want, as long as it's above face value)--via the database record associated with the bar code--to StubHub, or TicketExchange. As explained by StubHub, &quot;Once [the seller has] entered the bar codes, we issue new tickets with unique bar codes to the buyer and the original bar codes [the seller] entered are deactivated.&quot;When a buyer goes online and purchases the ticket from a list of available seats, the marketplace service then e-mails the buyer the tickets in printable PDF form. The tickets have a brand new bar code. And that means that that the original physical tickets will no longer be recognized by the automatic scanning systems used at the gate.This is an example of ticket listings on StubHub for World Series tickets.(Credit:StubHub)Can I be sure I'm not going to get ripped off buying tickets from StubHub or similar marketplacesIf the site is legitimate, like StubHub--which is owned by eBay--or TicketExchange, you can. That's because they offer buyers a guarantee that the tickets will be good: &quot;You will get your tickets in time for the event,&quot; reads StubHub's guarantee. &quot;Your tickets will be authentic and valid for entry. Your tickets will be as good as or better than the ones you ordered. You will be refunded if the event is canceled and not rescheduled.&quot; For its part, TicketExchange promises: &quot;Tickets purchased on TicketExchange are guaranteed to get you in. The seller's original tickets are canceled and a new set is issued for you.&quot;In the case of online marketplaces that are not official league partners, you would be wise to double-check the site's guarantee, and see if there's any way to confirm its legitimacy.Are there multiple sites selling the exact same World Series ticketsAccording to StubHub public relations and corporate communications manager Joellen Ferrer, there aren't--unless the sites in question are affiliates. Ferrer explained that the tickets available on StubHub are unique to that service, and shouldn't be available anywhere else. However, there are ticket aggregators that are affiliates of multiple marketplaces that will sell the same seats. Those aggregators, such as FanSnap, or SeatGeek, share in the commission for the sale of the tickets. And buyers on those sites are protected by the StubHub guarantee, Ferrer said.What happens to the original physical ticket when a sale like this occursAlthough ownership of the digital version of the ticket--in other words, its database record--has transferred, the original owner still has the physical ticket. That ticket will no longer work if presented at the ballpark.I bought what seems like a real (physical) ticket from someone, either on the street or from someone on Craigslist. How can I tell if it's validYou can't. The days of a physical ticket being the only thing that matters for entry into a major sporting event like the World Series are long gone. It's not that the physical ticket you bought from a scalper can't be valid. It's that there's no way to be sure until you try to get into the stadium, or arena, that the rights to that ticket haven't been sold to someone else. If the ticket is rejected at the gate, you're not getting inside, and good luck tracking down and getting your money back from the person who sold it to you.In almost all cases, the teams or the leagues will not help you with recovering your money in any way.There are also plenty of counterfeit tickets floating around that look real. Obviously, they too will be rejected by the scanners at the gate.I bought a World Series ticket from StubHub, but I'm worried something will go wrong when I get to the ballpark. What do I do if that happens.Ferrer said that StubHub will have representatives on hand in the box offices of both the Giants and the Rangers to deal with any customer service issues. However, be aware that the guarantee the service offers applies only to the person who bought the tickets directly from StubHub. If you buy tickets from someone who got them from StubHub, you are not covered by the guarantee.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Meet Google&'s new CEO, same as the old CEO: Larry Page]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=meet-googlersquos-new-ceo-same-as-the-old-ceo-larry-page</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=meet-googlersquos-new-ceo-same-as-the-old-ceo-larry-page</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>DefevantHat</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=meet-googlersquos-new-ceo-same-as-the-old-ceo-larry-page</guid>
<description><![CDATA[One of the longest, most successful runs as chief executive of an Internet company has come to an end: Come April 4, Eric Schmidt will step down as Google&amp;'s CEO, and cofounder Larry Page will resume the position.Yes, resume. It&amp;'s so long ago that few remember, but Page was Google&amp;'s first CEO, and he held the job from 1998 until 2001, when Schmidt was hired. Page, his cofounder Sergey Brin, and Schmidt have long ruled as a triumvirate. They&amp;'ll continue to &amp;''discuss&amp;'' key decisions, according to a blog post by Schmidt. But the rule by troika is apparently coming to an end:For the last 10 years, we have all been equally involved in making decisions. This triumvirate approach has real benefits in terms of shared wisdom, and we will continue to discuss the big decisions among the three of us. But we have also agreed to clarify our individual roles so therea4a4s clear responsibility and accountability at the top of the company.On the company&amp;'s previously scheduled quarterly earnings call with analysts Thursday afternoon, Page congratulated Schmidt. But the conversation had an inevitably valedictory note.Page has long held an interest in the top role: When I wrote about Google&amp;'s $25 million fundraising from Kleiner and Sequoia, I inadvertently swapped his position with that of Brin, who was then president, a mistake which promptly generated an email directly from Page himself. And I&amp;'ve heard from insiders over the years that Page was eager to be CEO again.That&amp;'s never been the case with Brin, who is stepping down from his current role as president. This, too, is significant: Under Google&amp;'s corporate bylaws (which, no joke, I happened to be reading for kicks the other day), a president has many powers and responsibilities, including the ability to call a special meeting of the board. Brin is giving up all that, though he will likely retain considerable moral authority, including Google&amp;'s &amp;''don&amp;'t be evil&amp;'' ethos. (&amp;''Evil is whatever Sergey says is evil,&amp;'' Schmidt once told Wired.)Page&amp;'s emphasis has always been on the company&amp;'s products. With his ascendancy, the company&amp;'s engineers will reign unchallenged &amp;8212' not that they had much trouble before.It&amp;'s not clear what prompted the timing of this announcement. The company has faced increasing difficulties in buying its way into adjacent markets: See its failed bid for Groupon, or its attempted purchase of travel-search startup ITA Software, currently held up in regulatory review amid concerns from rivals. At the same time, Google has struggled in launching new products, especially social ones, to fend off challenges from Facebook and Twitter.If it can&amp;'t buy, it must build. The question is, is Page a builder He was in his first round as CEO. Now he&amp;'ll have to prove his product chops anew. One thing&amp;'s for sure now: He won&amp;'t have anyone else to blame if he screws things up.A side note for corporate-governance geeks: In the triumvirate arrangement, Page and Brin both held the title of president, and Google&amp;'s corporate bylaws were written more or less around their roles. The bylaws say:5.1 OFFICERS.The officers of the corporation shall be a chief executive officer, one or more presidents (at the discretion of the Board), a chairman of the Board and a secretary.That suggests, at least in my reading, that Google needs to have at least one president &amp;8212' &amp;''shall,&amp;'' not &amp;''may,&amp;'' with the board&amp;'s discretion applying only to the question of whether there&amp;'s one president or more. With Page moving up to CEO and Brin apparently giving up his title of president, will Google be in technical violation of its bylaws Nothing prevents Page from holding the title of president and CEO &amp;8212' Google&amp;'s bylaws specifically say people can hold more than one office &amp;8212' but Google hasn&amp;'t indicated that&amp;'s the case in this transition. I invited Google PR to clarify, but they declined to do so on the record. In any case, there&amp;'s plenty of time between now and April 4 to clean this up.Next Story: Google revenue climbs 26 percent Previous Story: Coskata grabs biggest slice of USDA&amp;'s $405M in biofuels loan guaranteesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Companies: GooglePeople: Eric Schmidt, Larry Page, Sergey Brin          Companies: GooglePeople: Eric Schmidt, Larry Page, Sergey BrinOwen Thomas is the executive editor of VentureBeat. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Niche Ad Network Betawave, Formerly GoFish, Goes&nbsp'Under]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=niche-ad-network-betawave-formerly-gofish-goesnbspunder</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=niche-ad-network-betawave-formerly-gofish-goesnbspunder</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Aragon</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=niche-ad-network-betawave-formerly-gofish-goesnbspunder</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We&amp;'ve gotten word that niche ad network Betawave has as of today run out of money to continue operations. Betawave integrated ads and products for a portfolio of sites primarily in the gaming, mom and teen verticals.Some publishers have not been paid in 6 months and were only hanging on to see if Betawave would merge with Realgirlsmedia,  a deal which apparently fell though according to a source.a4sBetawave confirmed to TechCrunch that they are now in discussions to sell the business with the following statement.&amp;''We had a great run, we are really proud of our people. We were severely affected by the economic downturn last year, which left us in a very difficult position this year. a4sWe managed to make it through most of the year, but weren&amp;'t able to achieve profitability. Some of our assets and our intellectual property will be acquired by third parties and we think many of our employees will get picked up as well. a4sIn the end, we know we made an impact by the number of different companies espousing many of our philosophies.&amp;''We last wrote about Betawave back when they were child-oriented media company GoFish anda4shad just raised 22.5 million in financing. I&amp;'m being told that most of that money went to paying off debt.CrunchBase InformationBetawaveGoFishInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[Don&'t expect a real Microsoft iPad competitor until late 2012]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=donrsquot-expect-a-real-microsoft-ipad-competitor-until-late-2012</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=donrsquot-expect-a-real-microsoft-ipad-competitor-until-late-2012</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>celgmoncler</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=donrsquot-expect-a-real-microsoft-ipad-competitor-until-late-2012</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft won&amp;'t be ready to deliver its first operating system built with tablets in mind, Windows 8, until late 2012, Bloomberg reports.That timing falls in line with what most expected for Windows 8. Since Windows 7 was released in late 2009, it seemed impossible for Microsoft to deliver its successor in 2011.If this news is true, then Microsoft will only have Windows 7 to rely on for tablets this year and most of 2012. That hasn&amp;'t worked out well for the company so far, as it has led to failed devices like HP&amp;'s Slate. By the time Windows 8 is released, Apple will have released its third iPad iteration, and Android tablets will likely have evolved significantly.I&amp;'ve argued that Microsoft should look to its mobile Windows Embedded Compact 7 platform for its tablet OS instead of once again trying to rework a desktop OS to fit a tablet interface. Microsoft could conceivably have some master plan in mind for Windows 8  on tablets. But history doesna4a4t inspire much hope. The company tried to  convince us that Windows XP was a tablet operating system for years, and  when that failed it ignored the tablet market altogether. Microsofta4a4s  many failures with bringing Windows to tablets proved that desktop  interfaces are meant for the keyboard and mouse, not multitouch  interaction.Microsoft is reportedly working on making Windows 8 more tablet friendly than any previous version of Windows. It may also bring in some design elements from Windows Phone 7&amp;'s spiffy &amp;''Metro&amp;'' interface. The company announced earlier this year that it&amp;'s bringing Windows to ARM processors, which would allow Windows to run on the same sort of mobile chips powering Android tablets today, including Nvidia&amp;'s Tegra line of mobile chips.Photo via mendhak on FlickrNext Story: Making people happy about the smart grid: There&amp;'s (probably) an app for that Previous Story: Apple in talks for unlimited music downloads, not streamingPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Android, iPad, tablets, Windows 7, Windows 8Companies: Microsoft          Tags: Android, iPad, tablets, Windows 7, Windows 8Companies: MicrosoftDevindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

<item>
<title><![CDATA[BigStar brings porn to the iPhone, but for how long]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bigstar-brings-porn-to-the-iphone-but-for-how-long</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bigstar-brings-porn-to-the-iphone-but-for-how-long</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Massey</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bigstar-brings-porn-to-the-iphone-but-for-how-long</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Updated with comment from BigStarLooks like Steve Jobs hasna4a4t been entirely successful in his campaign to keep porn off the iPhone.Therea4a4s a new application called BigStar Movies You Demand that allows users to watch a wide (if rather random) selection of movies on their iPhone and iPad app for the super-low price of $4.99 a month after a 30-day free trial. But herea4a4s the really eye-catching thing about it: It includes pornographic movies.If you go to the BigStar.tv site, youa4a4ll see that it highlights plenty of non-pornographic content, but once you scroll down to the a4Amost watcheda4 section it&amp;'s dominated by titles like Bad Ass Bitches and Anna Nicole Smith Exposed. That seems like it would be a problem for Apple, given chief executive Steve Jobsa4a4 statement that the iPad provides a4Afreedom from porna4. When I asked BigStar about it, a spokesperson responded:As far as adult content is concerned, they are not available via the app &amp;8211' the $4.99 subscription doesn&amp;'t include it &amp;8212' but those films can be accessed and played via the web HTML 5 video player and Safari on both the iPhone and iPad.  It&amp;'s not ideal &amp;8212' and maybe not worth mentioning &amp;8212' but that&amp;'s how one can work around it.Makes sense, I guess. But then I downloaded the app (I had to confirm that I was 18 to do so), and there was Anna Nicole Smith again, still exposed. I didn&amp;'t watch enough to say exactly how explicit the movies were (and Ia4a4m sure that will prompt at least one a4Athata4a4s not porn!a4 comment), but I watched enough to know that, yes, there is female nudity, and, yes, you will see boobs.To be clear, I think the anti-porn policy, like many things about the App Store approval process, is silly, and I have no problem with what BigStar is doing. (And since they told me the adult stuff had been removed, I assume it&amp;'s a weird oversight.) I just think it&amp;'s interesting that some of this stuff is still slipping by Apple. Of course, Apple will eventually catch on and remove the app, unless BigStar figures out a way to get rid of the porn first. In the meantime, you can download it here.And hey, once the porn is gone, the app still offers streaming movies, plus social recommendation features, for $4.99 a month. The service works on Android, Google TV, webOS devices, the Roku device, and more.BigStar is self-funded and based in Miami.Update: As I predicted, some of our commenters have argued that the movies aren&amp;'t porn &amp;8212' one of them points out that the two movies I&amp;'ve mentioned are rated R. But I think they meet the definition of softcore pornography, and that Apple has booted apps for less explicit content in the past. There&amp;'s a reason why the Playboy app doesn&amp;'t have any nudity. And there&amp;'s a reason why BigStar said the content had been removed from the app.And BigStar has responded too:We suppose that a4Aporna4 is in the eye of the beholder, but the definition so salaciously used in todaya4a4s VentureBeat article a4ABigStar brings porn to the iPhone, but for how longa4 is so loose (any nudity, including flashes of a naked breast) that at least one-third of the current films in suburban multiplexes would have to be labeled porn.  The MPAA is pretty clear that it considers porn NC-17.  All of the films you mentioned in your article are rated R.  Compare this to Netflix, which offers a4ATeenage Catgirls in Heata4 (NR), &amp;''Caligula&amp;'' (NR) and a4ALast Tango in Parisa4 (NC-17) or even to Hulu+, which offers the extremely bare-breasted a4ARed Shoes Diariesa4 and other late-night fare.  While we appreciate the attention in BigStara4a4s offerings, we believe ita4a4s not fair to call any of our offerings porn a4&quot; unless you also classify the late-night fare of Netflix, Hulu, HBO/Cinemax and many other vendors as being in the same camp.  As such, we are in full compliance with Applea4a4s terms of service.Next Story: Debunking the 3 biggest recruiting myths Previous Story: Gowalla 3 plays nice with Foursquare and Facebook PlacesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: beware the porn, streaming moviesCompanies: Apple, BigStarPeople: Anna Nicole Smith, Steve Jobs          Tags: beware the porn, streaming moviesCompanies: Apple, BigStarPeople: Anna Nicole Smith, Steve JobsAnthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
</item>

</channel>
</rss>
