Filed under: Cell Phones, Google

Yesterday, Google updated its mobile Google Maps application with a new ‘My Location’ feature. This new version will find your specific location even if you don’t have GPS. The new Google Maps Mobile finds your location by triangulating information from nearby cell phone towers.

Sadly, we’ve yet to see the new location-finder in action as device support is fairly limited. Despite Google’s claims that it will work on most Windows Mobile phones, it seems all the most popular (Blackjack, Q9, Dash, Treos), have been left out of the My Location fun.

From Engadget

Related links:

• Users Reporting Deleted E-Mail from Gmail Accounts
• Google Maps Coming to Gas Pumps, but Is it Complete?
• Google Announces gPhone? Not Quite.

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Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Internet, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN), Personal finance, Small business

There’s a bit of tension in Pennsylvania regarding auction laws in that state and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY). It seems that Pennsylvania law requires that eBay sellers should have auction permits and regulators there have chosen to begin enforcing the law. The situation is revealed in a blog post by Terrence O’Brien at Switched.com .

It’s not surprising to me that this has come to the surface and I think it’s symptomatic of what is to come. Internet taxation is a hot topic and various state authorities are jockeying for position. While the taxation of Internet access is a proposition which has been nearly put to rest for good, the taxation of Internet retail sales is still very much up for grabs. This assertion of law by Pennsylvania regulators is simply indicative of the state’s desire to have a piece of the action. I believe it foretells of the stresses to come.

An AOL news poll shows that 83% of nearly 24,000 respondents feel that eBay sellers should not be required to have an auctioneers permit. That sentiment reverberates throughout the Internet. We should remember though, that sales made via the Internet often supplant sales that would otherwise be made through a brick and mortar retail outlet. I can assure you that state taxing authorities are weighing the effects of that change in dynamics carefully.

Should states lose sales tax revenue simply by virtue of a change in the sales venue? I don’t think they’ll stand for that. I still maintain my position that Internet sales tax solutions should be addressed from the Internet side of the equation rather than from the regulators side. We need a comprehensive solution on a national scale before the individual states come in and make eBay into a serious mess.

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Filed under: On the Blogs, How To

Have you ever wished that you knew the very best way to cut a mango? Or perhaps you’re looking for a way to re-purpose an old CD spindle? Maybe you’re looking for ways to clean your home with vinegar (although Bob just recently addressed that, so you might be covered there). It could be that you just want an easy way to open a bottle of beer with a piece of paper.

If you are looking to know more about any of the above (as well as some other cool stuff as well) then you have got to take yourself over to Lifehacker’s list of the Top Ten Food and Drink Hacks. They’ve put together a collection of advice for new and different ways to approach your food and drink that will have you entertained and informed. So go on over and check it out. Because you know that really, deep down in your heart you want to learn how to built a fire with a can of Coke and a piece of chocolate.

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Filed under: Gaming

Quick, before some pretentious post-postmodern indie band rips the idea and integrates it into their set: check out the video after the break of the will it blend dude sticking a Gibson X-Plorer’s fender into one of their machines. Yeah, we’re total suckers for the Guitar Hero games, and we love to see Guitar destruction as much as the next rock fiend, so you can probably guess the result.

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading Guitar Hero: it shreds, and, yes, it blends

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Business

It seems Sony is finally fed up with being the brunt of industry jokes with its long list of laughable commercials. In Sony’s recent internal review for its $150 million advertising account, it eliminated its 13-year ad agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day, from consideration.

With TBWA out of the picture, it leaves four other companies in contention. Two companies, Publicis in the West and Deutsch have been requested to present further information, while the other two have not been contacted, according to Advertising Age.

The recently released company was responsible for delivering Sony’s Universe line of commercials, which are currently airing on TV. However, while TBWA/Chiat/Day was tasked with delivering the new line of commercials, Superfad is the production company that actually created the ads, so there still is a possibility that Sony continues the impressive ads.

[Via Max Console]

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The Mini MOB cellphone brings us back to the days where cellphones were really huge and could be used to crack open crabs at the dining table thanks to their sheer size and weight. This extremely retro handset not only handles everyday communications, but it boasts a 3-day talk time, a 30-day standby time, a miniSD memory card slot, and an MP3 player. You will need to fork out £160 for this 11cm x 3.5cm handset. I guess this is more of a novelty purpose than anything else, and think that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones

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You may judge it as a severe criticism or genuine constructive criticism. It all depends on you. Bollywood’s the perfectionist Mr. Aamir Khan criticized superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s film ‘Black’ for being ‘insensitive’.
Aamir has said that Black is an emotionless film and that Amitabh’s acting is neither predictable nor understandable. Adding to this he said that […]

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Broadway World is hosting a contest called “Give Us Your Voice”, where each contestant is asked to sing a song from “The Little Mermaid” in a YouTube video. The winner gets an all expenses paid trip to New York.

Most of the contestants I saw were pretty decent, but then I stumbled across Nick Patera:

(if you can’t see the video, click here)

Initially I figured that HAS to be fake, right? Actually, it’s not (I even happen to have two friends who know the guy - vote for him here!). He’s been perfecting his voice for at least a year, and just released this incredible one person duet as well:

(if you can’t see the video, click here)

I originally went to post this on Neatorama (where I also contribute), but one of the other authors beat me to the punch. A commentor hit the nail on the head though - imagine this guy on American Idol!? I’d love to see the judge’s faces the first time he sang …

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