Archive for January 18th, 2008
Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, iPod, TV
As if Blockbuster wasn’t suffering enough at the hands of Netflix, Apple’s announcement of movie rentals was like rubbing salt in an open wound. Following the announcement, Blockbuster stock prices fell 54 cents, or 16.7 percent to end the day at $2.69. Netflix prices also dropped, but only 3.2 percent.
Blockbuster has been struggling to compete with Netflix mail order rentals and online content deliver, which was made completely free and unlimited to subscribers ahead of the anticipated debut of iTunes’ movie rentals. Over the past several months, Blockbuster’s web site traffic has dwindled, stores have closed, and massive layoffs seem unavoidable. The national movie rental chain’s stock prices are about half of what they were as recently as November.
Instead of stemming the tide Blockbuster just seems to be slipping faster and faster into a footnote in content delivery history. The iTune’s rentals may just be the nail in the coffin.
From Newsvine
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Filed under: Cell Phones
 We can’t help but think that cell phone makers are starting to get a little too cutesy for their own good when it comes to naming their phones. Seemingly gone are the days of the good ‘ol model number, replaced by exciting or mysterious sounding names meant to individualize phones. Motorola has long had the four-letter “we hate vowls” thing going with their line. Palm has branched out from endless Treo model numbers by calling the Centro just “Centro,” and LG seems to really like the idea, going a little crazy with phones named after everything from edibles to Roman goddesses. Sony Ericsson meanwhile has stuck with somewhat less endearing names like W910 and W960, but that’s apparently about to change with the company trademarking the name “Xperia,” a label set to be applied to their upcoming P5i smartphone.
The P5i … err … Xperia is said to have the ability to “function in any number of extra ways beyond just as a phone.” This includes a long list of tools including the ability to:
…function as a camera; perform instant messaging; access and communicate with e-mail; access and communicate with the Internet; function as a radio, to record, play, transmit, receive, and/or manage music; record, play, transmit, receive, edit, and/or manage video; create, view, transmit, receive, edit, and/or manage photographs; play electronic games; upload photographs and text onto online journals or web logs; function as a personal digital assistant (PDA); function as walkie-talkies; perform satellite navigation; function as a remote control for computers and run multimedia presentations…
It’s unclear whether Xperia will be the single name for this phone or will be instead applied to a range of extra-smartphones, something that we’ll surely find out ahead of the mobile’s release sometime this summer. It’s not exactly the most distinctive sounding name we’ve ever heard, but if you’re a Sony marketing rep we do expect it’s a lot easier to drive up excitement for something you can pronounce, rather than something called two letters and a number.
From Trademork and Engadget Mobile
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Filed under: Computers, MySpace
 In the ‘Star Wars‘ universe, it was Luke Skywalker’s Rogue Squadron that was largely responsible for driving back the forces of the evil empire. However, in the world of computing, just about anything labeled “rogue” is a very bad thing indeed. So, reports of “rogue friends” on MySpace don’t sound promising, and indeed they are not. Hacked and bogus accounts are nothing new on MySpace, but now they’re packing viruses and have the potential to take over your computer.
According to the virus experts at McAfee, this new type of attack seems to be coming from hackers in the Ukraine or Malaysia. Requests from rogue friends look just like any other request, but once accepted, visiting the new friend’s profile displays a popup that asks if you would like to download an official update to Windows. The update is, of course, not official, and should you click to download it, you will find yourself infected.
It goes without saying that, just like you shouldn’t open e-mail attachments from random people, you should be cautious when accepting random friend requests from people you don’t know.
From ‘The Daily Mail‘
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Filed under: Computers
 Earlier this week, Facebook was forced to create “extended” profiles thanks to the inundation of random apps/widgets that users of the site has been suffering from lately. We find many of these apps to be little more than nagware, but there are a few gems, chief among them ‘Scrabulous,’ a multiplayer online version of ‘Scrabble’ you can play right from your Facebook account. Now, as if you needed more proof that we live in a time in which stuffy lawyers don’t dig the digital age, take a look at this: It looks like toy-makers Hasbro and Mattel have sent their legal goons to Facebook and demanded that it remove the immensely popular ‘Scrabulous’ from its site.
Hasbro and Mattel share the ‘Scrabble’ trademark in the U.S. and internationally, and so, of course, want to defend it, and the name ‘Scrabulous’ certainly does bear more than a passing resemblance to that of ‘Scrabble.’ Plus, there’s the whole yellow tiles spelling words thing that ‘Scrabulous’ also uses. ‘Scrabulous’ is one of the most popular apps on Facebook, so it’s no surprise that its possible removal has naturally resulted in a “Save Scrabulous” group and plenty of uproar from fans.
Let’s hope it works, but sadly, these sorts of anti-trademark protests usually do little to discourage the stodgy and generally boring legal process. Something tells us these fans may end up having to play ‘Scrabble’ on Facebook in the not-to-distant future.
From BBC News
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Filed under: Cellphones
If you’re like us, you feel more than a little annoyed with iPhone’s speaker volume. Yes, whether you’re waiting for a call, trying to have a speakerphone conversation, or just listening for sweet DTMF tones — the thing kind of stinks. Perhaps it’s time to take extreme measures, as some owners have resorted to… like sticking a needle through the holes in the speaker enclosure. Yes, according to daring “modders,” it’s possible to get a 40-percent increase in volume via this simple-yet-destructive trick of perforating the thin plastic which covers the speaker. Apparently, the phone gets so loud post-surgery that the volume is actually startling to some users. Feeling like you’re brave enough to really void that warranty? Let us know the results!
[Thanks, Michael]
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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
 New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5,000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas. Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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Filed under: Cellphones
 Teenager George Hotz, aka GeoHot, the original iPhone unlocker is back. In a post to his personal blog he states that he has successfully unlocked a 1.1.2 firmware and bootloader 4.6 iPhone. Better yet, he posts the not-for-dummies version of the instructions to downgrade the bootloader to version 3.9 in preparation for running AnySim. We haven’t tried this ourselves so remember, as GeoHot himself states, this hardware method “could brick your iPhone.” You haven’t upgraded to 1.1.3 already have you? If so, you’re stuck with AT&T.
Update: We’re now hearing that a software unlock for 1.1.2 / 4.6 iPhones is right around the corner. So don’t crack that case just yet kids.
[Thanks, fantastico]
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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
$140 can’t get you too far in the gadget world these days, but if you’re in the market for a totally crap-ass knockoff of Nokia’s slim and slender N800 tablet, look no further than this “dual-band PMP cellphone,” all hooked up with a QVGA display, dual cameras, Bluetooth, 128MB memory, and enough snazz to blow away the real thing. We’re being so sincere right now.
[Via PMP Today]
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Posted by: in Hollywood news
Filed under: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Paramount, Theatrical Reviews, New in Theaters
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The first ‘reality blockbuster’ is a winner. Cloverfield is a lean, brisk roller-coaster of a monster movie, buoyed by the lack of story gimmicks and absurd characterizations that weigh down most movies of this ilk, no offense to you personally Mr. Broderick. In the aftermath, it will dawn on you that it’s a |
