VentureBeat |
- Qualcomm pulls heartstrings, explores how mobile is changing lives (video)
- Qualcomm CEO touts the ever-expanding mobile world
- How to turn off Google’s social search features
- Pandora is leading the internet radio front by entering your car
- 10 quick tips to wrangle your email effectively
- CES Day 2 was full of smart TVs, super-thin Ultrabooks, and a tweet choir (video)
- Qualcomm and the X Prize Foundation will give you $10M if you create a Star Trek tricorder
- Seagate gives you new entertainment choices with 4G LTE storage
- Apple brings back the 3G toggle switch in the latest iOS 5.1 beta
- Blu Homes shows off 3D home Configurator tool for real home designs
- Google search gets its biggest change in a decade with a dose of Google+
- BlueStacks brings Android apps to Windows 8′s Metro interface
- WTF CES: Choir sings sweet tweets at Ballmer keynote (video)
- SOPA: House to hear testimony from Reddit co-founder, Rackspace CEO & others
- Iran sentences US-born developer to death
- Xbox 360 surpasses 66M sold and Kinect passes 18M units
- Microsoft CEO Ballmer pimps new Windows smartphones at CES
- Myspace reinvents itself as an “entertainment experience,” with help from Panasonic and Justin Timberlake
- Ballmer promotes a reimagined Windows 8 in his final keynote speech
- MOG and Aha bring on-demand music streaming to Subaru and Honda vehicles
- AT&T unveils wireless data plans for PlayStation Vita
- Ford’s Sync in-car computer now inside 4M cars, adds on-demand NPR and navigation apps
- Holy smokes: Apple head Tim Cook earned $378M in 2011
- Sony aims to deliver 300M connected devices in the next 3 years
- The Envy 14 Spectre: HP designs a cool Ultrabook with a Gorilla Glass cover
- Nvidia shows Microsoft’s Windows 8 running on a Tegra 3 tablet
- Tim Tebow gets 9,420 tweets in one second for Sunday’s win
- Slacker Radio starts streaming live sports games
- Interplay loses rights to Fallout intellectual property in lawsuit settlement
- Prettier than Apple? Vizio’s new line of computers is very attractive
| Qualcomm pulls heartstrings, explores how mobile is changing lives (video) Posted: 10 Jan 2012 09:33 AM PST Starting things off on an emotional beat during his CES keynote this morning, Qualcomm CEO and chairman Paul Jacobs unveiled a series of videos that show how mobile devices are changing the lives of people all over the world. The videos feature people from all walks of life — from a hip and well-connected techie in New York City, to a fisherman in India. Qualcomm also explores how mobile is helping with personal healthcare, and with education through the use of tablets. Yes, it’s blatant self-promotion for Qualcomm, since its mobile chipsets power the devices used by the video subjects, but it’s still nice to see some positive uses of technology. It’s an especially good counterpoint to mainstream media stories that often center too much on how technology is damaging society. For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat        
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| Qualcomm CEO touts the ever-expanding mobile world Posted: 10 Jan 2012 09:32 AM PST
The wireless revolution is transforming lives everywhere today and is the reason Qualcomm spends $3 billion in research and development each year, said Jacobs, speaking onstage today at CES in Las Vegas. All sorts of mobile devices are just going to work together, he said. Jacobs said that Qualcomm has shipped more than 7 billion wireless chip sets, making it the No. 1 supplier of wireless technology. About 1.5 billion 3G mobile connections exist, and the wireless industry’s revenues exceed $1.3 trillion on a global basis. “All consumer electronics companies are already in the mobile industry or soon will be,” he said. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors are used in more than 300 devices, and 350 more are in development. Qualcomm launched an app called GameCommand for Android in hopes of encouraging gaming on top of Snapdragon-based devices. Qualcomm’s S4 Snapdragon chip set will drive the next set of devices, from tablets to Windows 8 laptops. For the first time, Microsoft is crafting a Windows operating system to run on ARM-based chips, such as the Snapdragon. The latter, Jacobs said, is “going to be a really exciting opportunity” for Snapdragon devices and “that is a game changer.” Jacobs demoed a Qualcomm Snapdragon-based tablet running Windows 8. Emerging countries will be 50 percent of global GDP by 2014. In India, last year, mobile connections exceeded fixed landline connections. No matter where they are, people want to join the mobile revolution and become “citizens of a much larger world,” Jacobs said. Jacobs said that Qualcomm has launched 73 projects for social good in a bunch of countries around the world. In one of them, Grameen Bank, which makes micro-finance loans to small business owners, gives low-income businesses a phone that can be shared among a group of businesspeople. Those who stay in the program for more than four months have doubled their income, and 100 percent are profitable. “That’s one example of how mobile can improve people’s lives,” Jacobs said. Stephen Elop, chief executive of Nokia, joined Jacobs on stage and said that the goal is to bring another billion people onto the internet via mobile. For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012.
Filed under: games, mobile, VentureBeat        
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| How to turn off Google’s social search features Posted: 10 Jan 2012 09:14 AM PST
Then this post is for you. We’re going to take you through the steps of turning off Google+ results in your web searches. We’re also going to show you how to turn them back on, in case you change your mind. First, open up your normal Google.com search page. Go ahead and search for something. If you’re a Google+ user and you’re logged in, you might see something like this: All those colorful arrows are pointing to the Google+ search results that you so detest — the personal profiles, the Google+ posts, the links shared on G+, and even images posted to Google+. Here’s how you get rid of them. See that two-button toggle switch at the top right side of the search results? The two buttons that look like a silhouetted Lego man and a picture of Earth? If you’re seeing Google+ results in your web search, the Lego man button will be shaded. Click on the Earth button. Google+ social search results will be turned off. You will now be returned to your regularly scheduled web searches — no socially shared links, no long-winded Google+ posts, no pictures of your neighbor’s kids, just the pure and simple web links you’ve come to expect from Google. If you change your mind later and decide to give Google+ search results a second shot, just click the Lego man icon. That’s it. One click on one of two buttons. You don’t have to muddle around in your personal profile settings or look up some obscure Help page. You don’t have to sign a petition. Just point and click. Aren’t you glad Google made it easy? Filed under: social        
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| Pandora is leading the internet radio front by entering your car Posted: 10 Jan 2012 09:07 AM PST
The company claims to have 68 percent of the internet radio market share, which is up slightly from what the company reported during quarterly earnings in November. Pandora now has 125 million registered users, and the average active user listens to 18 hours of music per month. That’s pretty good considering all the other choices available (Spotify, Rdio, MOG, etc.). Pandora is also leading the pack when it comes to connected devices and partnerships. The company’s updated metrics state that Pandora is now available on over 450 connected devices, including many automotive music systems. And the car radio is arguably one of the few places where radio still matters in our ultra-connected world of mobile devices. So, Pandora having partnerships with 23 auto companies (up from the four partnerships it had a year ago) is a big deal. In terms of maximizing Pandora availability on more devices, it’s a very smart strategy. This is the way Netflix was able to gain a significant lead into the streaming video market. For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: media, VentureBeat        
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| 10 quick tips to wrangle your email effectively Posted: 10 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST
But you don't have to throw up your hands and give up. It is possible to get the situation under control with simple, low-maintenance tips and tricks. Yes, whole seminars have been devised to make people believe they need elaborate labeling or folder systems to keep tabs on their lives, but that isn't the case. Here's a list of ten to-dos to keep your inbox sane and safe in 2012. 1. Unsubscribe. Inbox stuffed with newsletters you don't even remember signing up for? Do a search for "unsubscribe." Pretty much all of them will contain that and it's an uncommon enough word that you can set up a filter for all emails containing it. You can archive or delete them, or funnel them into a folder of just newsletters that you can browse at your leisure. 2. Tackle the bold. Many of us who can't keep up, open our Gmail only to be confronted with a sea of bold subject lines. This can be intimidating (and not so easy on the eyes). To start chipping away at this monster, you can do searches for common keywords and phrases to isolate messages you know you can eliminate. Words like "eventbrite," "evite," "autoreply" or "Out of Office." These are messages you definitely don't need or respond to, so get rid of them. 3. For your eyes only. Getting too many bulk emails sent to distribution lists? Set up a filter so that the only messages you see in your inbox are addressed to your email address. That way you won't waste your time wading through messages that probably aren't relevant to you. 4. FYI. One of the most helpful tools that also lends to a clean inbox is a "reference" folder. Everyone receives emails that they don't necessarily need to reply to, but that contain helpful or even vital information. Hotel and flight reservations fall into this category, as do instructions, or messages with useful attachments. Use a "reference" label or folder to categorize these for easy retrieval when you need them. Don't just let them sit there just because you think you might need them at some point! 5. Make the call. Inboxes require triage systems. You may not be able to respond to every message right away, but many don't deserve any of your time at all. This is not the time to be delicate. Mercilessly purge your inbox as you receive emails. Use those trash and archive buttons. You can hold on to messages that will take you some time to respond to, but the rest gotta go. 6. Don't be sentimental. Some of the trickiest emails to respond to in a timely fashion are the closest to your heart. Emails from long lost acquaintances, former paramours, old professors inquiring after your new career — these are impossible to respond to in two minutes, sometimes in two months. When you receive an email that demands a deeply thoughtful reply, it's easy to let it languish for weeks, months, years even. Every time you see it sitting there, you can feel yourself cringe ever so slightly. It's like watching a whole relationship whither on the vine. Don't let this happen to you. Keep in mind that people like this would rather hear from you sooner than receive the perfect response. Just do your best within the first three days of receiving it, and get it off your plate. Then it's their turn. 7. Keep it short. For 90% of emails that don't come from one of the senders mentioned above, it's probably possible to respond with a single sentence. Yes, it's true. And advisable. There's no reason to ramble on with pleasantries. Email is a mode of communication designed for brevity. A warm sign-off should counteract any suspicion that you're a cold fish. A "best wishes" or "all the best" perhaps. Keeping things short and to the point will save you time. And, you can be certain the people who just want to know what you think or decide on the other end will appreciate it too. 8. Delete delete delete. Gmail has tricked an entire generation of email users into thinking they don't ever need to delete email. With limitless storage and robust search functionality, why not just leave every message you've ever received in your inbox? This is digital hoarding, and it has negative impacts. A brimming Gmail inbox may be searchable but it's also been shown to make users feel less organized, more stressed out, and less in control. There's a reason why you can breathe easier when you clear off the surface of your desk, or put all your clothes away, or clean the kitchen. The same applies to your inbox. Use that "Archive" button early and often to empty the page and start with a clean slate. You will not only feel better, you'll find it easier to reply to the messages that actually do need your attention. 9. Filter as you go. Let's say you've taken all the advice above and achieved the coveted empty inbox. Look at all that white space! Isn't it lovely? Now how to keep it that way? Without a doubt you'll continue to receive messages that you don't want or need that have somehow evaded your filters. When this happens, create a new filter to get rid of them right away. Then you won't have to deal with it ever again. Gmail makes this even easier now with the option to "filter messages like this" attached to every message. 10. Just do it. No one likes this tip because it requires some measure of self discipline, but no empty inbox list would be complete without it. If you read a message you know you can reply to in less than two minutes and it won't kill you or ruin your relationship with the person in question, then just answer it now. Just do it, and you won't have to worry about it again. And isn't that what emptying your inbox is about anyway? Filed under: VentureBeat        
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| CES Day 2 was full of smart TVs, super-thin Ultrabooks, and a tweet choir (video) Posted: 10 Jan 2012 08:38 AM PST While Sunday was the unofficial start to CES 2012, the real fun began on Monday with press conferences and announcements from heavy hitters like LG, Intel, Sharp, Samsung, Nvidia, Sony and Microsoft. At the end of that incredibly busy day, fellow VentureBeatnik Dean Takahashi and I decided to chat about how the events unfolded and what stood out from the pack. Notably, smart TVs for home and business, thin-and-light Ultrabook laptops, the upcoming Windows 8 operating system and a jarring, funny performance of tweets by a choir were what made the most impact on us. The day’s major CES events officially concluded with the final Microsoft keynote, where a choir sang tweets about Microsoft products. But after that, Dean and I made our way to the Pepcom showcase of products that ties into CES. We walked the floor and saw few interesting things, including fitness technology from Striiv and an iPhone-controlled toy from Sphero. Watch the video above for more on CES Day 2, and look for more CES stories coming at you this week. Plus, here’s a shortlist of Monday’s biggest CES stories: • LG debuts HDTV with built-in Google TV and a new Spectrum Android superphone For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: VentureBeat        
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| Qualcomm and the X Prize Foundation will give you $10M if you create a Star Trek tricorder Posted: 10 Jan 2012 08:31 AM PST
In the fictional Star Trek universe, a tricorder is a multifunction handheld device used for sensor scanning, data analysis, and recording data. From the sci-fi TV show, the tricorder was a general-purpose device used to scout unfamiliar areas, analyze living things, and review technical data. The medical version helped Doctor “Bones” McCoy diagnose and heal patients. The prize will go to whoever is able "to develop a mobile solution that can diagnose patients better than or equal to a panel of board certified physicians." Qualcomm and X-Prize made the announcement ahead of the keynote speech by Qualcomm chief executive Paul Jacobs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today. The competition will kick off in early 2012. For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: mobile        
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| Seagate gives you new entertainment choices with 4G LTE storage Posted: 10 Jan 2012 07:30 AM PST
The devices use 4G LTE mobile networking to connect to the internet from any location and essentially allow you to add huge amounts of storage to your mobile device. Using the wireless connectivity, you can use your smartphone or iPad to view more than 300 high-definition movies stored on a Seagate mobile wireless storage device. You could store the whole catalog of James Bond movies in HD and have each movie ready to play at your fingertips. Seagate and Verizon are demonstrating the new technology at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas. The 4G LTE-connected storage will use the network to connect up to three WiFi-enabled devices to the internet at the same time. The two companies have been working on the technology for about two years and created a multi-party collaboration last year that also includes Novatel Wireless and Skycross. The timing for Seagate’s product hasn’t been determined yet. “This is an example of innovation in storage,” said Scott Horn, vice president of global marketing for Seagate, in an interview. “It opens up new possibilities for getting your content when you are on the go.” Consider, for instance, entertaining your kids by letting them watch a movie from a huge collection while they’re sitting in the backseat of a moving car. Each of the kids could be watching a different movie at the same time. The device will be portable, using rechargeable batteries with up to five hours of battery life. It can have WiFi connectivity.
The storage company is also unveiling its GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter (pictured right, $99) and the GoFlex Desk Thunderbolt adapter ($199), both of which will let users transfer data at high speeds using Intel’s Thunderbolt technology. The GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter will be available in the first quarter, and the desk version will be ready in the second half of the year. Seagate will also show some GoFlex Slim hard drives with more storage, 500 gigabytes instead of the previous 320, for the Mac. For more gadget news, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: VentureBeat        
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| Apple brings back the 3G toggle switch in the latest iOS 5.1 beta Posted: 10 Jan 2012 07:22 AM PST
The current version of iOS only allows device owners to toggle off Cellular Data usage rather than choose between an Edge network connection or the faster 3G connection. If you’re in an area with a crappy signal most of the time, it’s helpful to be able to toggle off the 3G connection rather than suffer from having your device switch back and forth, which (in my experiences) takes much longer than simply using a slow connection. I’ve also noticed that my phone will occasionally drop all internet connectivity without any notifications — meaning it just keeps waiting to load without ever producing anything. It’s especially annoying when relying on app notifications to keep you informed. In the past, toggling the 3G switch off and on fixed the problem, but my only alternative now is to restart the phone or find a WiFi connection. The iOS 5.1 beta 3 (build 9B5141a) is available for download now via an over-the-air update or general download at the developer portal. [Via The Verge] Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat        
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| Blu Homes shows off 3D home Configurator tool for real home designs Posted: 10 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST It’s getting a lot easier to design your own home with a computer. A case in point is the Blu 3-D Configurator from Blu Homes, which simplifies home design to the point where regular non-architects can design their own homes with online tools. The Blu 3-D Configurator is just the latest example of 3D graphics technologies developed for games finding new uses beyond the entertainment market. Blu Homes is announcing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that a Massachusetts couple, Cathy and Walter Pearlman, designed their own two-bedroom home entirely by using the Blu 3-D Configurator. Once the design is complete, Blu Homes assembles the parts and ships them to the customer for assembly into a house. The company turns the 3D designs created by users into actual homes. You can create your own or personalize a model made by Blu Homes’ architects and then fly through the home to get a feel for the actual layout. The hope is to revolutionize the way homes are built. You can go hang out in your home or redecorate it — before you ever set foot in the real thing. You can also get a real-time view of the costs that result when you make changes to the design — a feature that will be available in a few months. Blu Homes builds a home based on the client’s 3D custom model, using precision tooling and trained craftsmen in a climate-controlled factory in Vallejo, Calif. Blu Homes was founded in 2008 by Bill Haney, an environmental engineer, and Maura McCarthy, a venture capitalist with a background in modular housing. Blu Homes has seven eco-friendly architect-designed homes dubbed Elements. The Pearlmans chose one model for their home in Pembroke, Mass., with everything from exterior siding and kitchen appliances. After one meeting confirming the selections and a minor change to the bathroom title, they were ready to purchase their home at a fixed, pre-agreed upon price. The homes generally use 50 percent less energy than traditional homes. "At first, designing our home online seemed so high-tech that it felt more like something our kids' generation would do. Once we tried it ourselves, we realized how fun and easy it is," said Cathy Pearlman. "It turns out designing your home online — and then having it built straight from the online designs — is something anyone can do.” Haney, president and co-founder, says the Configurator takes a lot of the uncertainty and stress out of the home-building process for all parties. Since the tool became available in October, more than 6,000 home designs have been created and saved with the Configurator. The software is proprietary and similar to tools used by automotive and aeronautical engineers, and it takes into account complex requirements such as the kind of stress that snow could put on materials. But Blu Homes worked with user interface experts and game developers to make the designs consumer friendly. For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: games, VentureBeat        
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| Google search gets its biggest change in a decade with a dose of Google+ Posted: 10 Jan 2012 06:30 AM PST Well, it’s finally happened. Google web search has been Google-Plus-ified. Today, Google is bringing some specific new features to Google web search, its flagship and most widely used product. In addition to the usual assortment of links, pictures, news items and shopping results you’d see in a typical Google search results page, logged-in Google+ users will now also find several kinds of Google+ content sprinkled in among the normal search results. There are even promoted Google+ profiles and pages — an attempt to compete with Facebook’s highly successful social ads, we’re betting. We’ve been telling you this was coming for ages, so we hope you’re not too surprised. Eventually, Google+ will be part of everything Google does on the web and mobile. Yesterday, VentureBeat spoke at length with Jack Menzel, Google’s web search product management director, about the newest changes. “This isn’t the entire Internet, it’s your entire Internet,” he told us. “With Google+, we understand who people are, and we use that.” This Google+-powered approach assumes certain ties between relevance and personal connections. Links shared by your G+ connections are given more weight and will show up in the first page of web search results with a person icon on the left. You will also be able to see Google+ posts in search results based on keyword relevance. Basically, Google+ posts are seemingly indexed just like every other page on the web, but they’ll only show up in your search results if the poster is connected to you on Google+. Photos posted to Google+ will show up in web and image search results — again, only to searchers who are connected to the original person who posted the photo in question. Finally, you’ll also be able to search for specific people who have Google+ profiles using a Facebook-like people search tool. The Google+ links, posts and pictures that will appear in your searches are from you, from your friends, and from persons of note (broadly speaking). Mostly, said Menzel, you’ll only see content from people you’re connected to. For every piece of social content that shows up in a web search, you’ll be able to see who it’s from, with whom it’s shared and why it’s appearing. “Everything we show you, we label that very clearly and explain why that’s showing up,” said Menzel. “Security, transparency and control are of paramount importance,” he said. “When we’re returning these personal results, it really is between you and Google … We’re using secure code.” These social search integrations, which Google is calling “search plus your world,” can be toggled on and off by using the “person” and “world” icons in the top right corner of search results. It’s so easy it takes just one click to disable or enable the new features.
The business and financial dynamics between Google and Facebook have many points of conflict, but none is greater than the fact that Facebook has for some time been stealing Google’s ad revenue due to its ability to serve highly targeted ads based on social graph data. With Google+, Google is making a bid to acquire and build a social graph just as rich as Facebook’s — richer, in fact. So seeing Google+-related ads is one signal that Google is ready to start putting its social tools to work. While we struggle to think of a scenario in which our friends might know more about any given topic than the Internet does, we’ll give Google the benefit of the doubt for now. But Menzel said that the judicious addition of a smattering of social media can amplify without overwhelming. “It usually isn’t the case where you’re making a binary decision of using only personal results or only general results,” he said. “When you’re looking for something new, it’s the mix of those results that’s the most powerful and the most useful.” And, as Menzel told us, “The more information you have associated with your Google+ profile, the better it gets.” Google+ results are coming today to web search, and although the company can’t talk timelines for future rollouts, we fully expect to see Google+ results in Google News, Google Maps, Google Shopping and other search properties soon. “For this launch, we’re just talking about web search and image search,” said Menzel, “but I wouldn’t rule out improvements to those other products.” If you, like your curmudgeonly correspondent here, bristle at the thought of yet another change to what was once a simple, beautiful product, remember that short months and years ago, image and shopping and news results were not included in the basic web search, either. Eventually, Google+ will be a ubiquitous part of the woodwork — just as Google has planned all along. As we relayed to you lo these many months ago, Googlers see Google+ as "more than a social network or a collection of communication tools; it's Google's plan to bring social information into everything you do on the web, from shopping to search to email and beyond,” in the words of a team member working on building and marketing Google+. In the end, Google+ is the new mode of Google usage. It’s a unifying umbrella for a diverse network of web and mobile apps. It’s the company’s plan for a stable financial future. Google+ is, in fact, not a mere social network. Filed under: social, VentureBeat        
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| BlueStacks brings Android apps to Windows 8′s Metro interface Posted: 10 Jan 2012 05:00 AM PST After gaining notoriety for bringing Android apps to Windows 7, plucky startup Bluestacks is setting its sights on Windows 8, the company announced at the Consumer Electronics Show today. But BlueStacks isn’t just porting its software over to the new operating system — it’s taking special care not to mar Windows 8′s sexy Metro user interface. The company has managed to integrate Android apps into Windows 8′s app tiles, making Android apps virtually indistinguishable from Windows-based apps. “The Metro UI is beautiful, but the number one thing Windows 8 is missing is apps,” BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma said in a statement today. “This changes all that.” The company’s app player uses emulation to run Android apps on Windows, similar to solutions like VMWare or Parallels on Mac. BlueStacks is poised to be especially useful on Windows 8, since it supports both traditional desktop and tablet interfaces. Tablets running the new OS will be far more appealing than those running Windows 7, so BlueStacks could win big if Windows 8 tablets take off. And given just how much Microsoft’s tablet future relies on Windows 8, there’s no reason to think that it’s going to drop the ball. The company is also targeting Windows 8 Ultrabook manufacturers to pre-load its Android app player, and it has already landed a deal with Taiwanese manufacturer InHon. Campbell, Calif.-based BlueStacks has raised $10.6 million so far in a single round of funding. For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat        
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| WTF CES: Choir sings sweet tweets at Ballmer keynote (video) Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:37 PM PST
Well, that was unexpected. A choir came out and started singing a few tweets during Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show today. You could call it an ode to CES from Microsoft, since this will be the last CES where the software giant will have a major presence. It’s certainly an interesting way for Microsoft to pimp some favorable tweets about its products. Our favorite: “Somebody call Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall. #Nokia Lumia 900 is #comingtoamerica and it’s a phone fit for a prince.” For those not well-versed in pop-culture, that’s a reference to Eddie Murphy’s 1988 classic movie Coming to America, in which Murphy stars as an African prince trying to find love in America. That’s not too different from the Lumia 900, a device from a foreign company that desperately needs love from American consumers. Or maybe we’re just tired from endless CES keynotes. Video by VentureBeat’s Chris Peri For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: offBeat, VentureBeat, video        
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| SOPA: House to hear testimony from Reddit co-founder, Rackspace CEO & others Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:57 PM PST
The list of people asked to address Congress includes Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Rackspace CEO Lanham Napier, Union Square Ventures Partner Brad Burnham, security researcher Daniel Kaminsky and others. The committee has scheduled a full hearing for January 18. For anyone who's still in the dark about the proposed legislation, here’s a quick rundown: SOPA gives both the U.S. government and copyright holders the authority to seek court orders against websites associated with infringing, pirating and/or counterfeiting intellectual property. The implication of having the act pass is that it could drastically change the way the Internet operates. For example, if a website is accused of containing copyright-infringing content (such as a song, picture or video clip), the site could be blocked by ISPs, de-indexed from search engines and even prevented from doing business with companies like PayPal. [For more information about the proposed SOPA legislation, check out this infographic about the bill's negative effect on business and innovation as well as VentureBeat's ongoing SOPA coverage.] “The public deserves a full discussion about the consequences of changing the way Americans access information and communicate on the Internet today,” said committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) in a statement. The hearing will also explore federal government strategies to protect American intellectual property without adversely affecting economic growth. As for who will deliver the testimony, it’s a pretty competent group of people who (arguably) aren’t just a bunch of SOPA protesters. For instance, Kaminsky is regarded highly by many computer security experts for his work exploring DNS Cache Poisoning, while Ohanian is the spokesperson for one of the largest and most active online communities in the world. We’re reaching out to a few of the people on the list below for additional comment and will update the post with any new information. Full statement from the House Committee:
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| Iran sentences US-born developer to death Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:46 PM PST A man with both US and Iranian citizenship has been sentenced to death for allegedly producing video games that act as western propaganda. According to state media reports, this comes as part of a wider CIA effort to start a revolution within Iran. Amir Mizra Hekmati, who was born in Arizona, appeared in a televised confession in Tehran. He seemed to admit he had acted as a spy on behalf of the CIA and had also creating games to manipulate public opinion in a pro-western manner. Washington has dismissed Hekmati’s claims and denied allegations he is a spy. He is believed to be employed by New York-based Kuma Reality Games. It appears Hekmati has been denied access to Swiss diplomats (who represent the US in Iran) despite calls from the US for his immediate release. According to judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, Hekmati can appeal to Iran’s supreme court. A quotation from Mohseni-Ejei that was released on the ISNA news agency revealed Hekmati was sentenced to death “for cooperating with the hostile country America and spying for the CIA”. If Hekmati is found guilty of developing pro-western propaganda for the CIA, it is likely the court will use him to set an example for opponents of the state. State newspaper the Tehran Times has published what it claims are extracts from Hekmati’s confession, in which the games designer allegedly claimed he joined the US army in 2001. “After receiving general and specialized military training, I was sent to a special university to learn Middle Eastern languages,” Hekmati was recorded as saying. “Afterwards, I entered Iraqi soil as an intelligence analyst and in US Army uniform, and my main mission was to identify a number of people among the country's officials.” It is claimed Hekmati joined DARPA [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] after his time in Iraq. “After [working for DARPA], I went to Kuma. This computer company was receiving money from the CIA to design and distribute for free special movies and games with the aim of manipulating public opinion in the Middle East. The goal of the company in question was to convince the people of Iran and the people of the entire world that whatever the US does in other countries is a good measure.” Filed under: games        
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| Xbox 360 surpasses 66M sold and Kinect passes 18M units Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:43 PM PST
Microsoft said a year ago that Kinect had sold more than 10 million units, and the Xbox 360 had sold 57.6 million units as of Sept. 30. That means Microsoft sold nearly 10 million units during the fourth quarter. Ballmer said he was proud about the progress Microsoft has made in video games and that it was a case of the company at its best, marshaling a lot of resources behind a big idea and executing over the course of a decade. “Did I expect this to happen 10 years ago?” Ballmer said. “I bet on this 10 years ago.” Microsoft showed a new Kinect application where children could take a Sesame Street TV episode and integrate it into a two-way interactive playground. That application is coming later this year. Ballmer said that Kinect will now come to Windows in a couple of weeks on Feb. 1. He said the company was working with 200 companies to bring cool motion-sensing apps to the PC. Microsoft showed off the Metro-inspired new Xbox Live user interface, which now has dozens of entertainment options. Fox will be a new partner, making its various entertainment properties available on Xbox Live. Those range from IGN to the Fox News Channel. [Top photo credit: Sean Ludwig] Filed under: games        
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| Microsoft CEO Ballmer pimps new Windows smartphones at CES Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:42 PM PST
Earlier on Monday, Ballmer took the stage with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop and AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega to promote the upcoming Nokia Lumia 900, which was biggest unkept secret of CES. The Nokia Lumia 900 will be available on AT&T and features a 4.3-inch AMOLED and a 1.4-gigahertz processor. Ballmer, as expected, stressed that the latest version of Windows Phone was simply better than any other platform. He didn’t mention iOS, Android and BlackBerry, but we all knew what he was talking about. “We’re excited about where we are,” Ballmer said of Windows Phone. “All these phones do e-mail, social networking, blah, blah, blah. … These phones make a sea of applications. We do it a better way. Windows Phone is the first phone to put people first.” Ballmer also talked up the Nokia 710 Lumia, which will arrive on T-Mobile in the next week, and the Lumia 800, which arrive unlocked in the Microsoft Store in the near future. Ballmer decided to mention the HTC Titan II on AT&T as well, spotlighting that phone’s 16-megapixel camera. Microsoft also showcased the latest developments on the upcoming Windows 8 operating system and Xbox-focused entertainment updates. For more gadget news, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: mobile        
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| Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:29 PM PST Panasonic’s big bet in 2012 is a social network that has been steadily losing cachet since 2008: Myspace. Panasonic trotted out Justin Timberlake at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today to try and bring sexy back to the pioneering website known for social networking, band promotion and really bad web design, all while making Panasonic TVs more integrated into your social life. The partnership is potentially a reinvigorating shot in the arm for Myspace, whose revenues and membership numbers have been in steady decline for several years, as competing social networks Facebook and Twitter have surged ahead despite having a later start. Myspace is staking its reinvention on Myspace TV, a service that lets you chat with friends, share shows and internet videos, and discover what’s popular among other Myspace TV viewers — all on your TV, while watching the shows you love. “This is the evolution of one of our greatest inventions, the television,” said Timberlake, who started out in entertainment as a cast member of the Mickey Mouse Club, got famous as a member of boy band ‘N Sync and then went on to become a huge solo pop star in the early 2000s. Timberlake also invested an undisclosed amount in Myspace back in June 2011. “MyspaceTV is an over-the-top social television service that brings an entirely new dimension to the TV experience you’re familiar with today,” said Tim Vanderhook, the chief executive of Myspace, onstage at Panasonic’s press conference. Vanderhook and his brother, Chris Vanderhook, are the founders of Specific Media, the company that acquired Myspace from News Corp. for $35 million in mid-2011. News Corp. had originally purchased Myspace from its founders in 2005 for $580 million. The Myspace TV service will let you watch live TV while chatting with your friends on your laptop, tablet or the TV screen itself. In a commercial for the service, Panasonic showed a bunch of bros hanging out in separate rooms while watching a football game, chatting with each other and jumping into the air simultaneously when their team scored a touchdown. Myspace TV works together with an app, the Myspace Companion App, which helps you discover videos you might want to watch, share them with your friends, and make them play on your TV with a single button press. For this app, Panasonic’s commercial showed some attractive young African Americans watching a hip-hop video from separate locations and sharing it with one another. Vanderhook said Myspace TV “offers the unique ability to watch TV shows with your friends, chat with your friends, and see what shows are trending with the general public.” For Myspace, Panasonic’s endorsement is huge. It means that Myspace TV will be integrated into Panasonic Viera televisions, giving the social network a powerful leg up in its reinvention. It’s not just for Panasonic TVs, though. “We’re trying to provide the social entertainment experience across all devices,” said Myspace chief operating officer Chris Vanderhook, in an interview with VentureBeat. He said that Specific Media has been developing an ad network and technology for sharing entertainment experiences for over a year, since well before its acquisition. Panasonic’s partnership is a huge endorsement, he said. “Panasonic is a massive company. They hand-picked Myspace to deliver this product. It’s a great testament. They’ve seen the product, and they believe in what we can bring to the TV experience,” Chris Vanderhook said. For Panasonic, it’s less clear that embracing a struggling social network so enthusiastically is a good move. In fact, the announcement was given premiere billing at the very end of the company’s CES press conference — and an exec even introduced that section of the conference with a “one more thing” comment that echoed Steve Jobs. For the “one more thing” to be Myspace was, well, a bit of a letdown. And of course, a lot depends on whether Myspace’s dwindling but still sizable audience will follow the company’s new direction toward becoming a media service on all kinds of devices — a risk that Timberlake acknowledged. “To the millions of Myspace users, we want to thank you for sticking with us in this shift,” said Timberlake. Myspace TV will launch this spring. Watch the Olympics in 3D
It’s an attempt to push forward consumer adoption of 3D television. The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that 7 million 3D TVs and 9 million 3D Blu-ray players will ship by the end of 2012 — that’s about 20 percent of all TVs to be sold this year. Panasonic pointed out that this rate is five times faster than the uptake for HDTV when it was new. In addition, 93 percent of Panasonic’s plasma TVs and 40 percent of its LCD TVs will be 3D-enabled in 2012. The company is also providing tools to create 3D content. For instance, Panasonic’s Z-10000 video recorder captures broadcast-quality imagery in 2D and 3D. It also lets you capture 3D effects with objects as close as 18 inches, which is half the minimum distance previously required for 3D shots. GM will be unveiling a new in-car electronics system called MyLink, developed in concert with Panasonic. It has a hands-free interface, smartphone integration and high-resolution touchscreen display. And the company is enhancing a wide variety of products, from its Toughpad rugged tablet to its “Smart Viera” televisions, with enhanced internet connectivity options, integration with media services, and the like.
For example, Panasonic has updated its Toughpad line, which Kitajima showed off by dropping it onto the ground, where it bounced with an unnerving thump, but continued to work. He also showed the ability to move video from the tablet to a Panasonic TV simply by swiping up and “throwing” the video onto the big screen. Skype will be integrated into many Panasonic televisions with an optional camera mounted on top of the TV set. Ooyala will be able to deliver video content directly to Panasonic Viera televisions. Flixster will also be part of Smart Viera, giving people the ability to search and watch videos from the internet. The company is also partnering with Disney to deliver interactive digital comic books to TVs. For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Photos: Dylan Tweney/VentureBeat Filed under: social, VentureBeat        
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| Ballmer promotes a reimagined Windows 8 in his final keynote speech Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:13 PM PST
The software uses Microsoft’s Metro user interface from the Windows Phone platform, and it brings Windows up to date for the era of apps, touchscreens, and pretty new user interfaces. In that sense, Ballmer believes it will fend off competition from rivals such as Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS operating system. “Nothing better than good competition,” Ballmer said. “Great thing, and I’m glad we’ve got Windows. Windows has been phenomenal. … Of course, things change. It’s a constant. People don’t want to compromise on what they already have.” The keynote is the last that Microsoft will hold at CES for the foreseeable future. Microsoft announced in December that, in agreement with the Consumer Electronics Association, 2012 would be the last year for a Microsoft executive to do the opening CES keynote. For 15 years, Microsoft has had that slot, but now it will give that up. Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the CEA, said in his opening remarks he would be shocked if Microsoft did not return to the opening keynote stage in the years ahead, and he expressed his “gratitude and goodwill” to Microsoft. He added, “Change is the only constant in technology.”
Microsoft showed a video of new Ultrabook laptops such as HP’s Envy 14 Spectre machine, all of them taking advantage of Windows. Microsoft says Windows 8 will deliver the “potential of the tablet and the power of the PC.” Microsoft also highlighted a Samsung Series 9 Ultrabook that is just 13 millimeters thick. You can personalize the locked opening screen and the initial user interface of the machine so that your most pressing and relevant information is presented to you at the outset. There are tiles that are windows into your apps, showing you what is happening with those apps without you having to open them. You may, for instance, see that you have 10 pending messages to view on Facebook. You can swipe the touchscreen from the side to get quick access to “charms,” or navigation points to the Start menu or other screens. Windows 8 will run on both ARM and the Intel-dominated x86 architectures. Texas Instruments, Nvidia and Qualcomm are creating ARM-based chips for Windows 8. Microsoft showed a Windows 8 tablet running on an Nvidia Tegra 3 chip. The Metro interface includes a Windows Store where you can see high-profile promotions of items for sale in the store. You can see which ones are free and the reviews in terms of stars, as rated by users. With Metro, you can gather a bunch of apps and other software in a single place, say all the software you want your kids to be able to access easily, and give it a definition, such as “kids”. If you have a recipe open on a web page, you can swipe on the side of the screen, hit share, and then send it off to someone. You can thus share the recipe without leaving the app or web page. You can also compare two recipes from different apps and look at them both at the same time. The familiar Windows interface is just a click away. In late February, Microsoft will release a beta test of Windows 8, and it expects to launch it later this year. For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. [top photo by Sean Ludwig] Filed under: mobile, social, VentureBeat        
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| MOG and Aha bring on-demand music streaming to Subaru and Honda vehicles Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:00 PM PST On-demand music streaming service MOG announced today that it has partnered with JVC and Aha, a move that will ultimately put MOG’s unlimited music offering into Subaru and Honda vehicles. MOG faces heavy competition in the on-demand streaming realm from Spotify, Rdio and Rhapsody, so each service is doing whatever it can to differentiate and promote itself. Offering applications across various smartphone platforms, connected TVs and now in-car dashboards will help get the word out. In mid-November, MOG was the first company of its kind to debut an in-car music streaming solution with BMW and Mini. Now MOG will have two more in-car options with Subaru and Honda vehicles because the Aha Mobile entertainment platform has been selected for future models. "Americans listen to music in the car more than anywhere else, so it's critical for us to enable MOG in automobiles as quickly as technically feasible," said Drew Denbo, MOG’s SVP of business development, in a statement. "We're continuing to strongly establish MOG as the on-demand music subscription leader in the automotive space by dedicating significant resources to the category and innovating with new partners.” MOG also has a new partnership with JVC, which hopes to license its entertainment software to vehicle manufacturers in the future. If JVC entertainment software lands inside other car dashboards, MOG will be there to crank out on-demand tunes from its catalog of more than 13 million songs. As we noted in our CES 2012 preview, in-car media and cloud technology will likely be a major trend this year. We expect Ford, Mercedes-Benz and several other car companies will be rapidly looking to innovate in this space. Filed under: media, mobile        
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| AT&T unveils wireless data plans for PlayStation Vita Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:58 PM PST
Unlike its predecessor, the PlayStation Portable, or its main rival, the Nintendo 3DS, the Vita features dual analog joysticks. It also comes with a five-inch multitouch capacitive touch screen, a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 microprocessor, and a separate graphics chip. The Vita is backwards compatible with PSP games digitally released on the PlayStation Network, and the dual analog sticks will be supported on select titles. Despite its list of impressive hardware, the Vita has seen disappointing sales since its recent launch in Japan. Sales of the device fell 78 percent during Christmas week and have continued to decline ever since. Although solid U.S. sales could help the struggling portable, its price could be a deterrant for many consumers. In addition to the $299 price tag and monthly data plan, memory cards will cost between $19.99 and $99.99, depending on capacity, and many of the games currently available for preorder through GameStop cost $29.99 and $39.99. The Vita is seen as a risk by many in the gaming industry, and its high price certainly doesn’t help when compared to relatively cheaper competition in the form of smart phones and tablets. AT&T says PS Vita devices with an active data plan will be able to take advantage of functionality developed specifically for the 3G-enabled model, including turn-based, asynchronous multiplayer gameplay, instantly updated rankings and leaderboards, immediate access to the latest downloadable add-on content, and real-time community news. They will also have free access at more than 29,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots nationwide. “The data plans for the PlayStation Vita will give gaming enthusiasts a convenient and seamless path to connect to a nationwide mobile broadband network while gaming on the go,” said Glenn Lurie, president of emerging devices at AT&T. “We are looking forward to providing PlayStation Vita users the ability to experience a new era of portable gaming through wireless integration. This introduces an entirely new gaming experience, with access to popular social networking sites, right on the device.” The PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi model will be available in the United States on February 22 for $299. AT&T data plans are priced separately and can be activated directly from the Vita. To sweeten the deal, Sony is offering Vita owners who activate a data plan one free download from a list of select games available on the PlayStation Store. Filed under: games, mobile        
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| Ford’s Sync in-car computer now inside 4M cars, adds on-demand NPR and navigation apps Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:30 PM PST Ford’s in-car computer, Sync, is now installed in 4 million vehicles. To celebrate the milestone, the car company has added new abilities including hands-free voice navigation from Telenav and on-demand access to National Public Radio programs. The company announced the milestone and new apps at the Consumer Electronics Show Monday in Las Vegas. In-car technology was one of the five big CES trends we predicted that would matter in 2012. Car markers, especially Ford, are racing (har har) to add connectivity and apps to their vehicle dashboards. Mercedes-Benz is expected to announce new in-car tech at CES as well. Ford’s voice-activated Sync connectivity system was introduced in 2007 in the U.S. and lets smartphone owners do more with their cars by “syncing” with various smartphone apps. Ford will be bringing Sync to European and Asian models this year, and it believes an additional 9 million vehicles will be Sync-equipped by 2015. One new Sync addition is a feature that lets drivers listen to National Public Radio programs and stations on-demand. Drivers will be able to piece together playlists comprised of programs such as Fresh Air, All Things Considered and Morning Edition using their voices. Just download the NPR smartphone app and you can begin to use with it Sync AppLink, which already works with Internet radio apps like Pandora, Slacker, iHeartRadio and Stitcher. Ford also has updated its Sync Destinations mobile app, which lets drivers send all their destinations to their vehicle using the iPhone. The app now has added AppLink capabilities, and it can give turn-by-turn directions and it let drivers report traffic incidents in real-time. The Sync Destinations app will hit the BlackBerry and Android platforms before the end of Q1 2012. Another upcoming addition to Sync is the ability to work with the new Scout navigation app by Telenav. The Scout app is available now for the iPhone and provides personalized navigation, turn-by-turn directions and traffic-based drive times. The Scout app will work with Sync later this year. For more gadget news, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: media, mobile, VentureBeat        
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| Holy smokes: Apple head Tim Cook earned $378M in 2011 Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:29 PM PST Apple CEO Tim Cook took home an astonishing $378 million in 2011, according to Apple’s just-released 2012 proxy statement to shareholders. Cook took over as CEO for Steve Jobs in August of last year. Jobs passed away about a month later, truly leaving the company to its own devices. Jobs famously only took $1 a year for his salary (a common practice amount CEOs for tax reasons, not humility), but outside of that, Cook has followed the path Jobs set out well. Cook led Apple’s October event introducing the iPhone 4S, which has become a monster hit. The salaries, first spotted by Business Insider, aren’t terribly shocking in light of the ginormous amount Apple makes in revenues each year. As you might expect, other Apple executives are also compensated quite well. The base salaries for Scott Forstall, Peter Oppenheimer, Eduardo Cue and Ron Johnson are all set at $700,000 and when other options are awarded, that number shoots up. Cue, for example, took home a total of $53 million in compensation in 2011. A full compensation chart can be viewed below: Filed under: VentureBeat        
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| Sony aims to deliver 300M connected devices in the next 3 years Posted: 09 Jan 2012 05:07 PM PST Sony kicked off its CES press conference today with a stunning montage of 3D projected footage, which not only set the tone for the electronics giant’s presentation, but also made this writer desperately want a new 3D projector. Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer didn’t waste any time with bold proclamations when he stepped on stage. He said that Sony will deliver more than 300 million connected devices to consumers in the next three years, which includes everything from smart TVs to the upcoming PlayStation Vita handheld.
Shockingly, Hirai also said the Music Unlimited will be available at launch for the PlayStation Vita in the U.S. Hirai showed off a new service called PlayMemories that will work across multiple Sony device to share photos and video. Basically, it looks like Sony’s version of Apple’s iCloud Photostream, with the big benefit of being accessible on the PlayStation 3. On the topic of games, Hirai said that 6.5 million units of all PlayStation systems were sold to users worldwide. As of January 5th, the PlayStation Vita has sold more than 500,000 units since its December 16, 2010 launch in Japan. Hirai also assured the audience that Netflix is working to support the Vita when it launches in the U.S.
Hirai unveiled two of the company’s new smartphones: the Xperia Ion, its first 4G phone (which AT&T announced this morning as an exclusive), and the thin Xperia S. The Ion will be available on AT&T in Spring, and the Xperia S will launch globally in March. On the TV front, the company has a new Google TV set-top box with Blu-ray capabilities in the works, as well as a stylish new Google TV remote with a built-in mic for voice commands. To make Internet content look better on big screens, Sony’s new Xreality Pro engine will process web video to get rid of compression artifacts. The company also has new ultra-light 1.3 ounce 3D glasses on the way made out of titanium.
Sony then trotted out Men in Black III star Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld. (Putting on my movie critic hat for a second, this movie doesn’t have a chance folks.) For more gadget news, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Filed under: media, mobile, VentureBeat        
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| The Envy 14 Spectre: HP designs a cool Ultrabook with a Gorilla Glass cover Posted: 09 Jan 2012 05:00 PM PST
The cover of the sleek laptop, known as an Ultrabook for its thinness and responsiveness, is made out of Corning’s Gorilla Glass, a damage resistant glass that can be used to protect the screens of smartphones, tablets, PCs and TVs. But the laptop isn’t convertible into a tablet computer. You open it up and it looks like any other cool and thin Ultrabook. The laptop carries the Envy brand, created by HP’s (now-defunct) Voodoo PC division, to catch the enthusiasm of hardcore users. “We think this has shock appeal and everything that an Envy user wants,” said Page Murray, vice president of marketing in HP’s personal systems group. “It has fantastic no-compromise performance.” The laptop is so cool that it will be highlighted at a couple of keynote speeches at the Consumer Electronics Show — Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s opening keynote on Monday night and another keynote by Intel CEO Paul Otellini on Tuesday.
The screen has a wide viewing angle. And the screen’s not the only part of the device protected by Gorilla Glass — there are a couple of slabs of glass on the palm rest of the computer. The keyboard is raised slightly so that you can really feel the keys when you type. And each key has an individual light-emitting diode (LED) light. The touchpad has pinch and zoom or rotate functions. The glass looks cool and will appeal to fashionistas, but you’ll have to keep wiping your fingerprints off the cover to keep that cool look. The machine comes with 128 gigabytes of flash memory and Intel’s Rapid Start technology. That means you can tap the screen and turn on the machine instantly, without having to wait for a hard drive to spin up. HP has an 800 number for concierge-style support service. It also comes with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Elements, and two years of Norton Antivirus protection. It uses Intel’s Core i5 or Core i7 microprocessors and will ship on Feb. 8 for $1,399 in the U.S. You can double the flash memory to 256 gigabytes as an option. It comes with four gigabytes of main memory, expandable to 8 gigabytes, and it has built-in WiFi. That’s a high-end Ultrabook, as many others will be cheaper. But it’s not as expensive as other laptops on the market. The height is 20 millimeters and it weighs 3.79 pounds. It has HP’s CoolSense technology, which slows the processor down and keeps the machine from getting too hot if you are using it on your lap. Filed under: VentureBeat        
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| Nvidia shows Microsoft’s Windows 8 running on a Tegra 3 tablet Posted: 09 Jan 2012 04:55 PM PST Chip-maker Nvidia showed that a tablet computer with its new Tegra 3 processor for mobile devices can run Windows 8. Huang made the announcement at the company’s press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Tegra 3 uses the ARM architecture rather than the Intel-dominated x86 architecture, so it is interesting that the ARM-based Tegra 3 can now run Windows, which has been Intel-based for many years. Microsoft announced last year that it would add ARM-based processors to the chips that can run Windows 8. Now the day is near when ARM-based vendors such as Nvidia will crack the hold that Intel and Advanced Micro Devices have had on PC chips. “I can’t wait to ship it,” Huang said. “This is going to be a fantastic tablet year, with (Google’s) Ice Cream Sandwich and Windows 8.” Nvidia, which is the largest stand-alone maker of PC graphics chips, spent most of its press conference showing how well rich applications can run on Nvidia-based tablets with Tegra 3 chips. Huang showed off the graphics features of Tegra 3, playing cool 3D games such as Wipeout HD and Shadowgun (a first-person shooter game) on an Nvidia-based tablet. Huang used one of the best pro gamers on the planet, Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendell to demonstrate the game on an Asustek Transformer Prime tablet-and-PC hybrid. Huang sang the praises of Ice Cream Sandwich version of the Google Android operating system, which he said unites the fragmented pieces of Android. The Eee Pad Transformer Prime is available for sales today, running Ice Cream Sandwich. Jerry Shen, chief executive of Asustek, said that his company had just announced a 7-inch Tegra 3-based tablet for $249. That’s a very low price for a tablet computer using a quad-core Tegra 3 chip. It has all-day battery life and can run cool games. Huang also announced a surprise feature of Tegra 3 called DirectTouch. It means that Tegra’s fifth “ninja” processor can handle the processing of touchscreen inputs that are normally handled by microcontrollers. Huang said that the ninja processor is much faster than microcontrollers, and can triple the performance of touchscreen processing. Huang closed with a note that the Tegra 3 will appear in “some of the world’s fastest cars,” including a Lamborhini model, in addition to cars being made by Audi. Audi evidently has more announcements about car electronics systems coming up. Filed under: mobile        
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| Tim Tebow gets 9,420 tweets in one second for Sunday’s win Posted: 09 Jan 2012 04:55 PM PST It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… 9,420 tweets per second for Tim Tebow! The young Bronco’s quarterback set a record for sports related tweets Sunday shortly after beating football team Pittsburgh Steelers. “Last night @TimTebow lead the @Denver_Broncos to an overtime playoff win and a new sports Tweets per second record: 9420,” Twitter tweeted this morning.  Not Tim TebowThe Denver Broncos, which pulled Tebow onto the team immediately after his college career, won Sunday’s playoff game in overtime, sending the Steelers back home to Pennsylvania for the season. The quarterback has gained attention for his team not just through his performance, which is thought to be underdeveloped by some, but also for his religious fervor. Tebow often thanks God by kneeling in the Thinker position at the end of Bronco football games. The action has inspired a small Internet meme known as “Tebowing,” where people kneel down with a fist to their forehead, imitating a move Tebow makes in most of his games (see photo right). Saturday Night Live has also had a bit of fun with Tebow. Given his virtual popularity, his win on Sunday caused fans and foes alike to swamp Twitter with Tebow commentary. Other than Tebow, the all time record holder of the most tweets per second is a Japanese show about sky-bound pirates, called Castle in the Sky. The December 9th screening of the new show set off a major 25,088 tweets in one second. Prior to that, Beyonce’s baby announcement at the MTV Video Music Awards earned her 8,868 tweets per second (TPS). The music star just gave birth to her baby today, so perhaps we’ll see a new record tomorrow. Other big tweets per second holders include the 2010 Japanese New Year celebration which topped out at 6,939 TPS, the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs which inspired 6,049 TPS, the death of Osama Bin Laden at 5,106 TPS, and the 2011 earthquake that hit Japan in March got 5,530 TPS. Tebow photo via gilmorec/Flickr; Kneeling picture via Alan Light/Flickr Filed under: social        
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| Slacker Radio starts streaming live sports games Posted: 09 Jan 2012 04:49 PM PST
The music-streaming company has expanded its relationship with ESPN to include live streaming of ESPN Audio shows and sporting events. Slacker will kick-off its new content offering by broadcasting tonight’s BCS Championship game (college football’s biggest game) between LSU and Alabama. Five year-old Slacker Radio, which makes web and mobile on-demand music and news streaming applications, has been overshadowed in the media by talk of Spotify’s U.S. launch and Pandora’s IPO, but it’s planning several announcements at CES to remind folks that it’s a formidable challenger with a unique offering. In September, the company announced a partnership with ESPN, and traffic to its web service appears to have grown exponentially as a result. “Since offering customizable ESPN Audio content, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, but many listeners have requested live sports,” Jonathan Sasse, senior vice president of marketing at Slacker, said in a statement. "This new feature is yet another example of how Slacker is combining the best elements of traditional radio with our listeners' demand for personalization of music, news, sports and more.” But before you get too pumped up about live sports games, keep in mind that the broadcasts are limited to ESPN’s offerings and are web-only for the time being — meaning you can’t catch the BCS game via your Slacker mobile app. We’re told, though, that mobile integration is on the way and can be expected in a month or so. For more breaking tech news, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012. Football image via Shutterstock Filed under: media, VentureBeat        
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| Interplay loses rights to Fallout intellectual property in lawsuit settlement Posted: 09 Jan 2012 04:17 PM PST
The lawsuit sought to cancel the license granted to Interplay to develop a massively multiplayer online game based on the popular post-apocalyptic franchise. Bethesda stated in its complaint that Interplay failed to meet the conditions of the license. Those conditions required that Interplay secure $30 million in funding and begin development of the project within 24 months of the date of the agreement (April 4, 2007). Interplay would also need to launch the MMO within four years of the beginning of development, as well as pay Bethesda 12 percent of sales and subscription fees for the use of the Fallout IP. Under the terms of the settlement, the license granted to Interplay is now null and void, with all rights granted to develop the Fallout MMO reverting back to Bethesda effective immediately. ZeniMax says it will pay Interplay $2 million in the settlement, but each party will bear the costs of the litigation. Bethesda will continue to own the Fallout intellectual property, while Interplay will be allowed to continue to sell the original Fallout Tactics, Fallout, and Fallout 2 PC games through December 2013. After that time, the games become the sole property of Bethesda. Bethesda also settled a separate lawsuit on Dec. 29, 2011 with developer Masthead Studios. Interplay claimed it had engaged the studio to develop the Fallout MMO under its license, but Bethesda says it was not permitted to sublicense any rights granted without Bethesda’s prior approval. In the settlement, Masthead acknowledged it had no legal right to use the Fallout intellectual property and agreed to not use the IP in the future. No payments were made by either party in the settlement. Robert Altman, chairman and CEO of ZeniMax, expressed satisfaction on behalf of the company with the resolution of the two lawsuits, saying, “While we strongly believe in the merits of our suits, we are pleased to avoid the distraction and expense of litigation while completely resolving all claims to the Fallout IP. Fallout is an important property of ZeniMax and we are now able to develop future Fallout titles for our fans without third party involvement or the overhang of others’ legal claims.” Filed under: games        
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| Prettier than Apple? Vizio’s new line of computers is very attractive Posted: 09 Jan 2012 04:00 PM PST Vizio, a company best known for its line of LCD televisions, is launching a new line of sleek-looking computers. The company debuted the computers today at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. The line consists of five new all-in-one computers — two desktop PCs, a laptop and two ultra thin notebooks — that will run Windows 7 operating system. While there is certainly no shortage of PCs in the market, Vizio’s lineup is quite aesthetically pleasing, as you can see in the image above. Many people have pointed out that much Apple’s success is directly related to the aesthetics of its products, and sales of Vizio’s new line could put that theory to the test. The company said it plans to use the same strategy that made the company’s TV business successful: offer lower prices on premium quality devices. Yet, it remains to be seen if this will actually work, since the company hasn’t announced prices yet. Vizio isn’t saying much about the specifications for any of the machines, but the company did release a few standard details. The two all-in-one desktops, which look very similar to Apple’s line of iMac computers, will come in 24- and 27-inch sizes. Also, one of the images below indicates that the screen harbors a built-in web cam. As for the laptops, Vizio is offering a regular 15.6-inch machine and two ultra-light-and-thin 14- and 15.6-inch models. All the devices come in a fetching brushed metal color. The line is scheduled to hit retail stores this Spring. Until then, check out the photo gallery below as well as a video of Vizio CTO Matt McRae describing the company’s approach to design. For more gadget news, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s full coverage of CES 2012. Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat        
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