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Google Runs Into Barriers, Literally, to Street View Photos
Tweet Share on Facebook April 3, 2009 CommentOne of my recent tech tricks is to give the uninitiated a look at their home on Google Street View, the photos the search company posts on its mapping site. People are inevitably startled, and the word "creepy" comes up a lot.
It's even worse in other countries that apparently have a tighter definition of privacy. Canadian officials fear the practice may violate its laws, and the British are even tougher. What's described as an angry mob arose in an English village and forced a Google photo-snapping car to leave.
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iPhone's Limits on Skype Stir Debate on Wireless Neutrality
Tweet Share on Facebook April 3, 2009 Comment (3)The launch earlier this week of Skype on the iPhone has heated up the debate about customer rights to use their wireless as they want. U.S. consumer groups complain that AT&T has unfairly restricted use of Skype to Wi-Fi hotspots.
Skype competes with the voice service offered by AT&T, which is unapologetic in blocking Skype over its cellphone system. It's similar to the ruckus caused when AT&T said it would limit access to a new, high-speed version of the wired Internet. The phone company wants to give priority to its own services, such as the cable-like TV that it's delivering over Internet connections.
AT&T is also delivering video services over its wireless network. The company this week changed its wireless contracts to protect those services, too, points out Rob Topolski at Public Knowledge:
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AT&T Phone-Like Netbook Includes Home DSL and Wi-Fi Access
Tweet Share on Facebook April 2, 2009 Comment (2)Phone giant AT&T is expanding efforts to sell netbooks like cellphones, which started last year with a limited run at Radio Shack. The netbooks will be available initially at AT&T stores in Philadelphia and Atlanta for $50 with a 2-year data plan at $60 a month.
At a glance, that seems pricey. But getting little attention is that AT&T throws in access to its thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots and home broadband service, notes In-Stat analyst Daryl Schoolar. He calls it "home and on-the-go broadband" and says the combo is just as important a trend as the selling of subsidized netbooks.
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No Platinum Albums as Teens Buy Less Music
Tweet Share on Facebook April 2, 2009 Comment (17)CD sales have fallen so fast that no album achieved platinum status in the first quarter, or more than 1 million sales in the U.S. market, reports Digital Music News.
We shouldn't be surprised. All-important teen buyers are behind the precipitous drop. NPD Group says teens between 13 and 17 bought 26 percent fewer CDs in 2008 than in 2007. They also bought 13 percent fewer digital downloads, which was the hoped-for savior of the music industry.
We can't blame peer-to-peer or hand-to-hand piracy, NPD reports. Those also fell in 2008. Streaming music from sites like Pandora and MySpace, as well as satellite and good 'ole terrestrial radio might be the reason: "...more teens may be getting their fill of music and feeling less compelled to buy music or share it with others," wrote NPD analyst Russ Crupnick.
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ZerO1 Sounds Like the MagicJack of Mobile Phones
Tweet Share on Facebook April 1, 2009 Comment (34)A startup called Zer01 says it will offer all-you-can-eat voice and data plans on mobile phones for $70 a month -- with no contract. The company is using Internet calling, tapping only the data networks of traditional cellphone companies to deliver voice connections to mobile handsets.
Besides the cheap monthly fee, the company is planning to offer free calls to landlines in 40 other countries for another $10 a month.
The service will first be available to Windows Mobile devices that run on GSM technology. AT&T and T-Mobile are the major U.S. carriers that rely on GSM. After your contract runs out with them, you could easily move your device to Zer01's network. Or the company will sell its own GSM phones.
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TiVo SuperAdvance Best of April Fool's, Conficker the Worst
Tweet Share on Facebook April 1, 2009 Comment (1)My favorite tech ruse for Fool's Day is by Steve Fox at PCWorld: A new TiVo model that can record shows that haven't broadcast yet
My least favorite is the Conficker PC virus, whose authors included an April 1 update that had many respected security experts predicting major problems today. Elinor Mills at CNet has an early report on the virus proving to be a bust.
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BlackBerry's Answer to iPhone App Store is Hardly as Smooth
Tweet Share on Facebook April 1, 2009 Comment (24)BlackBerry launched its answer to the Apple iPhone App Store today. Compared to the iPhone version, the BlackBerry App World offers fewer selections, at least initially. And from my experience at least, hardly as smooth a shopping experience.
Still, after getting past its initial rough spots, the store should help pack the BlackBerry smartphones with even more smarts.
When I first signed on, the store offered a feature item: Brain Challenge 2: Stress Management. Not a bad one to start with after a couple of hours of wrestling to get into the store. More on that later.
