Tech Blog

[#1]

Well then, it must be back-to-school season, as the tech kids are all getting restless, buying new things, and preparing for the run up to the holiday season. Oh, and Apple is planning something rather large for later this week...


Apple

The Mother Lode: Welcome to the iMac Touch
While most of us were getting ready for the iPad's arrival in January and Patently Apple hard at work preparing our major series called the Tablet Prophecies , a major iMac Touch patent was being quietly published in Europe. And while some of the graphic figures of today's patent did slip out in Europe, we were never able to verify whether they were legitimate or not. Well, today we finally get to post the Mother Lode of all information concerning the iMac Touch and it's absolutely brilliant!

‘Angry Birds’ iPhone Game To Get Line Of Toys, Possibly Movie

According to Variety , Rovio , the company that makes “Angry Birds ” has been shopping the beloved iPhone game around Hollywood, and currently rolling out some franchising deals.

“Rovio, the Finnish creator of the hit iPhone and iPad game, which has sold more than 6.5 million downloads, wants to turn the property into a major franchise that crosses over to other platforms — from TV shows and movies to toys and comicbooks.”

Apple Said to Prepare 99-Cent TV Shows to Fend Off Netflix, Hulu

Apple Inc. , seeking to fend off rivals such as Netflix Inc. and Hulu LLC, is in advanced talks with News Corp. to let iTunes users rent TV shows for 99 cents, said three people familiar with the plan.

Viewers would be able to rent programs from News Corp.’s Fox for 48 hours, said the people, who declined to be identified because the discussions aren’t public.

Is Apple Really Going To Announce A TV Gadget At An Event With A Guitar On The Invitation?
Apple has invited reporters to an event in San Francisco on Sept. 1, with this guitar as the invitation art.

This tells us it's obvious that Apple will announce updates to its music lineup at the event, such as a new iPod touch (with camera, this time, unlike last year), and potentially new music software.

Smaller iPod nano without click wheel could be unveiled at Apple event

Rumors of a "significant redesign" of Apple's iPod nano have surfaced, suggesting the company could introduce a smaller device with no click wheel at its event next week.
Shaw Wu with Kaufman Bros. issued a note to investors Thursday in which he said one potential surprise from Apple could be a redesigned iPod nano with a smaller form factor and no click wheel. Wu said sources have indicated that Apple has procurement plans for a redesigned iPod nano.

Microsoft

Windows Live Sync to be named Windows Live Mesh
In our beta release, we brought the best of Windows Live Sync and Live Mesh together. With the addition of remote access and cloud storage, we understand that the new program does more than sync files.  So following the beta period, we’ll be using the name Windows Live Mesh going forward, which we feel best reflects our broader goal of allowing you to access your stuff across your devices.

Windows 95 marks 15th birthday in uncertain Microsoft future
Microsoft reached a milestone today as Windows 95 reached the 15th anniversary of its launch on August 24, 1995. The OS was the highest-profile debut ever for Microsoft and saw rare lines for a software launch; media reports from the period had some lining up without knowing what Windows 95 did. Its launch campaign included an ad blitz with the Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up" and ultimately saw Microsoft spend $300 million on marketing, a feat it wouldn't repeat until years later.

Google

Google’s New Web Series Celebrates Popular Search Terms — Too Bad It’s Weekly
Do you like Google Trends but find that having to read search topic rankings yourself is too tedious and stressful? Don’t worry — like the kind and benevolent overlord it is, Google has come up with a solution. The Google Beat , produced internally by Google, will offer regular updates on a few of the week’s most popular search terms in the U.S beginning today.



Six Things Google’s Free Phone Service Can’t Do (and One It Does Very Well)

Google began rolling out a new feature on Wednesday to users of its browser-based Gmail service that lets them make phone calls over the Internet directly from their computer. If they already use Gmail, an enticing Call Phones button will appear onscreen when they check their inboxes. All they need to do is click the button.

Readers did have a lot of questions about it, particularly those who have never used Skype , the best known phone-over-the-Internet service.

Online

Research experiment disrupts Internet, for some

An experiment run by Duke University and a European group responsible for managing Internet resources went wrong Friday, disrupting a small percentage of Internet traffic.

The damage could have been far worse however, and the incident shows just how fragile one of the Internet's core protocols really is, security experts say.

Diaspora Three Weeks Away From Unveiling Open-Source Facebook Alternative

Remember Diaspora ? You’ll be forgiven if you don’t. Since they received a lot of hype as the open-source “Facebook Alternative” this past May, they’ve been quiet. In fact, they hadn’t given any updates on their progress since early July . But today they’ve re-emerged with some updates. Notably, they say : “We have Diaspora working, we like it, and it will be open-sourced on September 15th.” That’s just three weeks away.


Microsoft Co-Founder Launches Patent War

They're the everyday fixtures of the Internet experience: pop-up stock quotes on a website, suggestions for related reading near a news article, videos along the side of your screen.

Now, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen says he owns the technology behind all these ideas, and he's demanding that some of the world's top Web companies pay up to use them.

Check (In) Yo’ Self Before You Wreck Yo’ Self: Why Foursquare Users Check In “Off The Grid”
Have you noticed “Off the Grid” [ OTG ] appearing in your Foursquare feed recently? No, it’s not the latest trendy West Hollywood club or SF food cart. OTG is Foursquare’s “privacy” feature where you check in to a location but don’t disclose it to your friends (while gaining any applicable points, badges, etc). What purpose does it serve to notify your friends that you’re out on the town but to hide the location? And what does it tell us about the future of location-based services & privacy? This was the question I set out to answer by surveying nearly 500 Foursquare users .

Hardware

Cisco May Be Making A Run For Skype
Cisco has made an offer to acquire Skype before they complete their IPO process, says one of our more reliable sources. We have not been able to confirm this rumor one way or another via other sources, which isn’t surprising. A company in lock down during the IPO process is usually even more tight lipped than normal. But if true this would be one very big acquisition. Skype insiders are hoping for an out of the gate valuation of $5 billion or so, we’ve heard.

Behind The Bidding War: The Real Reasons Why HP And Dell are So Desperate For 3Par
As I was writing this, news of the HP / Dell bidding war for 3PAR broke on the front page of Yahoo. This made me laugh, as it typified just how crazy this story has become—few things outside of a bidding war make a storage acquisition sexy enough for mainstream news

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Your Turn
So, did I miss anything? What online story really got you going this week? Link to it in the comments!

[#2]

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Yahoo & Microsoft... http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/2 0100824/yahoo-bing-search-100824/20100824
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Toshiba’s 3D http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2368256,00.as p?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121

Spray on Power http://www.pcworld.com/article/203998/spary_on_sol or_power_technology_woot.html

A Sony Christmas! http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2368367,00.as p

Nikon 24-70mm mug lens http://www.petapixel.com/2010/07/27/nikon-24-70mm- lens-look-alike-coffee-mug-finally-appears/