Tech News Today 431
Episode 431 |
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Recorded: February 6, 2012 Published: February 6, 2012 Duration: 47:18 |
Contents
Tech News Today 431: Does X=TED?
Verizon and Redbox joined at the kiosk, Amazon opening a retail store? Your deleted Facebook photos are not deleted, and more.
Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com
Hosts
- Tom Merritt (@acedtect)
- Sarah Lane (@SarahLane)
- Iyaz Akhtar (@Iyaz)
- Jason Howell (@RayGun01)
- Peter Ha
Top Stories
- Verizon, Redbox team up to build video streaming, DVD service
- Verizon Teams With Redbox for a Netflix-Style Video Service
- As Studios Fight Back, Will Coinstar Box Itself Into a Corner?
- VZ/Redbox Press Release
- Redbox To Acquire NCR For Up To $100 Million, Boast "More Locations Than McDonald's And Starbucks--Combined"
- will combine Redbox's kiosk DVD and Blu-Ray rental service with streaming and downloadable video content made possible by Verizon's network.
- The joint venture will apparently not include DVDs through the US Postal Service, as Netflix offers.
- The joint venture plans to introduce the product portfolio in the second half of 2012.
- The joint venture is a limited liability company with Verizon holding a 65 percent ownership share and Redbox holding a 35 percent ownership share at the outset.
- Coinstar Inc., owner of the Redbox movie-rental kiosks, said fourth-quarter profit more than doubled
- Redbox announced it is buying NCR's assets --- NCR’s entertainment business including kiosks, retailer contracts and DVD inventory in a deal valued up to $100 million. Coinstar will also buy hardware, software and services from NCR in a deal valued at $25 million.
- The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
- Amazon in the Process of Launching a Retail Store
- Amazon preparing to launch a pilot retail store in Seattle?
- Sources tell Goodereader that Amazon plans to roll out a retail store in Seattle within the next few months
- Boutique shop focusing on exclusive books and e-readers, accessories
- Want to launch before next holiday season
- Still trying to figure out tax loopholes for opening stores in states without distribution centers.
- Internet giants pull content after warning in India courts
- Google Inc and Facebook removed content from some Indian domain websites on Monday following a court directive warning them of a crackdown "like China" if they did not take steps to protect religious sensibilities.
- Among 21 companies ordered to figure out how to block images deemed offensive to Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
- 2 court cases have been brought over such images. scholar, Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasm, who runs a website called fatwaonline.org that gives answers to moral questions. Another brought by journalist Vinay Rai has been appealed to the high court.
- India passed a law last year making companies responsible for content posted by users and giving them 36 hours to remove offending content when it is reported.
- "(Our) review team has looked at the content and disabled this content from the local domains of (Google) search, Youtube and Blogger," Google spokeswoman Paroma Roy Chowdhury told Reuters. Facebook did not comment.
- A New Delhi lower court told the companies on Monday to put in writing the steps they had taken to block offensive content, and submit reports within 15 days.
Discussion Stories
- Over 3 years later, "deleted" Facebook photos are still online
- Your deleted Facebook photos might still be in the cloud, three years after flaw was discovered
- Back in 2009 Ars Technica discovered deleted photos from Facebook disappeared from the main interface but stayed accessible with a direct link to the jpeg. FB told Ars it was "working with our content delivery network (CDN) partner to significantly reduce the amount of time that backup copies persist."
- In 2010, Ars followed up with examples of photos that were still accessible via direct link. FB deleted those specific files but many more examples that readers had sent to Ars remained live.
- 2012 and the problem persists.
- Facebook spokesperson Frederic Wolens "The systems we used for photo storage a few years ago did not always delete images from content delivery networks in a reasonable period of time even though they were immediately removed from the site." says a small number of photos are stuck on a improperly working legacy system, new system should be running within 2 months that will fully delete FB photos within 45 days of removal.
- the Verge notes that FB says "it typically takes about one month to delete an account, but some information may remain in backup copies and logs for up to 90 days," although isn't really true if you include pics
- Google wants people to ‘Solve for X’ with new conference (video)
- Solve for <X> YouTube Page
- Official Solve For X page
- Wesolveforx.com -- “Solve for X is a place where the curious can go to hear and discuss radical technology ideas for solving global problems,”
- One of Google X’s chief scientists, Richard DeVaul, revealed via his Google+ page that the 'Solve for X’ conference had discussed ways of “transforming eduction, 5x improvements in agriculture through better decision support, synthetic biology, and carbon-negative biofuels.”
- DeVaul also announced that the “We Solve for X” YouTube page and website will be updated to include video’s of the presentations for all to see.
- Another reason why Apple may be limiting Siri to iPhone 4S
- According to recent SEC filings from technology start-up Audience, Apple incorporated an improved version of its background noise filtering technology directly into the A5 processor used in the iPhone 4S
- Remember jailbroken iPhones can run Siri even if they aren't 4S
- Apple used a separate chip from Audience to perform the background noise processing for the iPhone 4.
- the A5 includes a newer version of Audience's earSmart background noise processing, particularly the ability to filter noise when held far from the face
- iPad 2 has the A5, but no secondary mic
News Fuse
- Screenshots from Microsoft's latest Windows 8 revision show the disappearance of the Start menu from the bottom left screen, but TheVerge reports that a hot corner is in its place. Microsoft is also promoting the next version of Windows on Bing. There's a video of a betta fish swimming and there are Windows 8 links that appear when you hover on hot spots. The Consumer Preview will launch later this month.
- BTjunkie.org, a bittorrent search engine, shut itself down on Sunday. Going to the site now shows a note that says in part, "This is the end of the line my friends. The decision does not come easy, but we've decided to voluntarily shut down." The site first went online in 2005.
- GigaOM found an FCC application where Google asked the FCC for permission to test an "entertainment device" that has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in four major cities in the next 6 months. Let the speculation begin - what is the device? Is it a new Google TV? Is it Android @ Home? Is it the Google Nexus Tablet? No idea, but Google's application says whatever the device is - it's in the prototyping phase and it runs apps.
- The Financial Times reports Facebook's mobile properties may get ads as soon as March. Currently, Facebook does not sell ads on its apps nor its mobile site. No word on whether the ads will be on both the app and the mobile site or just one or the other. Facebook isn't commenting officially.
- CNN interviewed an 18-year old Foxconn worker called "Miss Chen" about the working conditions in the Chengdu factory where she assembles iPads. The CNN reporter had an iPad and Chen says its the first time she's ever seen a finished one. Chen says she was excited about the job at first and now says she "can't bear it anymore… I almost feel like an animal." Chen also said that employees who speak to the press could be subject to "criminal liability."
- It's time for Patent Wars! But it's not the usual suspects. Honeywell is suing Nest over patents related to programming and operating a thermostat. Best Buy is also named in the suit as Honeywell wants to enjoin the retailer from selling the Nest in stores.
- Asymco analyst Horace Dediu says that Apple garnered 75% of all profits across the global phone market. Samsung managed to grab about 16%. In other phone news, a new NPD survey says that the iPhone was the best-selling handset in the U.S. in Q4 of 2011. However, first-time smartphone users are still picking Android over iOS. First-timers picked up an Android phone 57% of the time while 34% went with the iPhone.
- On to the Rumor Mill! Electronic Times News says it has details on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S3. The big news is the device will be just 7 millimeters thick - the Galaxy S2 is 8.49mm thick. The sources also say the ICS-powered Galaxy S3 will arrive in May and will be a part a larger Galaxy S3 line that will have variations - like a different camera, one with a stylus, and another with 3D.
- Report: Samsung Planning A Full Line Of Galaxy S3 Phones, First Model To Hit This May
- AppleInsider reports Halliburton will drop BlackBerry in favor of Apple's iOS for its workforce. An internal newsletter outlined the plan for the nearly 70,000 employees who work for Halliburton in more than 70 countries. According to the report Halliburton found after significant research that Apple's iOS offers greater security, capabilities, and control when considering future app development for the company.
Randomizer
- Pick your favorite angle on the game: Social networks, ads online, Game stream
- First Legal Streaming Super Bowl A Success, But Audience Still Denied The Real Show
- Hulu And TiVo Announce Top Super Bowl Commercials, But Where’s The Tech?
- A Super Social Bowl
- Chrysler's 'Halftime in America' Super Bowl commercial taken down from YouTube by NFL (update: back online)
- Samsung airs raucous Glee-inspired Galaxy Note ad during Super Bowl
- Best Buy Super Bowl spot features some of mobile's biggest innovators
- Google's top trending Super Bowl searches show that it's all about the halftime show
- Giants’ Win Draws 12,233 Tweets per Second
- Brands Scored 2X Facebook Likes By Posting About Super Bowl
Calendar
- Google started hanging Internet cables today in Kansas City, Kansas, to provide the city with 1 gigabit per second internet. Google's also expanding the service to Kansas City, Mo., same schedule, just behind a few months
- Netflix's first original series 'Lilyhammer' is now available for streaming users in bulk - all 8 episodes. Season 1 premiered on Norwegian channel NRK1 1/25/12 with a record audience of 998,000 viewers (1/5 of Norway's population)
- AT&T's now taking preorders for Samsung's Galaxy Note for $300 on contract.. start getting used to the word "phablet" now
- The PlayStation Network is losing its moniker will be rolled into the overall Sony Entertainment Network umbrella on 2/7. Current account information and services are unchanged and oddly the PSP will remain under the PSN moniker for network services.
- Samsung will release white Galaxy Nexus phones in the UK on February 13th
- Nokia Lumia 800 also now available in white - Nokia blog says it will roll out first in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Finland, Poland and Switzerland, with other countries to follow.
- Microsoft Flight' is launching on Feb 29th. It's free-to-play, additional content is available for a price, like a Hawaiian Adventure Pack for 1,600 Microsoft Points (or $20) that adds an additional plane and 20 missions to the core package.
INCOMING
"Microsoft is now offering a one-year Zune Music Pass when you purchase a new Windows Phone from a Microsoft Store. My guess is that they wouldn’t do this if the service was going away. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the service gets a name change around the time Windows 8 is released, in which case you could at least report that the Zune name is dead!
Robert Howell Richmond, VA"
Sponsors
Gazelle
- ad times: :48-:57 and 17:32-19:33
Production Information
- Edited by: Jason
- Notes:
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