Report: Apple developing radio app for iPhone

Report: Apple developing radio app for iPhone

Author cobster | 14.10.2009 | Category Mac/Apple

 Apple is allegedly building a new app for its iPhone and iPod Touch that will bring FM radio to the devices, according to a report on 9 to 5 Mac.

(Credit: AppleCiting anonymous sources, the Apple news site says the functionality of the application will be similar to what Apple built into the iPod Nano. That includes the ability to pause live FM transmissions and fast-forward when you resume playing.

According to 9 to 5 Mac, the delay in getting the app to market is Apple’s decision to integrate it with the iTunes Store, which is built into the devices. With this integration, people will be able to tap on a song they hear on the radio and buy it through iTunes.

Of course, Apple wouldn’t be the first company to offer some type of FM functionality on the iPhone. Applications like Wunder Radio have been around for over a year and enable people to stream Internet radio to their iPhone and iPod Touch.

The big advantage Apple would have is linking its application to the iTunes Store, which creates the potential for more revenue.

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iMovie update reveals new Apple video format

Author cobster | 13.10.2009 | Category Mac/Apple, Movies

Like most companies, Apple periodically releases software updates for its applications, fixing minor issues. However, an iMovie update released on Tuesday revealed a brand new video format the company has been developing.

(Credit: Apple Dubbed iFrame, the new video format is based on industry standard technologies like H.264 video and AAC audio. As expected with H.264, iFrame produces much smaller file sizes than traditional video formats, while maintaining its high-quality video. Of course, the smaller file size increases import speed and helps with editing video files.

iMovie 8.0.5 released on Tuesday adds compatibility with camcorders using the iFrame video format. Currently there are two cameras that support iFrame: the Sanyo VPC-HD2000A and the Sanyo VPC-FH1A.

The two cameras were introduced earlier Tuesday and default to shooting video in the new format. iFrame shoots at 960×540. The cameras can also record in high-definition 1080p (1920×1080), as well as high-speed video formats for slow-motion playback, according to Sanyo.

Apple hasn’t said how long it has been working on iFrame or if other video camera manufacturers would adopt the format. The company also didn’t say when support for the iFrame format would be added to its Final Cut Pro video-editing suite.

The iMovie update can be downloaded from Apple’s Web site or from the software update mechanism in Mac OS X.

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Yahoo Class Action Settlement Is Bad News For Domainers!

Author cobster | 13.10.2009 | Category Domains

DirectNavigation.com wrote today about a notice that went out to anyone who advertised with Yahoo or the its prior service GoTo.com, on its PPC program(s) anytime from May 1, 2000 until September 22, 2009.

That’s a lot of advertisers.

The class action arose out of a suit by advertisers against Yahoo, alleging that Yahoo:

“””breached its contract with its customers by allowing Yahoo! ads to be displayed in spyware, domain name parking sites (also known as bulk registration sites), pop-ups, pop-unders, and typosquatting sites. Plaintiffs brought claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, misrepresentation, civil conspiracy, and unfair business practices.””

According to the settlement each advertiser is entitled to receive the earth shattering sum of $20.

Right $20 USD.

The lawyers, well they are getting only $4,170,000.00, in fees, plus reimbursement of expenses of approximately $100,000.

But I digress.

Back to how this settlement is bad news for domainers.

In settling this case, Yahoo basically agrees to allow advertisers to basically opt out of the domain channel starting sometime next year:
“””Yahoo! has agreed to develop and offer a new ad placement option that will enable Yahoo! Ad customers to control where their Yahoo! Ads appear.””

“”The Ad Placement Option will allow Yahoo! Ad customers to specify that their Sponsored Search ads should be displayed only on websites and other Internet properties owned or operated by Yahoo!, and the websites of certain “Premium” distribution partners.””

“”Yahoo! has agreed to make best efforts to launch the Ad Placement Option as early as the first quarter of 2010, but in no event later than September 30, 2010.””

“”Yahoo! will maintain the Ad Placement Option for at least two years from the date of its launch.”””

Moreover Yahoo says this change will carry over to its deal with Microsoft.

“”Microsoft will agree to implement ad distribution controls on the Microsoft paid search platform””

The problem is that there is general perception that the domain channel is full of typo traffic and generally undesirable traffic, as alleged in the lawsuit.

Unless Yahoo ad executive are trained to understand and educate their advertisers as to the difference between opting out of the domain channel completely, rather than selectively, keeping ads up on generic domains geared toward their business, all domains will suffer.

By the way, if you were an advertiser and want to check in on that $20 windfall, you need to submit a claim online by March 22, 2010.

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Internet breaks in Sweden after DNS maintenance error

Author cobster | 13.10.2009 | Category Domains

A problem during routine maintenance of Sweden’s top-level domain, .se, took down the Internet for the country for about an hour on Monday night.

Basically, the .se registry used an incorrectly configured script to update the .se zone, Sweden-based Pingdom, which monitors Web site performance, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. A period was dropped at the end of DNS domain name system records for the Swedish top-level domain, breaking the entire DNS lookup chain.

What this meant was that Web sites ending in .se could not be accessed and e-mail to Swedish domain names stopped working. For some sites the problems will take longer to resolve because of the fact that DNS lookups are cached externally and those servers had to be flushed, Pingdom said.

There are more than 900,000 .se domain names and every one of them was affected, the company said.

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Scientists finally zero in on a cause for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Author cobster | 13.10.2009 | Category Science

Scientists are hopeful that a cause has finally been discovered for the baffling illness known as chronic fatigue syndrome.

Dubbed “yuppie flu” back in the 1980s as sufferers developed inexplicable and long-lasting exhaustion and achiness, chronic fatigue syndrome has baffled doctors for a couple of decades. 

 The discovery of a virus called XMRV in the blood of 68 out of 101 CFS patients has led scientists to believe they’ve nailed the cause, according to the Daily Mail. The study was published in the journal Science. Though 67 percent of CFS patients tested positive for XMRV, the virus only showed up in eight of 218 healthy people, according to the newspaper.
 

Lead scientist Judy Mikovits of the Whittemore Peterson Institute in Nevada says additional blood tests showed that 95 percent of chronic fatigue syndrome patients had antibodies to the virus, which means they’d been infected with XMRV, reports the Daily Mail.

“With those numbers, I would say, yes, we’ve found the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome,” she told the Daily Mail. “We also have data showing that the virus attacks the human immune system.”
 

More study is necessary, Mikovits told the Daily Mail, but she said the research holds out hope that effective treatments for CFS may be on the way. Patients could be treated from a cocktail of drugs meant to fight AIDS, inflammation and cancer, according to the Daily Mail.

Symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome range from muscle pain and headaches to swollen lymph nodes and sore throats. Memory and concentration problems also are common. About 4 million people in the U.S. have chronic fatigue syndrome, according to the CFIDS Association of America, a charitable organization devoted to CFS.

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The Consumer Electronics Association has bought a stake in Global Inventures Inc.

Author cobster | 13.10.2009 | Category Technology

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JVC Picsio GC-FM1 Pocket Camcorder: with 1080p

Author JoeDigital | 13.10.2009 | Category cameras

OK, its now a competition on how small can we get an HD camcorder. Pretty soon we will have them the size of a pack of gum! but for now we will settle with the new JVC Picsio GC-FM1 Pocket Camcorder with 1080p resolution. This little bundle of joy comes with multiple video modes, from 30fps 1080p (1440 x 1080) to 60fps 720p to regular old VGA, 8-megapixel still shooting, a mechanical macro mode switch, image stabilization, HDMI out and SD storage. Zi8 jack, MicroUSB and more! The price point for this amazingly small HD camcorder is only 200$ USD!

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iphone Oh, My Word! Sequel with ngmoco’s Plus+

Author JoeDigital | 13.10.2009 | Category Mac/Apple

Bristol, UK, 13th October 2009 – Tap ‘n’ Slide and B-Boy Brawl developers Mobile Pie today announced a sequel to their acclaimed iPhone and iPod touch word puzzler, Oh, My Word!

Oh, My Word! 2 follows on from the brain-box bendingly simple yet highly-addictive original, with Time Attack and Survival featuring alongside the Classic mode. The sequel also brings with it integration with the Plus+ Network.

Mobile Pie’s Creative Producer Will Luton said:
“Oh, My Word! 2 has been an absolute labour of love for us, we’ve enjoyed every minute of creating and playing this sequel and having the Plus+ Network is a real honor.”
The Plus+ Network is a social play service free to players that harnesses the iPhone OS 3.0 technology and enables players to create a persistent profile, challenge friends via social channels, compete for leaderboard glory, participate in game events and discover new games.

“We’ve built upon the original concept with Plus+ in mind, but it was a match made in heaven anyway because it straight away adds an entirely new competitive level to the fun”, said Luton.

Oh, My Word! 2 will be available at the nominal price of 59p / 99c or for free as an stripped down version featuring only the Classic game mode (Oh, My Word! 2 Free).
It is expected that OMW!2 will be released early November, however Mobile Pie are offering ad hoc preview version to selected media partners. Please contact Will Luton (will@mobilepie.com / (+44) 01173155228) for further details.

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Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Author edokun | 19.09.2009 | Category Japanese Anime

Fans of Studio Ghibli’s works living in North America can rejoice. Not only is the region 2 DVD of Ponyo now available for purchase, the theatrical North American premiere is set for August 14.

Hayao Miyazaki is a master director and storyteller. Just like his past films, there is an environmental message and mythic quality to them. This time he shifts his focus to the sea and the wonders that lie underneath. The scene opens with a view of oceanic life, and an embittered wizard, Fujimoto, living in an underwater home. He is akin to the old man of the sea, a wizard. He is a supporting character that gets introduced first, and then the story shifts to land, introducing a five-year-old boy named Sousuke.

He finds an odd looking goldfish, names her Ponyo and wants to take care of her. The result? An irate Fujimoto trying to claim her back. He needs to return her to the sea in order to restore balance, and he has strong feelings toward how mankind is polluting the sea. Sometimes the story’s message wavers, like the ocean waves this narrative is set in.

The real tale is inspired from Hans Christian Andersen’s A Little Mermaid, and it is a radical departure from it. While the tale teeters back and forth from its inspirations, there is a style in this production which sets it apart from others.

Miyazaki uses a simpler approach in creating his latest film. Instead of a heavy reliance on computers to animate additional effects like those found in Spirited Away and Mononoke Hime, this movie has an artistic quality that is characteristic of his earlier works, namely My Neighbor Totoro.

Just like that earlier film, Miyazaki created a fairy tale world populated with love, wonder and romance. Ponyo’s energy and curiosity is just like Mei’s, and the oceanic mythology has a few moments reminiscent of other Ghibli films. The wondrous landscape of ocean life nearly rivals the parade of Japanese spirits from Isao Takahata’s Pon Poko. While the typhoon scene is not as kaleidoscopic as the parade’s, when music composer Joe Hisaishi’s score plays on top it, seeing Ponyo riding the water has the feel of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries.

With that kind of inspiration in the production, to see Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea theatrically will be spectacular. With a talent list like Liam Neeson (Fujimoto), Cate Blanchett (Sea Goddess) and Tiny Fey (Lisa) providing the voices, the only speculation will be in how accurate the translation will be.

While translation purists may have balked at Neil Gaiman’s westernization of concepts found in Mononoke Hime, this time there are no Shinto elements to reconceptualize. The Goddess figure is as old as time, and she promises a fate which is mythical as any tale should come to: a promise of freedom and change for the mermaid named Ponyo.

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Brüno

Author edokun | 19.07.2009 | Category Movies

Undeniably, Sacha Baron Cohen is a gifted comedian. He pushes the satirical envelope in the characters he becomes.

In the movie of the same name, as Brüno, an Austrian fashion reporter, he hopes to make it big despite being outcasted in his home country’s fashion scene. Taking his act to America, this mockumentary challenges the mainstream, traditionalists and conventionalists. He’s flamboyantly homosexual and the things he does are no-holds-barred. The acts he commits are designed to shock.

By using a reality TV style of film-making, not everyone in the film is in on the gag. This leads to some great camera moments as people in the airport and in the hotel genuinely react to Brüno’s antics. The surprise here is that authorities do not intercede. Obviously some people were in on the act.

To take half the film deep into the Bible Belt of America is also wrought with dangers, disgust and hilarity; it dives deep into showing what general attitudes are like towards Brüno. What happens behind closed doors is not always closed.

Instead of shut, they are blatantly open.

And this film tests the comfort level of everyone involved. From the people in the film to the talk show audience (and even the theater-goer), this amount of involvement will get some folks laughing and others asking, “What the–?”

This movie looks at stereotypical prejudices toward orientation and culture. It is funny because of the sheer lunacy that goes on as Baron Cohen makes a biting commentary about the human condition—just how will people react when another person behaves beyond decency and morality? Is it a prejudicial challenge?

While this film is a brilliant satire, unless audiences get the joke, it is not for everyone. Baron Cohen’s characters walk a fine line in terms of what is in good taste. There are times where his performance is outright offensive. But if he was to stay safe he would not become the comedic genius that he is now.

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