Microsoft surprises with a smaller, sleeker, redesigned Xbox 360
With all the attention given to Kinect, Xbox 360's new motion controller, Microsoft was able to close out its presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Los Angeles today with a total surprise: a newly redesigned Xbox 360 that ships to retail today.
The new version of the console is physically smaller, quieter, has a 250GB hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi built in, and will cost $299.
Starbucks promises totally free Wi-Fi after July 1, new content network with Yahoo
Starbucks, the ubiquitous U.S. coffee shop chain will begin offering totally free unlimited Wi-Fi on July 1.
Previously, Starbucks coffee shops offered different degrees of connectivity depending upon whether they had T-Mobile or AT&T hotspots inside. Once all of the corporate stores shifted fully to AT&T hotspots in 2008, customers with Starbucks loyalty cards received two free hours of Wi-Fi per day before having to pay.
HTC launches first AT&T-exclusive Android 2.1 phone
AT&T was the last of the "big four" U.S. mobile operators to start selling phones based on Google's Android operating system, and has only had a single Android phone available since March.
Currently, AT&T's only exclusive Android handset is the Motorola Backflip. However, the network could have had an HTC device powered by Android almost one year ago, "Lancaster" was reportedly scrapped, well ahead of AT&T's Android launch.
AT&T: We will prosecute hacker that found iPad security hole
Mobile network operator AT&T sent a message out to all 3G iPad owners yesterday which attempted to explain and apologize for a major security breach which disclosed every 3G iPad owner's email address. The company said no other information was exposed, and the matter has been resolved.
Last week, a group going by the name Goatse Security took credit for discovering the exploit, which exposed an estimated 114,000 subscribers' email addresses, and ICC-IDs. ICC-IDs are "integrated circuit card identifiers" which identify SIM cards and relate them to the subscriber's phone number.
Microsoft's Project Natal 360 motion controller becomes 'Kinect'
Even before the doors of the Electronic Entertainment Expo got to open, the name of Microsoft's Xbox 360 motion controller has been revealed. Formerly known by its project name, Natal, Microsoft's camera-based motion controller will be known as Kinect when it comes to market later this year.
The Xbox 360 add-on was first shown off at last year's E3, and promised to bring a new "controller-free" experience to the four-year old gaming console. Similar to both Nintendo's Wii controller and the Playstation Eye, Kinect will utilize the player's bodies, voices, and even facial expressions to interact with their Xbox 360.
Where to safely watch the FIFA World Cup 2010 online
According to datacenter traffic management company Akamai, today has been one of the busiest days on the Internet, with more than 11 million visitor requests to its news network per minute, a dramatic 233% spike in daily traffic. This is thanks to the FIFA World Cup 2010, which officially begins today with matches between South Africa and Mexico, and Uruguay and France. It appears that more people are turning to the Web for their news than ever.
A wealth of information can be found online, but unfortunately, such a popular event is great fodder for malicious websites, so in addition to FIFA.com's Matchcast which features live play-by-play, stats, and information about current matches, we've put together a small list of reliable resources for your World Cup 2010 needs.
Motorola looks to move beyond the 'superphone' with 2GHz devices
Motorola seriously changed the mobile phone industry in the 2000's with the RAZR. The low-profile flip phone sold more than 110 million units, spawned several successful follow-up models and imitations from competitors, and generally altered how we perceive "sexiness" in mobile phones.
It has had an excellent run, and continues to sell to this day. According to Neilsen Media, the RAZR was the third most popular mobile phone on the market last year with 2.3 percent of mobile subscribers owning one.
Windows Phone Marketplace to include private app distribution, shareware modes
At TechEd in New Orleans, Microsoft unveiled some new features for Windows Phone 7 aimed at enterprise and developer communities. One of the upcoming additions to the Windows Phone environment will be a sort of "private app store" system that launches in the fall.
"Private distribution for beta-testing represents an important first step for Windows Phone," Partner group program manager Charlie Kindel said. "Our long term strategy is to adopt the public and private cloud model with Marketplace…Initially, we are enabling private distribution of applications for registered developers in a way that is optimized for beta-testers. This will enable developers to more easily distribute test applications in a secure way. We also appreciate that as phones come to market and people begin bringing them into corporate environments, IT will look for a similar private distribution solution."
Apple TV to become $99 iPhone for your TV, says rumor
In a nutshell, the iPad is a big iPhone; and according to rumors today, Apple TV is set to become an iPhone for your HDTV.
The rumor is that Apple TV, which debuted as an iTunes media streamer nearly three years ago, will be getting a major overhaul that folds it into the iPhone OS ecosystem. Instead of having the device act like iTunes for your television, it is rumored to be based on iPhone 4, and include the same A4 processor used in the iPad and in the 4th generation iPhone prototype found in a bar and sold to the highest bidder in the media.
Wal-Mart cuts iPhone 3G S price in half, continues Apple's one-year smartphone life cycle
The life cycle of smartphones has reached the point where a single year means the difference between cutting edge and cutout bin, and Apple looks to be following -- if not driving -- that trend.
When the iPhone 3G S debuted last June, the price of the iPhone 3G was slashed to $99. Today, one year later, we're seeing the same thing happen to the 3G S.
To match the Nexus One's speedy 'FroYo' update, T-Mobile rolls out faster network
Early this year, mobile network operator T-Mobile USA announced it would complete its HSPA+ network upgrade by mid-2010, bringing a theoretical maximum downlink speed of 21 Megabits per second to its entire 3G footprint.
After testing the upgraded network technology in Philadelphia for the last year, T-Mobile today announced that the enhancement has gone live in the "Northeastern U.S," which includes the New York City metropolitan area, New Jersey and Long Island, upstate New York (Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse,) Connecticut (Hartford, New Haven, Milford and Stamford,) and Providence, R.I. Additionally, the HSPA+ network has gone live in Memphis, Tennessee and Las Vegas Nevada.
I left a lightbulb on for one year straight, or: Why LED bulbs are about to change your life
I have left a lightbulb turned on for one year straight and I'm finally ready to talk about it.
Three years ago, I started tinkering with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). They're small, can be purchased for relatively little money, and require very little skill as an electrician to turn into fun toys. So little skill, in fact, that you can tape them to a button cell battery and they light up.
HP extends massive battery recall for overheating notebooks
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission put out a bulletin this afternoon extending last year's recall of HP and Compaq Li-Ion notebook batteries that were prone to overheating.
The recall in May of last year included 70,000 potentially defective batteries, and today that has been extended to approximately 54,000 more.
Google unveils 10 huge improvements in 'FroYo,' Android 2.2
At Google I/O this morning, the topic of discussion was mobile; specifically, the Android mobile platform. As of this morning, there are more than 60 consumer devices running on Android, more than 100,000 new activations per day, 50,000 apps in the Android marketplace, and 180,000 registered developers working on apps. Not too shabby.
As the platform continues its rapid growth, Google has announced a number of very significant improvements will be coming to the next version, numbered 2.2 but nicknamed "FroYo," which address key issues Android has dealt with in the past.
Google announces open app store for 'Installable Web apps'
Google has announced the upcoming availability of the Chrome Web Store, an open marketplace similar to the Android Market or iTunes App Store that deals exclusively in Web Apps.
This store doesn't exist yet, but will open both to developers and to users "later this year."
Tim's Bio
Tim Conneally was born into dumpster tech. His father was an ARPANET research pioneer and equipped his kids with discarded tech gear, second-hand musical instruments, and government issue foreign language instruction tapes. After years of building Frankenstein computers from rubbish and playing raucous music in clubs across the country (and briefly on MTV) Tim grew into an adult with deep, twisted roots and an eye on the future. He most passionately covers mobile technology, user interfaces and applications, the science and policy of the wireless world, and watching different technologies shrink and converge.
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