Sunday, April 26, 2009

WEEKLY FREE ACCOUNTS

code: 230Q5J13796b46JJ


UPDATE April 26, 2009: Fresh Rapidshare accounts were sent to the winners.
Please check your emails and Enjoy!!

HOW TO JOIN THIS CONTEST
Copy the code above and email it to cutemaychan@gmail.com and in return I'll send 3 RS accounts to 9 users, meaning 1 account per 3 users. I'll send the accounts on weekends. Email it with the subject "WEEKLY FREE ACCOUNTS + the code above".
Hurry and email it now....

Time Warner: No Metered Broadband For Now, But Well Be Back
Written on April 16, 2009 by Tom Reestman and 5 people have commented

tw_mod_logoThe good news is that Time Warner has “backed away from its controversial efforts to price broadband based on consumption” in the cities where the trials were implemented.

The bad news is that its clearly not an admission of failure on their part. In their confirmation they stated this (emphasis mine):

It is clear from the public response over the last two weeks that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about our plans to roll out additional tests on consumption based billing. As a result, we will not proceed with implementation of additional tests until further consultation with our customers and other interested parties, ensuring that community needs are being met.

Ah yes, its just a “misunderstanding”. Were doing the right thing, you just dont get it. Read the rest of this article »

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App Review: Hysteria Project iPhone Owner Stalked By Maniac
Written on April 16, 2009 by Olly Farshi and No one has commented
App Quick Stats

Hysteria Project

$1.99

iTunes Link

Chased through a trapladen forest by an axewielding murderer, Hysteria Project is a step in a much darker direction for the iPhone.

Reviewing Asteroidsesque shooter The Void last week, I mentioned that some iPhone games are ditching the cute and getting darker. With their first release, the BulkyPix team have taken the anticute movement further: chopping up any semblance of cuteness with a rusty axe, putting the bits in to garbage bags and burying the bags in a creepy forest.

Hysteria project is a chooseyourownadventure for the iPhone. Blending atmospheric film sequences with quickfire decisionmaking to create an intense horror experience. Read the rest of this article »

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iPhone Wrestling Smackdown: WWE vs. TNA
Written on April 16, 2009 by Andrew Bednarz and 1 person has commented

Finally, the Rock has come back to video games, and for the first time ever, on the iPhone. Well, he did for a little while, anyway.

WWE Legends Of Wrestlemania was released on March 24 and being an avid wrestling fan, I immediately bought a copy. Meanwhile, on the March 30, TNA Wrestling was released, bringing the wrestling promotion wars to the iPhone and taking me to potential heaven. So here I am, ready to pit the two games against each other in a wrestling showdown of epic proportions, one not seen since the glorious WWF vs. WCW days of the late 90s.
WWE Legends Of Wrestlemania

wwe The battle was on, however as soon as it had begun, WWE pulled Legends Of Wrestlemania from the App Store due to an insane number of bugs how unplayable the game was. Trying to make a traditional, realtime 3D wrestling game on a small touchscreen device is a big challenge. The gesturebased system they went with had potential to be slightly playable, however for this to work it required instant recognition of the gesture youve made. Unfortunately, Legends of Wrestlemania didnt do this. It would ignore some gestures, or recognize them two seconds after youve made them. This made the game play incredibly frustrating and more trouble than it was worth. On top of this, the game was riddled with bugs, as gloriously highlighted in the screenshot below. Read the rest of this article »

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IDC Numbers: Apples Doing Just Fine, Thank You
Written on April 16, 2009 by Tom Reestman and 13 people have commented

idc_1q_09

Heres a piece on IDCs PC Tracker numbers for the first quarter of the year. Theyre quite revealing when you look at them soberly.

The first thing you have to do, as Ive argued before, is pull Apple out of the “PC” mix, so Apple (Mac) can be compared against all the others (PC). Comparing Apples figures to an overall figure that includes Apples totals makes no sense.

In the U.S., we can pull Apples figures from the PC total and come up with 13,835 for 1Q ‘09, and 14,297 for 1Q ‘08, for PCs. Some quick math shows that to be an overall YY drop of 3.23 percent.

Apples figures, as the number 4 vendor, show a drop of 1.22 percent.

Right off the bat you can see PC sales dropped 2 percent more than Macs. It would be hard (impossible, really), based on these numbers, to say that Apple was doing anything but better than the PC industry. And the real story goes even deeper than that. Read the rest of this article »

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Macs Open to Security Flaw Thanks to Windows in VMware Fusion
Written on April 16, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 5 people have commented

bxsht_fusion2_q308_medres

The recent Conficker virus scare had me warning relatives to protect their PCs, while also simultaneously gloating about how lucky I am to not be affected, since Im a Mac user. You could say it bordered on the obnoxious, and youd be right.

But it looks like I may have to eat some humble pie now that a bug has been found in VMware Fusion that could potentially allow malicious code to be run on your Mac using a virtualized Windows machine as a conduit. Obviously, Windows is still the weak link here, but it doesnt make your Apple machine any less vulnerable. Read the rest of this article »

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Nintendo and Sony “Freaking Out” Over Apple iPhone
Written on April 16, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 12 people have commented

iphonedsipsp

If you go and do something like found Electronic Arts, which then goes on to be one of the dominant forces in video games worldwide, people tend to take notice of things you say. Yesterday in an interview with Venture Beats Dean Takahashi, Trip Hawkins, EA founder and current Digital Chocolate executive, said that Nintendo and Sony are probably “freaking out” over the rampant success of the iPhone as a gaming platform.

The threat of the iPhone to Sony and Nintendo, and their PSP and DS(i) respectively, is not the number or quality of games available for the platform, but rather the value proposition it represents from a business standpoint. According to Hawkins:

The iPhone is by far our most effective platform. We make as much money with these games on one device as we do putting a game on 100 different cell phone platforms. Between the iPod touch and the iPhone, I think the platform is freaking out Sony and Nintendo.

Read the rest of this article »

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Gas Cubby Gets 2.0 Update
Written on April 16, 2009 by Nick Santilli and 1 person has commented

gascubbyiphoneexample

About two months following the pricing experiment by App Cubbys David Barnard, Gas Cubby gets a 2.0 upgrade.

Gas Cubby provides a way to track gas mileage for your automobile. But more than that, all maintenance and other costs sunk into your vehicle are dutifully tracked as well. Tilt your iPhone horizontally and view graphs that can tell you how well your car is performing (or not), and how much of a drain on your wallet it may be. And my favorite feature: setup maintenance reminders so you dont miss that oil change when the sticker falls off the inside of your windshield. Read the rest of this article »

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iPhone Dev Sessions: Create a NavigationBased Application
Written on April 15, 2009 by Keun Lee and No one has commented

In this tutorial, you will learn how to do the following:

Create and run a NavigationBased Application from XCode
Create and add a user interface, designed in Interface Builder, as a subview to a navigation based application
Navigate to subviews from a UITableView
Allow subviews to access application data

Creating and Running a NavigationBased Application in XCode

Lets start off by opening up XCode and creating a NavigationBased Application.

001

Click Choose… and give your application the name BasicNavigation. Once completed, your project window should look like this.

002

At this point, if you click “Build and Go” and have your project selected to run on the iPhone simulator, you should see the application launch and display a bare UITableView, with undefined row elements. No worries, this is going to change very soon. Your app at this point should look like the following below. Read the rest of this article »

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Fix MacBook Air Streaming Video and Overheating Problems
Written on April 15, 2009 by Jenny Kortina and 10 people have commented

Ive been having a lot of trouble streaming video on my MacBook Air recently. No matter which site Im on, YouTube, Hulu, or Netflix, within a few minutes the video becomes choppy and unwatchable. Fed up with my computers inability to complete a task it should be able to handle no problem, I brought her into the Apple store on 14th street in NYC to get repaired…which did not happen.

After I described my problem, and offered up screenshots of the activity monitor showing one of my cores shut down with just Firefox or Safari open, the “genius” looked a my computer for a total of about five minutes before informing me that MacBook Airs were built to be ultraportable and therefore cannot do everything a regular MacBook can, like watch YouTube videos. I was steaming… Read the rest of this article »

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Sorry Apple Cinema Display, Your New Cousin Is a Cheaper Date
Written on April 15, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 10 people have commented

cinemaview_24I dont think Im alone in visiting the Apple Cinema Display official product page every now and again and saving carts for later filled with LED goodness, even though I never intend to cash out because I cant afford to. Apples displays are sexy, functional, and of tremendous build quality, but that price tag is a little beyond my monitor budget, so Ill usually end up opting for a Dell thatll give me the same real estate for far less dough. Plus, Ill often look for something smaller than 24 inches, since I rarely do graphicsintensive work that requires a larger screen.

Recently, Ive been looking for a second monitor for my Mac mini since the Mini DisplayPort hookup is just sitting there empty, and Im often inclined to play video games and watch TV at the same time, despite the question of whether I can actually enjoy either activity while doing so. New company CinemaView looks to have come along at just the right time. They recently announced a new line of LCD displays designed just for Macs, at a price that wont break the bank, and with a Mini DisplayPort connector cable out of the box. Read the rest of this article »

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AT&T Looking to Lock in iPhone Exclusivity Through 2011
Written on April 15, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and No one has commented

attlogoDoes it actually surprise anyone that, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report, AT&T would be looking to extend their exclusivity contract with Apple to be the sole official U.S. iPhone carrier? If it does, I will begin to lose faith in the intelligence of our readers. The journal report claims that the exclusivity deal expires next year in 2010, and that AT&T are working towards extending that date to at least 2011 in order to keep the massive revenue generator in their camp.

AT&T President Randall Stephenson hopefully has a few things up his sleeve for moving AT&T out of the dying landline business and increasingly toward the much more lucrative and futureproof mobile wireless market. Clearly, securing iPhone carrier exclusivity would be high among his goals then, since 4.3M iPhone subscribers joined up in the second half of 2008, nearly half of whom were new to AT&T. Read the rest of this article »

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Ingredients List for Apples New iPhone Published
Written on April 15, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 8 people have commented

picture15Normally DigiTimes is content to just let the information leak out in a slow but steady stream leading up to the WWDC, but this time the Taiwanese news and rumors site has completely given up the goat in one fell swoop, instead of pacing themselves. Theyve published a list of various part makers for the upcoming iPhone revision from Apple, in a convenient, easytodigest table form no less. Theyve done everything but build the thing, basically.

As was previously reported, Samsung and Toshiba will be supplying the massive volumes of NAND flash required for the “iPhone 3.0”, and OmniVision will provide the 3.2megapixel CMOS image sensor for the new iPhone camera. Missing from the list of components is that key ingredient, the processor(s?). The components are meant to be assembled into an initial order of 5 million iPhones and shipped by May 2009, which would give Apple ample buffer time to get things ready for WWDC on June 7. Read the rest of this article »

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Apple Reveals Top iPhone Apps of All Time
Written on April 15, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 7 people have commented

toppaidapps

Ill bet there are many, many developers out there right now trying to figure out just what the perfect recipe is for App Store mega success. Well, theres probably no readymade formula that will guarantee you bucketloads of iPhone user cash, but studying the work of those whove already done well might reveal some basic truths about what customers are looking for. Go ahead and do so by checking out Apples recently released list of the top apps of all time (iTunes link).

Basic Truth #1: iPhone users like shooting things, or at least pretending to. Thats probably not very accurate, but there are two shootingrelated apps among the top 20 paid apps, iShoot and iHunt. Shooting also occurs in Fieldrunners, but not in such a handson manner. I think the list of free apps might be more illuminating in some ways, since no doubt the 99 cent price point of many of the paid apps might have had more to do with their success than the content or function of the app itself. At least I sincerely hope thats why iFart Mobile got a spot. Read the rest of this article »

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Backblaze for Mac Now Live
Written on April 14, 2009 by Nick Santilli and 5 people have commented

backblaze_logo1

Last December we pointed you to cloudbased backup solution, Backblaze. At the time it was only in beta release for Mac, but today that changes. Head on over and try Backblaze out for yourself, as its now open to the public.

There are several options in this space, but Backblaze approaches the backup issue from an exclusionary perspective. If youre scratching your head at that explanation, try this. Rather than having to select all the files and folders that you believe you want to keep safe via backup, Backblaze assumes you want it all by default. Its then up to you to filter out specific files and folders, and clip out media types and file sizes that you want Backblaze to ignore. Read the rest of this article »

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Microsoft Longs For the Golden Age of FUD
Written on April 14, 2009 by Tom Reestman and 15 people have commented

fud

So Ive been unwinding in Vegas the last week (yeah, I know, “unwinding” and “Vegas” do not belong in the same sentence). Now Im back catching up on my news feeds only to see that Microsoft has attempted a return to the good ol days.
The Way They Were

Back in those good ol days, Microsoft pretty much ruled the tech press and resulting message. They preannounced products to kill or freeze competition, and sold Bill Gates vision as the path to the future. We know now, of course, that the path Mr. Gates saw was one no one ever traveled. Truth is, Microsofts last real innovation was when they bundled a suite of apps all designed to work together and called it Office.

The fact is that Microsoft has been a bit toothless of late. Certainly throughout this century. I dont know if its because Apple was on its last legs or what, but Microsoft had managed to pretty much eliminate or frighten everyone, and seemed to be just sitting back. I mean, five years to come out with a new OS? And when Vista finally hit the streets we all saw what a dud it was. Thats more than just incompetence, its complacency. Read the rest of this article »

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Jailbreak: If You Need CopyandPaste Today
Written on April 14, 2009 by Clayton Lai and 7 people have commented

tabjailbreakicon2

Cut, copy and paste has finally come to iPhone OS and I could not be happier. The lack of copyandpaste in iPhone OS was one of the biggest reasons why I jailbroke my iPhone. If you need copyandpaste today, but do not have access to the beta builds of iPhone OS 3.0, there are a handful of jailbreak solutions out there.

Did it really have to take two years? Security issues arising from sharing data between apps aside, my money is on the guess that Apple had agonized and deliberated on the most elegant way of implementing cut, copy and paste. Which should come as no surprise. Apple is known to either do it the best way there is, or to not do at all (you can thank Steve Jobs for inculcating that belief at Apple).

Now that we have seen Apples implementation of cut, copy and paste, it is all the more interesting to see the many vastly different methods independent developers had come up with to get copyandpaste working. How well do these solutions work? In testing all of them, I have narrowed down four methods they use to copyandpaste text. Lets weigh the pros and cons of each. Read the rest of this article »

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Apple Replaces 17″ Antique With 20″ for Education
Written on April 14, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 1 person has commented

imac3quartersIt wasnt so long ago that the Internet was ablaze with news of the “new” 17inch iMac for education priced at $899, which was actually a model theyd been offering, without updates, in that capacity for two full years at that point. Its “discovery” was in fact just people noticing something theyd never noticed before. Today, though, brings real news of a brandnew deal for educational customers.

The price of the new iMac for education (PDF link) hasnt changed, but the hardware definitely has, and for the better. For starters, it uses the aluminum body frame thats been the standard for all iMac machines, save the old 17inch polycarbonate machine its replacing. It also gets the same 1066MHz frontside bus as its consumer cousins, though only a 2.0GHz processor, compared to the 2.66GHz for people and institutions not trying to teach anyone anything. Read the rest of this article »

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Disk Fragmentation & OS X: When Does it Become a Problem?
Written on April 14, 2009 by Andrew Bednarz and 24 people have commented

idefrag_iconDisk fragmentation is an old problem that has affected every operating system throughout history. File fragmentation occurs when a single file isnt located in the same physical location on the disk, but is scattered around. OS X does a great job at minimizing file fragmentation by rewriting files in contiguous space when a file is opened, is under 20MB and contains more than eight fragments. This works quite well to prevent heavy file fragmentation, but what it doesnt prevent is free space fragmentation.
Free space fragmentation?

Free space fragmentation can become a problem when you start running low on disk space. If you have a small percentage of your disk free and you frequently use and then freeup disk space with temporary files youre likely to have high free space fragmentation. This means the free space is spread all over your hard drive in small amounts here and there its not all laid out in one contiguous section in one spot. Read the rest of this article »

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iPhone Brings Unique Perk to Enterprise Users: Happiness
Written on April 13, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 3 people have commented

iphonecompanyprofile

Much has been made of the iPhones potential as an enterprise device, with many still holding out against its usefulness in a corporate environment. A new report from Forrester Research, however, finds that enterprise iPhone users get more than just a communication tool with Apples handset; they get happiness and productivity, too.

The 12page report from Forrester covers three large companies that support iPhone deployment: Kraft Foods Inc., Oracle Corp. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals. In each case, the reports author Tim Shadler says the evidence suggests that the iPhone not only lead to a “happier, more productive workforce” but also carries lower support costs, which is unexpected considering that the device is still a relative novelty in corporate IT environments. Read the rest of this article »

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Unlocked Apple iPhone Available From Buy.com in the U.S.
Written on April 13, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 3 people have commented

picture14If youre still skittish about being locked in for a lengthy contract and dont mind the fact that new hardware will almost undoubtedly be hitting the streets in only a couple of short months, and if you have money lying around not doing anything useful, Buy.com has a deal for you, for the low price of $799. Thats the price youll pay for a brandnew, inbox, unlocked Apple iPhone from Buy.com. In fact, its better than unlocked, its never been locked in the first place, so you wont have to worry about sketchy jailbreakingunofficial unlocking procedures if youre not techsavvy.

The neverlocked 16GB iPhone 3G comes with a full Apple warranty, which is probably not the case with most unlocked units youll find on eBay, but Buy.com does warn that you might not be able to understand your products instruction manual, since the devices come from all over the world, and not necessarily Englishspeaking countries. That means this is probably a case of an overstock buyout from a variety of global carriers in preparation for the June WWDC ‘09 iPhone hardware refresh. Read the rest of this article »


Cell Phone Bills Surprises No More: Pageonce releases Cell Minute Tracker
Probability For The Zune HD Ton Run Xbox Games: Infinitely Close to Zero
AT&T Might Not Like SlingPlayer for iPhone
HiPhone Nano Is Out
Golf Cart Powered By Cow Dung

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April 16, 2009

Cell Phone Bills Surprises No More: Pageonce releases Cell Minute Tracker

Cell Phone Bills Surprises No More: Pageonce releases Cell Minute Tracker

By (blog)

Pageonce, a Palo Alto company we have been following, will is releasing its Cell Minute Tracker, an application that wipes away the ugliness of cell phone bills with the beauty of the iPhone.

Starting tomorrow, Pageonce users will be able to access real-time minute balance, alerts, and bill payment at any time during the billing cycle, making it easy for individuals and families to track and manage minute usage.

Pageonce CEO, Guy Goldstein, cites multiple cases in which families were hit with exorbitant changes due to lack of visibility into the familys cell minute and text usage.

The recent case of a Wyoming family who got hit with a $4,000 charge when their teenage daughter sent 10,000 texts in one month highlighted the importance of knowing how many minutes your family members are using before you receive your monthly statement.

Pageonces mobile app has some cool features. Beyond the standard bill and usage view, Pageonce will enable users to:

Receive alerts when theyve reached 90% of their minutes limit and when bills are due
Breakdown information by family member
View and pay phone bills directly from Cell Minute Tracker on the iPhone

As far as security is concerned, Pageonce has implemented 128 bit SSL encryption, insured by a top 10 A+ rated insurance carrier and a four digit passcode lock capability.

Download the application for $0.99

Continue ReadingCell Phone Bills Surprises No More: Pageonce releases Cell Minute Tracker

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Probability For The Zune HD Ton Run Xbox Games: Infinitely Close to Zero

Probability For The Zune HD Ton Run Xbox Games: Infinitely Close to Zero

Writing about rumored specifications of a rumored Zune HD (to be released in the fall) might be a sign that the economy and the tech news are slow, but its just hard not to speculate about it. The rumor says that the spec list is:

NVIDIA Tegra Application Processor
3.6 OLED touch display
4, 8, 16 and 32GB versions
HDMI out
WiFi

The more crunchy bit is that some speculate that the device could run Xbox games. Yes thats a pretty wild speculation. While weve seen Quake 3 running fairly quickly on the Tegra APX platform, there is a serious doubt that Microsoft will have DirectX 9 running on the Zune HD. Im not even mentionning that legions of games are programming stuff at the “driver” level, making even a port of DirectX not sufficient to ensure compatibility. It would be nice, but the chances are quasi null. Neowin, Liveside, via BGR


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Fake Tag Heuer Meridiist Spotted

Fake Tag Heuer Meridiist Spotted

Weve previously caught sight of pictures of the Tag Heuer Meridiist, and its certainly a pretty phone, and it could probably hold its own against a Vertu. Being insanely priced, its only normal to see some folks decide that they should create a fake version of the phone, and thats what has appeared online – a fake Tag Heuer Meridiist, which does look quite similar to the real thing. If youre willing to compromise and settle for a fake, it will only set you back $290, which is a low lower than about five or six grand for the real deal. From Uberphones.


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Interesting Patent From Apple

Interesting Patent From Apple

Have you ever tried to use your mobile phone when you were jogging? If youve tried it before, you should understand that pressing the buttons on your phone (especially if its a touchscreen device) is no easy feat, since youre bouncing up and down. Apple has filed a rather interesting patent application, which describes a way where the size of the targets (i.e. virtual buttons) can be dynamically increased when it detects jerky motion, which sounds really cool. Of course, theyll need to make sure its calibrated well, you wouldnt want your icons to suddenly balloon in size just because you sneezed, right? Well we see such a feature in future iPhones? From Uberphones.


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Best Deals

Hot Tech Deals

$224.99, Nokia N810 NSeries Internet Tablet
$229.99, ooma Free Phone Service
$19.99, Gigabit PCI Network Card
$4.79, UltraLast AA Alkaline Battery Pack
$24.99, TRENDnet TEW-637AP 300Mbps

Best Deals at www.UberBargain.com


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AT&T Might Not Like SlingPlayer for iPhone

AT&T Might Not Like SlingPlayer for iPhone

Since the iPhone debuted in the AT&T network, the company claimed to have a hard time to cope with the network strain induced by the higher web usage rate of the iPhones users. Now that a Slingbox application exists, AT&T seems to worry that it could push its network over the edge, as video streaming is much more network-intensive than web browsing. Note that limiting the app to WiFi usage is always an option.

Other voices point out that AT&T is working on its own video streaming functionality, hinting that network capacity is indeed sufficient and that AT&T might try to protect some turf here. At the moment, Apple is the one who has rejected the SplingPlayer form the app store, so AT&T is directing questions to them. In the meantime, Apple has not commented on the matter.

At some point, it will be in Apples best interest to work with more than one carrier. Competition might force them to confront every carriers worst nightmare: become a commodity pipe like DSL providers.


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Novac MV-CM001U Cassete-To-MP3 Player

Novac MV-CM001U Cassete-To-MP3 Player

No idea who still stores their music collection in cassete format apart from hoarders, but if you have a technologically averse parent who has yet to figure out how an iPod works, perhaps it is time to usher himher into the world of digital music with the Novac MV-CM001U Cassette-To-MP3 Player. As its name suggests, you are able to do your parents a favor by transferring the content on all their cassettes into the MP3 format, although the final audio quality would be limited by the analog nature of the source. Ripping the songs isnt hard as all you need to do is place the cassette into the wooden box, press Record and youre good to go, although it is definitely much more time consuming compared to the other dying medium - CDs.


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USB Lunch Box Warmer

USB Lunch Box Warmer

With devices like the USB Lunch Box Warmer, whats there not to love about this delectable port? After all, this means you no longer need to eat a cold lunch at the office since your boss is too cheap to purchase a microwave for the pantry. While some might have a feeling of deja vu with this piece of news, thats because Thanko released their own USB Lunchbox last year. This time round, this non-Thanko device will be able to heat your lunch up to 50° C (122° F) either when plugged in to a computer via USB or through a power outlet with the included AC Adapter. Too bad the plastic lunch box it comes with doesnt seem to be big enough to cater for those with huge appetites. Be the (temporary) envy of everyone else during lunchtime at the office with the $30 USB Lunch Box Warmer.


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3DConnexion SpacePilot PRO

3DConnexion SpacePilot PRO

3DConnexion is so confident of their latest 3D mouse that theyve even taken liberties to dub the SpacePilot PRO as the “most powerful 3D Mouse ever”. We wont dispute that as there are only a handful of such mice in the computing world, so it isnt really too hard to pick out a winner considering the SpacePilot PRO is equipped with the following :-

Color LCD display
Improved Navigation for MCAD
Five new dual-function QuickView Navigation keys
One-touch 32 view access

Other design considerations that have been incorporated for a much more pleasant user experience include a soft-coated wrist rest, smoother fingertip control and a symmetrical layout. Each purchase of the SpacePilot PRO comes with a 3-year warranty and will retail for $499.


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Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Connected via China Mobile 3G

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Connected via China Mobile 3G

Dell is now officially involved with China Mobile to supply a 3G version its Dell Inspiron mini 10 netbook. This is potentially a big deal for Dell because if China Mobile subsidizes a portion of the netbooks cost (this is what we expect), the volumes could turn out to be great. The good news doesnt stop there: Dell has also managed to get deals with Vodaphone in multiple regions and AT&T in the US , among other things. This is no small accomplishment in a space where low-cost is king.


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Spam Churns Out 17m Tons Of CO2

Spam Churns Out 17m Tons Of CO2

Spam is something weve all learnt to live with after giving up all attempts to beat it into submission over the years. Just before you dismiss it as nothing more than an irritant in your mailbox with some others categorizing it as a chore to remove spam from their numerous inboxes, along comes news that spam does more than waste your time - it also churns out 17 million tons of CO2 each year (and growing), since around 62 trillion spam emails are sent around the world each year, translating to the stated amount of emissions according to research by climate consultants ICF International and anti-virus firm McAfee. In a year, an average business user will generate 131kg of CO2, where 22% of that is related to spam.


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Fuss Oval LCD TV

Fuss Oval LCD TV

The Fuss LC-4212B LCD TV certainly lives up to the first part of its namesake - by kicking up a small storm over its unique form factor that comes in an oval shape. It was on display at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair and was brought to the masses via Ultmost Technology. We think that this looks like some sort of blown up handset lying prone instead of an oval-shaped LCD TV. There is no word on whether this will make its way to various continents, and neither do we have word on its pricing.


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Sony Displays Prototype 3D Screen

Sony Displays Prototype 3D Screen

Finetech Japan 2009 is the place to be if youre interested in checking out what Sony has to offer. Apart from the highly desirable 21V organic EL display, the Japanese consumer electronics giant has also paraded its prototype 3D display as part of the main attraction. No idea whether 3D displays will be the mainstream electronics device to have in the near future, but it will take quite some time before a dedicated 3D channel is broadcasted, not to mention the daunting task of incorporating 3D into old and classic feels for a (literally) new way of looking at them. We think all 3D glasses should be sold with a blister pack of aspirin to counter potential headaches that develop when watching shows in 3D glory.


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HiPhone Nano Is Out

HiPhone Nano Is Out

There is no confirmation of an iPhone nano just yet, but HiPhone of China decided to jump the gun by coming out with its own version known as the HiPhone Nano - and even more surprisingly, it will be available in the form of a clamshell handset. The exterior will feature dedicated music playback controls that resemble an iPod Clickwheel, while a monochrome display shows the current time. Flip it open and you will find a 2.4 touchscreen display alongside a numeric keypad for all your correspondence options. Heck, the manufacturers of the HiPHone Nano try to squeeze in more advantage by packing in dual-SIM support. All these for $124.99 sans contract - we admit it does look like a butchered iPod nano at first glance. Hopefully Apple releases their iPhone nano (if any) and show the world how it is supposed to be done.


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Business From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article or section has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page. * It may be confusing or unclear for some readers. Tagged since February 2009. * It may need to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.Tagged since February 2009. * It may require general cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since February 2009. For other uses, see Business (disambiguation). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008) Scales of justice Companies law Company · Business Sole proprietorship Partnership (General · Limited · LLP) Corporation Cooperative United States S corporation · C corporation LLC · LLLP · Series LLC Delaware corporation Nevada corporation Massachusetts business trust UK / Ireland / Commonwealth Limited company (by shares · by guarantee Public · Proprietary) Community interest company European Union / EEA SE · SCE · SPE · EEIG Elsewhere AB · AG · ANS · A/S · AS · GmbH K.K. · N.V. · OY · S.A. · more Doctrines Corporate governance Limited liability · Ultra vires Business judgment rule Internal affairs doctrine De facto corporation and corporation by estoppel Piercing the corporate veil Rochdale Principles Related areas Contract · Civil procedure v • d • e A business (also called a firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers.A firm is an organization that uses resources to produce a product, which it then sells. [1]Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit to increase the wealth of owners. The owners and operators of a business have as one of their main objectives the receipt or generation of a financial return in exchange for work and acceptance of risk. Notable exceptions include cooperative businesses and state-owned enterprises. Socialist systems involve either government agencies, public, or worker ownership of most sizable businesses. The etymology of "business" relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work. The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope — the singular usage (above) to mean a particular company or corporation, the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, such as "the music business" and compound forms such as agribusiness, or the broadest meaning to include all activity by the community of suppliers of goods and services. However, the exact definition of business, like much else in the philosophy of business, is a matter of debate. Business Studies, the study of the management of individuals to maintain collective productivity in order to accomplish particular creative and productive goals (usually to generate profit), is taught as an academic subject in many schools. Contents [hide] * 1 Basic forms of ownership * 2 Classifications * 3 Organization * 4 Management * 5 Government regulation o 5.1 Organizing o 5.2 Commercial law o 5.3 Capital o 5.4 Intellectual property o 5.5 Exit plans * 6 See also * 7 External links * 8 Notes and references [edit] Basic forms of ownership Although forms of business ownership vary by jurisdiction, there are several common forms: * Sole proprietorship: A sole proprietorship is a business owned by one person. The owner may operate on his or her own or may employ others. The owner of the business has total and unlimited personal liability of the debts incurred by the business. * Partnership: A partnership is a form of business in which two or more people operate for the common goal of making profit. Each partner has total and unlimited personal liability of the debts incurred by the partnership. There are three typical classifications of partnerships: general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships. * Corporation: A business corporation is a for-profit, limited liability entity that has a separate legal personality from its members. A corporation is owned by multiple shareholders and is overseen by a board of directors, which hires the business's managerial staff. * Cooperative: Often referred to as a "co-op business" or "co-op", a cooperative is a for-profit, limited liability entity that differs from a corporation in that it has members, as opposed to shareholders, who share decision-making authority. Cooperatives are typically classified as either consumer cooperatives or worker cooperatives. Cooperatives are fundamental to the ideology of economic democracy. For a country-by-country listing of legally recognized business forms, see Types of business entity. [edit] Classifications Wall Street, Manhattan is the location of the New York Stock Exchange and is often used as a symbol for the world of business.[citation needed] There are many types of businesses, and, as a result, businesses are classified in many ways. One of the most common focuses on the primary profit-generating activities of a business: * Agriculture and mining businesses are concerned with the production of raw material, such as plants or minerals. * Financial businesses include banks and other companies that generate profit through investment and management of capital. * Information businesses generate profits primarily from the resale of intellectual property and include movie studios, publishers and packaged software companies. * Manufacturers produce products, from raw materials or component parts, which they then sell at a profit. Companies that make physical goods, such as cars or pipes, are considered manufacturers. * Real estate businesses generate profit from the selling, renting, and development of properties, homes, and buildings. * Retailers and Distributors act as middle-men in getting goods produced by manufacturers to the intended consumer, generating a profit as a result of providing sales or distribution services. Most consumer-oriented stores and catalogue companies are distributors or retailers. See also: Franchising * Service businesses offer intangible goods or services and typically generate a profit by charging for labor or other services provided to government, other businesses or consumers. Organizations ranging from house decorators to consulting firms to restaurants and even to entertainers are types of service businesses. * Transportation businesses deliver goods and individuals from location to location, generating a profit on the transportation costs * Utilities produce public services, such as heat, electricity, or sewage treatment, and are usually government chartered. There are many other divisions and subdivisions of businesses. The authoritative list of business types for North America is generally considered to be the North American Industry Classification System, or NAICS. The equivalent European Union list is the NACE. [edit] Organization This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008) An organization is defined as an economic and social entity composed of a group of people who interact with each other for the purpose of achieving a common goal. Most businesses must accomplish similar functions regardless of size, legal structure or industry. These functions are often organized into departments. Common departments include (but are not limited to): Human Resources Typically responsible for hiring, firing, payroll, benefits, etc. Finance responsible for managing the enterprises financial resources[2] Budgeting and forecasting planning how the enterprise wants things to happen Cash and treasury management ensuring the enterprise has money when it's needed Accounts payable and receivable ensuring the enterprise receives what it's owed and pay what it owes Tax planning/filing and reporting meeting obligations to the government Risk management ensuring the enterprise doesn't get surprised by something unfavorable External and internal (management) reporting providing visibility into the enterprise for those who need it through financial reporting and other types of reporting Marketing and sales responsible for selling the business' goods or services to the customer and for managing the relationships with the customer Marketing Typically responsible for promoting interest in, and generating demand for, the business' products or services, and positioning them within the market Sales finding likely purchasers and obtaining their agreement (known as a contract) to buy the business' products or services Operations makes the product or delivers the service Production produces the raw materials into the delivered goods, if they require processing Customer service supports customers who need help with the goods or services Procurement responsible for acquiring the goods and services necessary for the business. Sometimes organized as: Strategic sourcing determines the business' needs and plans for acquiring the necessary raw materials and services for the business Purchasing processes the purchase orders and related transactions Research and Development tests to create new products and to determine their viability (e.g. pilot plants) Information Technology manages the business' computer and data assets Communications/Public Relations responsible for communicating to the outside world Administration provides administrative support to the other departments (such as typing, filing, etc.) Internal Audit an independent control function typically accountable to the Board of Directors for reporting on the proper functioning of the other departments Management is sometimes listed as a "department" but typically refers to the top level of leadership within the business regardless of their functional role. [edit] Management Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (August 2007) The study of the efficient and effective operation of a business is called management. The main branches of management are financial management, marketing management, human resource management, strategic management, production management, service management, information technology management, and business intelligence. [edit] Government regulation This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (August 2007) The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page. The Bank of England in Threadneedle Street, London, England. Most legal jurisdictions specify the forms of ownership that a business can take, creating a body of commercial law for each type. [edit] Organizing The major factors affecting how a business is organized are usually: * The size and scope of the business, and its anticipated management and ownership. Generally a smaller business is more flexible, while larger businesses, or those with wider ownership or more formal structures, will usually tend to be organized as partnerships or (more commonly) corporations. In addition a business which wishes to raise money on a stock market or to be owned by a wide range of people will often be required to adopt a specific legal form to do so. * The sector and country. Private profit making businesses are different from government owned bodies. In some countries, certain businesses are legally obliged to be organized certain ways. * Limited liability. Corporations, limited liability partnerships, and other specific types of business organizations protect their owners from business failure by doing business under a separate legal entity with certain legal protections. In contrast, unincorporated businesses or persons working on their own are usually not so protected. * Tax advantages. Different structures are treated differently in tax law, and may have advantages for this reason. * Disclosure and compliance requirements. Different business structures may be required to make more or less information public (or reported to relevant authorities), and may be bound to comply with different rules and regulations. Many businesses are operated through a separate entity such as a corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company. Most legal jurisdictions allow people to organize such an entity by filing certain charter documents with the relevant Secretary of State or equivalent and complying with certain other ongoing obligations. The relationships and legal rights of shareholders, limited partners, or members are governed partly by the charter documents and partly by the law of the jurisdiction where the entity is organized. Generally speaking, shareholders in a corporation, limited partners in a limited partnership, and members in a limited liability company are shielded from personal liability for the debts and obligations of the entity, which is legally treated as a separate "person." This means that unless there is misconduct, the owner's own possessions are strongly protected in law, if the business does not succeed. Where two or more individuals own a business together but have failed to organize a more specialized form of vehicle, they will be treated as a general partnership. The terms of a partnership are partly governed by a partnership agreement if one is created, and partly by the law of the jurisdiction where the partnership is located. No paperwork or filing is necessary to create a partnership, and without an agreement, the relationships and legal rights of the partners will be entirely governed by the law of the jurisdiction where the partnership is located. A single person who owns and runs a business is commonly known as a sole proprietor, whether he or she owns it directly or through a formally organized entity. A few relevant factors to consider in deciding how to operate a business include: 1. General partners in a partnership (other than a limited liability partnership), plus anyone who personally owns and operates a business without creating a separate legal entity, are personally liable for the debts and obligations of the business. 2. Generally, corporations are required to pay tax just like "real" people. In some tax systems, this can give rise to so-called double taxation, because first the corporation pays tax on the profit, and then when the corporation distributes its profits to its owners, individuals have to include dividends in their income when they complete their personal tax returns, at which point a second layer of income tax is imposed. 3. In most countries, there are laws which treat small corporations differently than large ones. They may be exempt from certain legal filing requirements or labor laws, have simplified procedures in specialized areas, and have simplified, advantageous, or slightly different tax treatment. 4. In order to "go public" (sometimes called IPO) -- which basically means to allow a part of the business to be owned by a wider range of investors or the public in general -- you must organize a separate entity, which is usually required to comply with a tighter set of laws and procedures. Most public entities are corporations that have sold shares, but increasingly there are also public LLCs that sell units (sometimes also called shares), and other more exotic entities as well (for example, REITs in the USA, Unit Trusts in the UK). However, you cannot take a general partnership "public." [edit] Commercial law Most commercial transactions are governed by a very detailed and well-established body of rules that have evolved over a very long period of time, it being the case that governing trade and commerce was a strong driving force in the creation of law and courts in Western civilization. As for other laws that regulate or impact businesses, in many countries it is all but impossible to chronicle them all in a single reference source. There are laws governing treatment of labor and generally relations with employees, safety and protection issues (OSHA or Health and Safety), anti-discrimination laws (age, gender, disabilities, race, and in some jurisdictions, sexual orientation), minimum wage laws, union laws, workers compensation laws, and annual vacation or working hours time. In some specialized businesses, there may also be licenses required, either due to special laws that govern entry into certain trades, occupations or professions, which may require special education, or by local governments. Professions that require special licenses range from law and medicine to flying airplanes to selling liquor to radio broadcasting to selling investment securities to selling used cars to roofing. Local jurisdictions may also require special licenses and taxes just to operate a business without regard to the type of business involved. Some businesses are subject to ongoing special regulation. These industries include, for example, public utilities, investment securities, banking, insurance, broadcasting, aviation, and health care providers. Environmental regulations are also very complex and can impact many kinds of businesses in unexpected ways. [edit] Capital When businesses need to raise money (called 'capital'), more laws come into play. A highly complex set of laws and regulations govern the offer and sale of investment securities (the means of raising money) in most Western countries. These regulations can require disclosure of a lot of specific financial and other information about the business and give buyers certain remedies. Because "securities" is a very broad term, most investment transactions will be potentially subject to these laws, unless a special exemption is available. Capital may be raised through private means, by public offer (IPO) on a stock exchange, or in many other ways. Major stock exchanges include the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq (USA), the London Stock Exchange (UK), the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Japan), and so on. Most countries with capital markets have at least one. Business that have gone "public" are subject to extremely detailed and complicated regulation about their internal governance (such as how executive officers' compensation is determined) and when and how information is disclosed to the public and their shareholders. In the United States, these regulations are primarily implemented and enforced by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other Western nations have comparable regulatory bodies. As noted at the beginning, it is impossible to enumerate all of the types of laws and regulations that impact on business today. In fact, these laws have become so numerous and complex, that no business lawyer can learn them all, forcing increasing specialization among corporate attorneys. It is not unheard of for teams of 5 to 10 attorneys to be required to handle certain kinds of corporate transactions, due to the sprawling nature of modern regulation. Commercial law spans general corporate law, employment and labor law, healthcare law, securities law, M&A law (who specialize in acquisitions), tax law, ERISA law (ERISA in the United States governs employee benefit plans), food and drug regulatory law, intellectual property law (specializing in copyrights, patents, trademarks and such), telecommunications law, and more. In Thailand, for example, it is necessary to register a particular amount of capital for each employee, and pay a fee to the government for the amount of capital registered. There is no legal requirement to prove that this capital actually exists, the only requirement is to pay the fee. Overall, processes like this are detrimental to the development and GDP of a country, but often exist in "feudal" developing countries. [edit] Intellectual property Businesses often have important "intellectual property" that needs protection from competitors in order for the company to stay profitable. This could require patents or copyrights or preservation of trade secrets. Most businesses have names, logos and similar branding techniques that could benefit from trademarking. Patents and copyrights in the United States are largely governed by federal law, while trade secrets and trademarking are mostly a matter of state law. Because of the nature of intellectual property, a business needs protection in every jurisdiction in which they are concerned about competitors. Many countries are signatories to international treaties concerning intellectual property, and thus companies registered in these countries are subject to national laws bound by these treaties. [edit] Exit plans Businesses can be bought and sold. Business owners often refer to their plan of disposing of the business as an "exit plan." Common exit plans include IPOs, MBOs and mergers with other businesses. [edit] See also Main list: List of business topics Business and economics portal This encyclopedia includes over 1600 business and economics articles, so not all appear listed here. This lists some of the main business-related concepts. For more specific topics, look at the various sublists. * Accounting o List of accounting topics * Advertising * Banking * Big business * Business acumen * Business broker * Business ethics o List of business ethics, political economy, and philosophy of business topics o Social responsibility * Business hours * Business mediator * Business schools * Business trip * Capitalism * Commerce * Commercial law o List of business law topics * Commerciality * Company * Cooperative * Corporate law * Corporation * Cost overrun * Economics o Economic democracy o Financial economics o List of economics topics * Electronic commerce o E-business * Entrepreneurship * Finance o List of finance topics * Franchising * Government ownership * Human Resources o List of human resource management topics * Industry * Insurance * Intellectual property * International trade o List of international trade topics * Investment * Limited liability * Management o List of management topics * Management information systems o List of information technology management topics * Manufacturing o List of production topics * Marketing o List of marketing topics * Organizational studies * Partnership * Real Estate * Renewable Energy o List of real estate topics * Revenue shortfall * Small business * Sole proprietorship * Strategic Management * Strategic Planning * Types of business entity [edit] External links Find more about Business on Wikipedia's sister projects: Definitions from Wiktionary Textbooks from Wikibooks Quotations from Wikiquote Source texts from Wikisource Images and media from Commons News stories from Wikinews Learning resources from Wikiversity * Better Business Bureau US & Canada * Business Current Events Open Directory * Doing Business project