@methodshop

Here's a clip of a guy on the French version of the game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire." In the clip, the host asks the French contestant the following question:

"What rotates around the Earth? The Sun, Moon, Mars or Venus?" Easy question right? Not if you are French.

If the video above doesn't load, you can view it here or here.



methodshop

Labels: video

Each Olympics is full of not only physical achievements, but technological advances as well. For the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, NBC Sports has several innovative camera gadgets to help make coverage more exciting and easier to grasp.

Veteran NBC camera guru Garrett Brown and colleagues have come up with the following camera inventions to enhance coverage of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics:

• Tiny HD "lipstick cams" will be placed on the athletes themselves to provide POV shots
  
  
• The submerged "Dive Cam" will shoot down a plastic tube to capture the point of impact from the high dive
  
  
• The "Sky Cam" will capture rowers and kayakers from far above the water course
  
  
• GPS and digital course maps will be deployed to help viewers keep track of athletes progress on longer events
  

David Neal, NBC's executive vice president in charge of Olympics coverage, told the Star Tribune "For us, it's all about making sports easier to understand. But the best technical innovations are the ones that take the viewer on a magic carpet ride. They transport the television viewer out of their easy chair at home and give them a sense of what it's like to be on the field of play."

NBC plans on providing 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage from 35 venues in Beijing.
The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics start August 8th.


methodshop

Labels: TV

Mobile social media integrator Moblyng expanded its mobile content site this week. Moblyng now offers easy access to top viewed content from MySpace and YouTube, and can push videos, slide shows and photos directly to mobile devices.



The company also unveiled a new mobilize me button on select artist's MySpace profiles allowing users to sign up to have videos, pictures and slideshows sent to their phones.


methodshop

Labels: internet, mobile, tech news

Cuil (pronounced "cool") is a new Internet search engine created by ex-Googlers Tom Costello and Anna Patterson. Cuil's mission is to not invade your privacy on searches (the way Google does). But can a fresh look and the promise to protect the privacy of its users make Cuil a success?





Is Cuil a "Google Killer"? No way. After running a search for "methodshop" I was surprised to see a lot of see low traffic pages from our site in the results. Other searches for words like "ipod" and "iphone" aslo returned disappointing results. The Cuil interface presents results in 2 or 3 columns - a nice visual touch making it very easy to quickly scan a page of results. The layout may be pretty, but at the end of the day Cuil lacks the sophisticated backend software that makes Google so damn good.

So what does Cuil mean anyway? Cuil is the Gaelic word knowledge and hazel. There's a famous Gaelic story about a salmon that ate nine hazelnuts that had fallen into the Fountain of Wisdom. As a result, the salmon gained all the knowledge in the world. Perhaps Tom Costello ate the salmon.

Massive traffic to the site earlier this week led to widespread "failure" messages, but try today at http://www.cuil.com/.


methodshop

Labels: internet, tech news

Paying attention to just a few commonsense pointers will pay off with a longer battery lifespan and battery life for your iPhone.

Here are some tips to help you conserve your iPhone 3G battery life and make sure you always have a phone with some juice:

1. Condition your battery when it's new. The first week you have your new iPhone, it is a very good idea to fully discharge and charge your battery. This both lengthens the life of your battery and helps ensure your battery knows when it's full or empty. For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down).
   
   
2. Moderate the temperature. The most important thing you can do for your battery is to keep your iPhone out of the sun, hot car (including the glove box) or next to the BBQ grill. Heat will degrade your battery’s performance a lot.
   
   
3. Lock your iPhone. It may seem obvious, but you should lock your iPhone when you aren’t using it. You will be able to receive calls and text messages while it is locked, but nothing happens if you touch the screen. To lock iPhone, press the Sleep/Wake button. You can also set the Auto-Lock interval so your iPhone will turn off more quickly after a period of inactivity. To set Auto-Lock, go to Settings > General > Auto-Lock and set the interval to a short time, such as 1 minute.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Update your software. Always make sure your iPhone has the latest software from Apple. New software will probably include new ways to optimize battery performance. Make sure you have iTunes 7.7 or later. Then connect your iPhone to your computer, select iPhone in the Source List. In the Summary panel, click “Check for Updates” to see if there’s a new version of the iPhone software available. Click Update to install the latest version.
   
   
5. Make charging your iPhone part of your daily routine. Get extra charge cables. Keep one next to your bed, in your car, by your desk at work, in your backpack, at your girl/boyfrinds house, etc. A really good time to charge is at night while you are sleeping or in the car on the drive to and from work.
   
   
6. Conserve your usage. Resist the urge to mess around on your iPhone when you don't need to. For example, do you really need to check your email while standing in the elevator at work? Just say "hi" to the person(s) in the elevator and kill the idle time with a conversation. You'll be back at your desk in a couple minutes anyway and you can check your email there. Or do you really need the GPS to walk down the hall to the vending machine? Limit the tasks you perform on your iPhone 3G and save your battery for important phone calls and watching movies on the subway.
   
   
7. Turn-off WiFi and Bluetooth. When you really need to save some juice, then turn-off WiFi and Bluetooth. When these services are on, your iPhone is actively scanning for signals from wireless access points or Bluetooth devices. We'll go into more details about these settings below in #8. Both of these can be switched off via the Settings option and will save you a major amount of juice. Speaking of settings....
   
   
8. Optimize your settings. Depending on how they are configured, a few features may decrease your iPhone battery life. For example, the frequency with which you retrieve email and the number of email accounts you auto-check can both affect battery life. The tips below apply to an iPhone running iPhone 2.0 software or later and may help extend your battery life.

• Minimize use of location services: Applications that actively use location services such as Maps may reduce battery life. To disable location services, go to Settings > General > Location Services or use location services only when needed.

• Fetch new data less frequently: Applications such as Mail can be set to fetch data wirelessly at specific intervals. The more frequently email or other data is fetched, the quicker your battery may drain. To fetch new data manually, from the Home screen choose Settings > Fetch New Data and tap Manually. To increase the fetch interval, go to Settings > Fetch New Data and tap Hourly. Note that this is a global setting and applies to all applications that do not support push services.
  
  
• Turn off push mail: If you have a push mail account such as Yahoo!, MobileMe or Microsoft Exchange, turn off push mail when you don’t need it. Go to Settings > Fetch New Data and set Push to Off. Messages sent to your push email accounts will now be received on your phone based on the global Fetch setting rather than as they arrive.
  
  
  
  
• Auto-check fewer email accounts: You can save power by checking fewer email accounts. This can be accomplished by turning off an email account or by deleting it. To turn off an account, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, choose an email account, and set Account to Off. To remove an account, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, choose an email account, and tap Delete Account.
  
  
• Minimize use of third-party applications: Excessive use of applications such as games that prevent the screen from dimming or shutting off or applications that use location services can reduce battery life.
  
  
• Turn off Wi-Fi: Like we said above, if you rarely use Wi-Fi, you can turn it off to save power. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and set Wi-Fi to Off. Note that if you frequently use your iPhone to browse the web, battery life may be improved by using Wi-Fi instead of cellular data networks.
  
  
• Turn off Bluetooth: Again, if you rarely use a Bluetooth headset or car kit, you can turn off Bluetooth to save power. Go to Settings > General > Bluetooth and set Bluetooth to Off.
  
  
• Use Airplane Mode in low- or no-coverage areas: Because your iPhone always tries to maintain a connection with the cellular network, it may use more power in low- or no-coverage areas. Turning on Airplane Mode can increase battery life in these situations; however, you will be unable to make or receive calls. To turn on Airplane Mode, go to Settings and set Airplane Mode to On.
  
  
• Adjust brightness: Dimming the screen is another way to extend battery life. Go to Settings > Brightness and drag the slider to the left to lower the default screen brightness. In addition, turning on Auto-Brightness allows the screen to adjust its brightness based on current lighting conditions. Go to Settings > Brightness and set Auto-Brightness to On.
  
  
• Turn off EQ: Applying an equalizer setting to song playback on your iPhone can decrease battery life. To turn EQ off, go to Settings > iPod > EQ and tap Off. Note that if you’ve added EQ to songs directly in iTunes, you’ll need to set EQ on iPhone to Flat in order to have the same effect as Off because iPhone keeps your iTunes settings intact. Go to Settings > iPod > EQ and tap Flat. If you want to learn more about the EQ settings, then read this article: Demystifing Apple's Equalizer Settings
  
  
• Turn off 3G: Using 3G cellular networks loads data faster, but may also decrease battery life, especially in areas with limited 3G coverage. To disable 3G, from the Home screen choose Settings > General > Network and set Enable 3G to Off. You will still be able to make and receive calls and access cellular data networks via EDGE or GPRS where available.

MethodShop.com also has an article with tips on how to conserve MacBook, iBook and iPod battery life.

Tutorial: How To Maximize Battery Life on Your Laptops, iPhones and iPods


methodshop

Labels: iphone, tutorial

With the kind of multimedia software and gadgets available these days, it's easy to believe the traditional baby birth announcements of Hallmark card and photo has gone the way of the Dodo bird.

Here's a birth announcement service that will transform those snap shots into a stellar looking movie trailer birth announcement. This video demo off YouTube looks great and we even saw the original file on the iPhone and it was impressive to say the least [1.09 sec].



Any grandparent, uncle or aunt would be amazed to see their new family member in a format like this. The company provides you with several ordering options including a high quality on-line web hosting package or commemorative DVD.

The cost starts around $99 for an on-line birth announcement viewable for 1 year or $149 for a commemorative DVD disc with full color case, insert and DVD label. Other options include short run DVD duplication for those needing a handful of hard copies.

Source: Movie Trailer Birth Annoucements.

What would happen if an iPod Touch mated with a MacBook?

According to AppleInsider, Apple is releasing a touchscreen laptop in October. Of course it's still just a rumor, but a lot of people are very excited about finally getting their hands on a Mac touchscreen tablet.



Can this Photoshopped mockup become a reality?

The "MacBook Touch" is rumored to have the following features:

• iPhone-like full-featured multi-touchscreen.
  
• Full version of Mac OS X. This might help explain why Apple bought chip design company P.A. Semi in April 2008.
  
• Slot-loading SuperDrive.
  
• Same accelerometer technology used in the iPod Touch and iPhone.
  
• GPS.
  

AppleInsider also reports that at the most recent earnings talk, Apple promised a product transition by the end of September with "technologies and features that others can't match."

Is the MacBook Touch the "product transition" Apple was talking about? We can't wait for more details to emerge that either confirm or negate this juicy rumor.


methodshop

Labels: apple, tech news

Sci Fi Channel and video game publisher Trion World Networks are developing an entertainment franchise targeted for release in 2010 designed to "play" on both online and TV platforms. Think World of Warcraft meets Battlestar Galactica.

The still unnamed show on Sci Fi channel and the multiplayer Trion World game will share the same fictional characters and setting, driving viewers back and forth between the platforms to satisfy their thirst for the mythology of the world. G4 claims the show/game will revolve around the Stargate franchise but exact details are still unknown.


It's an ambitious undertaking but one worth going after considering Blizzard's Warcraft has over 10 million online users and has inspired a feature film slated for release in 2009.


methodshop

Labels: games, internet, tech news

DesbloqueioBr, a Brazilian telecom company, says they are the first to find a way to unlock Apple's new iPhone 3G. Brazilian newspaper, Folha de Sao Paulo, says DesbloqueioBr alterd the iPhone's firmware and added a special card to the phone's SIM chip.

Users with one of these Brazilian iPhones can connect to any mobile carrier they want and not the carrier that Apple made exclusive agreements with in each country.



Although the iPhone isn't officially available yet in Brazil, it's already become a must-have item for many gadget freaks and wealthy businessmen. Many Brazilian purchasers have ventured overseas or gone online to find unlocked iPhones.



The Brazilian hack doesn't isn't cheap. DesbloqueioBr is charging ~$300 to unlock an already purchased iPhone and iPhones aren't cheap. Owning a hacked iPhone is a risky and expensive gamble considering that Apple can wipe out the hack with a software update.

Here's a video of the hacked Brazilian iPhone from YouTube.




methodshop

Labels: iphone, tech news

When politicians and environmentalists debate global warming emissions, man-made carbon dioxide emissions is usually the top item on their list. But what if one of the biggest culprits of global warming was... cow farts? We're not kidding. The slow digestive system of cows makes them a major producer of the atmosphere unfriendly gas methane.



According to Brittan's Telegraph.co.uk, Argentine researchers are strapping plastic tanks on the backs of cattle to better "understand the impact of the wind produced by cows on global warming."

What have they discovered so far? Methane from Argentina's 55 million cows accounts for over 30% of the country's total greenhouse emissions. And methane is 23 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

As a result of these studies, scientists are already investigating alternate diets for cattle that won't make them as gassy.

That's one way to help knock the wind out of global warming.


methodshop

Labels: environment

Do you feel like your iPhone or iPod needs more bass? Is your favorite Equalizer setting "Bass Boost?" Wish your headphones sounded as good as your home or car stereo system? Then maybe it's time you invested in an "atomic" pair of bass enhancing earphones.

Radius, a relatively new audio company based out of Nashville, Tennessee (USA), prides itself on using premium parts in their products to deliver premium performance.

Radius sent us over a pair of their Atomic Bass earbuds to test out. Here's how it went...

Review: Radius Atomic Bass Earbuds



methodshop

Labels: review

Steve Hoffman and Eric Hayashi are certainly well-rounded interactive entertainment executives. Their bios are full of so many impressive entertainment and gaming companies that it will make your head spin. Combined, Steve and Eric have worked at Vivendi Universal Games, Virgin Interactive, Infospace, Hasbro Interactive, Sega and Atari.

So what did Steve and Eric do with all that experience? What was the culmination of this vast interactive knowledge? In 2007, Steve and Eric joined forces with Naomi Kokubo and co-founded ROCKETON, a new type of multiplayer social experience that spans the entire web.

Instead of having to go to a separate site or use a specific application like Second Life, ROCKETON turns the entire Internet into a virtual world for browser based avatars. Think of ROCKETON like Second Life + PMOG with a twist of Facebook and a dash of StumbleUpon. It's a Web 2.0 evolutional twist on virtual reality.

MethodShop was lucky enough to get some time with Steve and Eric and grilled them pretty hard about ROCKETON. A link to the full interview is below. Enjoy.

Interview: ROCKETON's Steve Hoffman and Eric Hayashi





methodshop

Labels: internet, tech news

The long awaited iPhone 3G was released on Friday, July 11th. But what should have been a happy and joyous day for iPhone fans, ended up being an exercise in frustration for many.

After waiting in line outside of Apple Stores for hours (or even days), some consumers then spent up to 7 hours inside because of "network problems" that slowed or even halted the activation of new iPhones.


The iPhone 3G line outside the Manhattan Apple Store on 14th Street at 12:52PM.
Estimated wait time was ~4 hours.


Apparently Apple's authentication servers weren't prepared to handle the amount of global network traffic from new iPhone 3G activations. Network slowdowns were first reported after stores opened in Europe. The network then came to a halt after US East Coast stores opened. By the time American West Coast stores had started selling iPhones, Apple's servers just couldn't take it anymore and started crashing. It was AT&T's insistence that all phones get activated in the store that caused the problem. During last year's iPhone 1.0 launch Apple had everyone activate their own phone at home through iTunes.

>>>Continue Reading

Labels: iphone, tech news

Steve Hoffman and Eric Hayashi are certainly well-rounded interactive entertainment executives. Their bios are full of so many impressive entertainment and gaming companies that it will make your head spin. Combined, Steve and Eric have worked at Vivendi Universal Games, Virgin Interactive, Infospace, Hasbro Interactive, Sega and Atari.

So what did Steve and Eric do with all that experience? What was the culmination of this vast interactive knowledge? In 2007, Steve and Eric joined forces with Naomi Kokubo and co-founded ROCKETON, a new type of multiplayer social experience that spans the entire web.

Instead of having to go to a separate site or use a specific application like Second Life, ROCKETON turns the entire Internet into a virtual world for browser based avatars. Think of ROCKETON like Second Life + PMOG with a twist of Facebook and a dash of StumbleUpon. It's a Web 2.0 evolutional twist on virtual reality.

MethodShop was lucky enough to get some time with Steve and Eric and grilled them pretty hard about ROCKETON. A link to the full interview is below. Enjoy.

Interview: ROCKETON's Steve Hoffman and Eric Hayashi





methodshop

Labels: internet, interview, tech news

The long awaited iPhone 3G was released on Friday, July 11th. But what should have been a happy and joyous day for iPhone fans, ended up being an exercise in frustration for many.

After waiting in line outside of Apple Stores for hours (or even days), some consumers then spent up to 7 hours inside because of "network problems" that slowed or even halted the activation of new iPhones.


The iPhone 3G line outside the Manhattan Apple Store on 14th Street at 12:52PM.
Estimated wait time was ~4 hours.


Apparently Apple's authentication servers weren't prepared to handle the amount of global network traffic from new iPhone 3G activations. Network slowdowns were first reported after stores opened in Europe. The network then came to a halt after US East Coast stores opened. By the time American West Coast stores had started selling iPhones, Apple's servers just couldn't take it anymore and started crashing. It was AT&T's insistence that all phones get activated in the store that caused the problem. During last year's iPhone 1.0 launch Apple had everyone activate their own phone at home through iTunes.


Fanboys try beat the heat with umbrellas while waiting in line for an iPhone 3G.


Some customers were even sent home with a new iPhone and instructions on how to finish activating the phone at home or even worse... a rain check. This definitely made quite a few people mad.

"I skipped work and waited in line from 12 noon to 2AM to get my boyfriend a new iPhone only to walk away with rain check slip," Paul Hahn told MethodShop.com. "The [authentication] servers were down most of the day and [an Apple store employee] told me I should to come back [Sunday] morning. This sucks. I'm so angry and so hungry right now." Paul also said that employees at the Apple Store were were giving away Apple umbrellas and waters to try to keep the crowd happy.



The new iPhone 3G.


Unfortunately, Apple's network problems also caused headaches for original iPhone and iPod Touch owners who tried to upgrade to the new 2.0 software. "After one of my officemates came back from his lunch hour with a new iPhone, I tried upgrading the software on my old iPod Touch," said Collin Pisarra, a graphic designer in Manhattan. "I really wanted to check out the new App Store but I guess Apple's network problems messed up [my iPod Touch]. It got bricked. I hope I can restore it when Apple's servers are back online. Right now I'm getting an error message that says: [We could not complete your iTunes Store request. An unknown error occurred (type -9838).]"


Networking problems left many users with both iPhones and iPod Touches that couldn't complete the 2.0 update process.


Apple wasn't responding to requests for comments, but a spokesman for AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier in the United States, said the problems were caused by iTunes servers and referred further questions to Apple.


Network problems caused many iPhone and iPod Touch users to see this iTunes error screen when attempting to update their device to the new 2.0 software.


Earlier this week, Apple also had problems with the relaunch of their data service now called MobileMe (it was previously called iTools and .Mac). The MobileMe service is designed to synchronize a user's personal data across devices, including the iPhone, but many users were denied access to their accounts this week, including Frank Accarrino.

"I've been trying to upload pictures from iPhoto to my .Mac website for the past few days but it's offline. I can't even get to my Mac mail. I bet Steve Jobs is pissed right now," Frank said.

Apple is usually known for flawless product launch events. Let's hope Apple solves these network issues for next time. It's estimated that 1 million iPhone 3G models were sold in the U.S. this weekend.


methodshop

Labels: apple, iphone, ipod, tech news

Like to listen to music while you work but find your workplace a little too dangerous and dirty for your fragile little iPod? Bosch, a company more famous for their power tools than stereo equipment just might have the perfect solution for you.

The Bosch Power Box is a feature-rich stereo system that not only sounds great, but has a protective roll cage that keeps it safe in busy commercial and outdoor work environments. When used with the Bosch Power Box iPod Dock (sold separately) you can bring your job sites into the digital music age. The Bosch iPod Dock easily connects to the Power Box where it not only protects your iPod but recharges it too.

The Bosch Power Box and iPod Dock sound like a powerful combo, but let's take a look at all the features of each item and how well they perform together in a busy work environment.

Review: Bosch iPod Power Box


methodshop

Labels: gadgets, ipod, music, review

Apple launched the iTunes App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch this afternoon. There are currently 500+ applications available for download. The cost for these applications range from free to over $30.




All the big players have apps in the store including MySpace, Facebook, AOL, and eBay. There's also a mix of games like Texas Hold'em and Super Monkey Ball, lots of utilities and even ebooks.

You can download applications now, but you can't do anything with them until the iPhone/iPod 2.0 firmware is released which will probably happen on Friday July 11th - the official release date of the new iPhone 3G.


methodshop

Labels: apple, iphone, ipod, itunes

Yesterday Google, Inc. announced a browser-based online world called "Google Lively."

The new service allows users to assume online characters known as avatars and wander around different virtual public settings such as coffee houses and tropical islands. Users can also create private rooms that can be decorated with virtual furniture, personalized picture frames and large-screen televisions that can play YouTube videos. Users can also upload their own music files to add a personalized soundtrack to their rooms.



To check it out, just head on over to the Google Lively landing page and download and install the Internet Explorer or Firefox browser plug-in. Then take a stroll around the various rooms in this new virtual world.

Unfortunately Google Lively is currently only available for Window XP and Vista. Hopefully Google will make a Mac version soon.




In related news, the executive management team at SecondLife just crapped their pants.


methodshop

Labels: tech news

While Americans are celebrating their freedom and independence this July 4th, let's not forget that everyone isn't as fortunate. The Chinese in particular live in a highly restricted society, but they are finding new and clever ways to express themselves and defeat the censors.

To slip past Internet censors squashing reports of a weekend riot in China's Guizhou province, some Chinese Bloggers have started writing backward.

Some 30,000 rioters set fire to government buildings over the weekend to protest the way authorities handled the death of a teenager in the province's Weng'an County. While state-controlled media provided immediate coverage, government censors moved fast to delete online posts providing unofficial accounts and deactivate the accounts of those users.



So bloggers on forums such as Tianya.cn have taken to posting in formats that China's Internet censors, often employees of commercial Internet service providers, have a hard time automatically detecting. One recent strategy involves online software that flips sentences to read right to left instead of left to right, and vertically instead of horizontally.

These techniques scramble the message juuuust enough to confound censors, but not enough to render the message itself unreadable.


[Via NowPublic.com]

Labels: blogs

One of the coolest features of Apple's iPhone is the mutitouch capable screen. From navigating menus to interacting with features like Google Maps, using the iPhone's multitouch screen isn't just easy, but it's fun.

When the iPhone first debuted, some users complained that their fingers were too fat to use the touchscreen. But those cries quickly faded as users got more practice with the mobile phone's interface.

But now, according to a report from the LA Times, there's a new group of iPhone users angry at Apple... women with long fingernails. Why? Well, since the iPhone's touchscreen only responds to electrical charges emitted by your bare fingertips, women with long nails aren't able to effectively use the iPhone's touchscreen.

Erica Watson-Currie, who was interviewed for the LA Times article, even went so far as to call Apple 'misogynistic' because they didn't include a stylus for women with long fingernails. Erica gave the LA Times this quote for their article: "Considering ergonomics and user studies indicating men and women use their fingers and nails differently, why does Apple persist in this misogyny?"

Should every manufacturer change the design of their products to accommodate users with long nails, or should people with long nails learn to work around this problem like they have in the past?


Is Apple being unfair to women with long fingernails?

How do other women feel about this? Is Apple being misogynistic with the design of the iPhone?

Mary, a Production Assistant in the television industry says: "I'll admit, I've had fake nails before and know from experience how difficult they can be. I couldn't type as fast, I lost my ability to speed text, I couldn't even turn on a lamp without fumbling. So I made the obvious choice. I took the stupid things off and stopped blaming the world for not catering to my vanity. I suggest women who have a problem using the iPhone do the same."

Libby, a Senior Associate at a non-profit in New York City, finds this complaint ridiculous. She told MethodShop.com that "...this whole fingernail complaint is asinine. When I hear that other women are complaining about the iPhone's interface because they have fancy long fingernails, it makes me dizzy. What's next? Should the military make fingernail friendly assault rifles so women can look gorgeous on the battlefield. Shut up and cut off your tacky nails already. And stop giving idiotic quotes to the LA Times. You are an embarrassment to women everywhere."

Apple launches its vastly improved 3G iPhone ($199) on July 11, 2008.


methodshop

Labels: apple, iphone, tech news

This week, American cell phone provider AT&T announced plans to offer a contract-free version of Apple's 3G iPhone... for a price.

How much? About 2-3 times more than a "locked" iPhone.

Why are Apple and AT&T selling unlocked iPhones? Probably to eliminate the black market demand for unlocked iPhones that hackers are reselling overseas.

AT&T says an unlocked iPhone will sell for about $600-700. To get the cheaper subsidized price Steve Jobs announced at the WWDC ($199 for 8GB, $299 for 16GB) you must commit to a 2 year contract and be a new AT&T customer.

If you're a current AT&T customer, you must have already purchased a 2G iPhone or be eligible to renew your contract.




methodshop

Labels: apple, iphone, tech news

Digg is rolling out a new recommendation engine this week. The new feature's goal is to help users discover content from like-minded individuals amid the clutter of the 16k+ stories submitted to Digg.com each day.

You know how when you are browsing Amazon.com and the site suggests related products based on what you are viewing and what you've already purchased? This new Digg feature works kind of the same way. It analyzes your previous "diggs," or stories you've voted for, then lets you know what other users with similar tastes have recommended.

If you want to know more, Digg execs Kevin Rose and Anton Kast go into detail about how it works on the Digg blog.

Rose will also probably explain the new feature during his next Diggnation podcast.


methodshop

Labels: tech news

Digg is rolling out a new recommendation engine this week. The new feature's goal is to help users discover content from like-minded individuals amid the clutter of the 16k+ stories submitted to Digg.com each day.

You know how when you are browsing Amazon.com and the site suggests related products based on what you are viewing and what you've already purchased? This new Digg feature works kind of the same way. It analyzes your previous "diggs," or stories you've voted for, then lets you know what other users with similar tastes have recommended.

If you want to know more, Digg execs Kevin Rose and Anton Kast go into detail about how it works on the Digg blog.

Rose will also probably explain the new feature during his next Diggnation podcast.


methodshop

Labels: tech news