Book worms and tree huggers rejoice as another eBook option has surfaced. This newest development is making home on RIM’s popular Blackberry line of devices. Brought to you by Fictionwise, Barnes & Noble’s online eBook reader service, the eBook app will allow you to browse B&B’s free catalog of books online as well as all [...]
When you hear the words “auto industry” in this day and age, it is hard to think of a properous and youthful market. One that is expanding and on the leading edge of automotive technology. However, we all know that the U.S. auto industry is anything but “leading edge” or prosperous. Unfortunately, they aren’t the only market to start feeling the pinch of not only economic times, but also the technological times as technology and digitized goods become more and more a part of our daily lives. So what area of the market has been thrust into the spotlight claiming to be in the most dire need of help and a solution…the newspaper industry…
On device app stores while still all the rage are now coming off of their peak. Last summer with the arrival of the Apple App Store, several manufacturers and companies including RIM, Google, and Nokia just to name a few announced plans for their very own app stores. Carriers, the gatekeeper of the data pipe naturally want in on this extremely lucrative market. There’s only one problem, the innovation and features that keep customers happy and constantly purchasing never came from “the network” (carrier branded stores). Look at the small app centers that carriers have run for the last decade, from AT&T to Verizon to T-Mobile. You could access these pathetic excuses of WAP shopping goodness from practically any phone…but who actually did? I know I didn’t. The app selection was abysmal at the absolute best and apps and services were often overpriced. That isn’t exactly the best combination if you ask me. So, now that the App Store hoopla is starting to die down, who is trying to break in and steal the spotlight multiple months late?
When you’re in a hurry and have to leave someone a message on their voicemail, you want to do it right this second, not 15, 20, or 30 seconds from now. Another reason for the quick message is not only because of time constraints but more importantly to save a few pennies. Those precious seconds you’re stuck on the phone listening to some stupid recording when you could be yapping away yourself costs against your minutes, and if you’re over your minutes they go on your bill as nasty overages. Pretty shady huh!? But there is a hope for us mere mortals yet.
The World Wide Web is quickly becoming the one stop shop if you will for everything in our lives. Everything from cooking classes, to how-to mechanic videos, to live concerts. Online video, whether it be in the form of movies, live events, or other forms, are becoming the biggest draw to the internet. All of the new found love in video over broadband connections is making broadband providers sweat. Why? Are tiered plans really all they’re cracked up to be?
While there were many things announced yesterday at WWDC, several of those pertaining to the new iPhone 3GS, one in particular left me wanting more - the camera. The old iPhone 2G and 3G cameras were 2 megapixel shooters with nothing else to aid in mobile static image gathering. The new iPhone 3GS uses a *slightly* higher resolution 3 megapixel camera, except this time auto-focus, auto-white balance, and a few other small software tweaked features are also added. As soon as I saw the camera I thought to myself “That’s it?”. Do you find yourself asking the same question?
Book worms and tree huggers rejoice as another eBook option has surfaced. This newest development is making home on RIM’s popular Blackberry line of devices. Brought to you by Fictionwise, Barnes & Noble’s online eBook reader service, the eBook app will allow you to browse B&B’s free catalog of books online as well as all [...]
The glossy “Aqua” style of Tiger and Leopard isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. iLeopard will appeal to those users by toning down the gloss and glare giving Leopard a new, darker lease on life.
Coming off of yesterday’s review of BerryWeather, HandyWeather is following closely vying for your dollar and dedicated spot on your berry. As far as weather information is concerned, HandyWeather does a good job of laying out the information on the screen in a decent manner that is easy to read. Though, while the app isn’t ugly by any means, I much prefer BerryWeather’s visual appearance and overall more “modern” feel. Is it the right Blackberry weather for you?
The Logitech MX Revolution is an outstanding mouse that cuts the cord and ends a valiant quest that has stretched on for many months. Finally I can declare the search over as the MX is by far the best mouse for the money.
Those of you who value sound quality and don’t just settle for the stock ear buds will be pleased that Apple’s new In-Ear headphones deliver awesome performance for the money. While they won’t please super critical audiophiles, the population between average Joe and the super critical will definitely enjoy Apple’s latest.
Book worms and tree huggers rejoice as another eBook option has surfaced. This newest development is making home on RIM’s popular Blackberry line of devices. Brought to you by Fictionwise, Barnes & Noble’s online eBook reader service, the eBook app will allow you to browse B&B’s free catalog of books online as well as all [...]
Fans of the original Phantom theme for Blackberry now have a piece of Blackberry nostalgia to enjoy on their Blackberry Bolds. The new theme, Phantom v2 stays true to the original in style however, it looks many times better on the Bolds bright and crisp display. The Phantom is a very sleek and dark theme for those with a knack for a darker look.
BlackBerry users who like themes with a minimalistic design with emphasis on big, centered meters on the homescreen will find “Dark Room” is one of, if not the best theme yet to push this design. When I made BlackBerry themes just a couple years ago, I always loved making my own battery and signal meters. To me, a custom theme wasn’t that that unique or cool unless cusotm icons were used. Moving forward, BlackBerry themes have moved forward exponentially in complexity and style with the latest themes completely blowing away anything I made. Likewise, the meters that are being created from various theme designers are truly innovative and unique. One such new theme that branches off into a new style is that of “Dark Room”. This new theme designed by Calx is one in a million by incorporating a new twist on the meters — Calx blew them up to epic sizes and centered them around the BlackBerry logo on the homescreen. It is definitely a minimalistic style theme as the meter artwork is the showcase.
Those in the market for a fresh premium BlackBerry theme have another option today with LineUp. While the basic layout is radically unique, the colors used throughout show that the designer, Brandy R. over at Artistic-Me have quite the eye for good design. The theme which is available in either a bottom dock or plus style will cater to most users’ needs. LineUp is available for 8900, 9000, and 9630 devices for $6.99 from Artistic-Me.com.
Blue Ice is a Macish theme brought to you by Visto Themes that blends a little bit of OS X with a little bit of Corey’s imagination. Stop by Visto themes today to get a piece of this cool looking theme!
Prices of hard drives have fallen throughout the years to the point where you can now get more than ample room for dirt cheap. While just one short decade ago 1 single Gigabyte would set you back almost $300, today you can have the same Gig for the price of your standard newspaper! Even though the current cream of the crop drives boast 1-2 Terabytes of storage, the next big goal, the Petabyte, isn’t that far off. Just how much can you hold with a Petabyte?
We’ve seen some pretty unique uses for lego in the tech world such as the Lego Flash Drive, the Lego USB hub, and even a Lego MP3 player. The latest use of Lego’s, while not quite “gadgety”, is none the less cool and unique. Instead of having electronic circuits inside the legos, they themselves become literal building blocks, supporting aging wonders of architecture.
Everyone needs some humor in their lives. That is where the Lego Guy Crash Test Dummy T-Shirt (whew!) comes into play. Impress your friends by providing them with countless encounters of laughter that will never grow old.
The ever increasingly powerful gaming consoles such as the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 have given gamers the ability of near photorealistic games that truly place you in the action. Some games are so graphically intense and beautiful, you may have to at times pinch yourself to make sure you really aren’t in the game. Games have come quite a ways from their humble days not so long ago when the bleeding edge of gaming was measured in bits. While modern games and all of the graphical eye candy are sure a treat to feast on, sometimes you just want to blow an evening controlling a character made out of a couple dozen blocks. Retro games, firing up the ‘ol *insert classic gaming system here*, and reliving your youth bring back a part of your childhood that to many is a welcome vacation from the everyday realities we face. What if you could take all of that retro goodness in your pocket? Not just one system. But all of them?
We’ve all been there, you’re at some social gathering/party and you can’t remember where you sat your beer down. Normally such travesties mean endless minutes searching frantically for your beloved beverage. Often times, someone else has claimed it, or you find it next to some questionable people with shifty eyes. Such people and scenarios often leave you nervous opting to instead abandoned your trust friend and search out for a new one. But what if you could find your beer faster by “calling” it?
If you are a Crackberry user but aren’t too kosher with mixing and matching the Blackberry OS files Crackmem makes it drop dead simple to edit your Blackberry OS to your little hearts content.
The iPhone 3G is finally un-lockable. For those iPhone users that just can’t stand AT&T or who simply won’t pay for their insanely overpriced international plans, step inside and save yourself a boatload of money!
For many, MP3 player is synonymous with iPod. However, in terms of audio quality, the iPod is far from the top of the heap. Back when hard drive mp3 players were big, units such as the Rio Karma, iRiver iHP-120 (my favorite…mine still works), and Cowon’s X5 were the real kings of audio when actual audio quality was considered - something that seems to have fallen by the wayside today. If you want to bring some new school love to an old friend, in this case an old Cowon X5, reinvent your dying love with some new compact flash goodness.
Everything in life can assume multiple roles. Technology and gadgets often have very short life cycles and are always being replaced by newer, faster, and smaller products. When the unfortunate time comes and your hard drive fails, instead of throwing it away, do something useful with it…make it a clock!
Book worms and tree huggers rejoice as another eBook option has surfaced. This newest development is making home on RIM’s popular Blackberry line of devices. Brought to you by Fictionwise, Barnes & Noble’s online eBook reader service, the eBook app will allow you to browse B&B’s free catalog of books online as well as all [...]
The internet is different.
It produces different public spheres, different terms of trade and different cultural skills. The media must adapt their work methods to today’s technological reality instead of ignoring or challenging it. It is their duty to develop the best possible form of journalism based on the available technology. This includes new journalistic products and methods.
The internet is a pocket-sized media empire.
The web rearranges existing media structures by transcending their former boundaries and oligopolies. The publication and dissemination of media contents are no longer tied to heavy investments. Journalism’s self-conception is, fortunately, being bereft of its gatekeeping function. All that remains is the journalistic quality through which journalism distinguishes itself from mere publication.
The internet is our society is the internet.
Web-based platforms like social networks, Wikipedia or YouTube have become a part of everyday life for the majority of people in the western world. They are as accessible as the telephone or television. If media companies want to continue to exist, they must understand the world of today’s users and embrace their forms of communication. This includes basic forms of social communication: listening and responding, also known as dialogue.
The freedom of the internet is inviolable.
The internet’s open architecture constitutes the basic IT law of a society which communicates digitally and, consequently, of journalism. It may not be modified for the sake of protecting the special commercial or political interests often hidden behind the pretense of public interest. Regardless of how it is done, blocking access to the internet endangers the free flow of information and corrupts our fundamental right to a self-determined level of information.
The internet is the victory of information.
Due to inadequate technology, media companies, research centres, public institutions and other organisations compiled and classified the world’s information up to now. Today every citizen can set up her own personal news filter while search engines tap into a wealth of information of a magnitude never before known. Individuals can now inform themselves better than ever.
The internet
changesimproves journalism
Through the internet, journalism can fulfil its socio-educational role in a new way. This includes presenting information as an ever-changing, continual process; the forfeiture of print media’s inalterability is a benefit. Those who want to survive in this new world of information need a new idealism, new journalistic ideas and a sense of pleasure in exploiting this new potential.
The net requires networking.
Links are connections. We know each other through links. Those who do not use them exclude themselves from social discourse. This also holds for the websites of traditional media companies.
Links reward, citations adorn.
Search engines and aggregators facilitate quality journalism: they boost the findability of outstanding content over a long-term basis and are thus an integral part of the new, networked public sphere. References through links and citations — especially including those made without any consent of or even remuneration of the originator—make the very culture of networked social discourse possible in the first place. They are by all means worthy of protection.
The internet is the new venue for political discourse.
Democracy thrives on participation and freedom of information. Transferring the political discussion from traditional media to the internet and expanding on this discussion by involving the active participation of the public is one of journalism’s new tasks.
Today’s freedom of the press means freedom of opinion.
Article 5 of the German Constitution does not comprise protective rights for professions or traditional business models. The internet overrides the technological boundaries between the amateur and professional. This is why the privilege of freedom of the press must hold for anyone who can contribute to the fulfilment of journalistic duties. Qualitatively speaking, no differentiation should be made between paid and unpaid journalism, but rather, between good and poor journalism.
More is more – there is no such thing as too much information.
Once upon a time, institutions such as the church prioritised power over personal awareness and warned of an unsifted flood of information when the letterpress was invented. On the other hand, pamphleteers, encyclopaedists and journalists proved that more information leads to more freedom, both for the individual as well as society as a whole. To this day, nothing has changed in this respect.
Tradition is not a business model.
Money can be made on the internet with journalistic content. There are many examples of this today already. Yet because the internet is fiercely competitive, business models have to be adapted to the structure of the net. No one should try to abstain from this essential adaptation through policy-making geared to preserving the status quo. Journalism needs open competition for the best refinancing solutions on the net, along with the courage to invest in the multifaceted implementation of these solutions.
Copyright becomes a civic duty on the internet.
Copyright is a central cornerstone of information organization on the Internet. Originators’ rights to decide on the type and scope of dissemination of their contents are also valid on the net. At the same time, copyright may not be abused as a lever to safeguard obsolete supply mechanisms and shut out new distribution models or license schemes. Ownership entails obligations.
The internet has many currencies.
Journalistic online services financed through adverts offer content in exchange for a pull effect. A reader’s, viewer’s or listener’s time is valuable. In the industry of journalism, this correlation has always been one of the fundamental tenets of financing. Other forms of refinancing which are journalistically justifiable need to be forged and tested.
What’s on the net stays on the net.
The internet is lifting journalism to a new qualitative level. Online, text, sound and images no longer have to be transient. They remain retrievable, thus building an archive of contemporary history. Journalism must take the development of information, its interpretation and errors into account, i.e., it must admit its mistakes and correct them in a transparent manner.
Quality remains the most important quality.
The internet debunks homogeneous bulk goods. Only those who are outstanding, credible and exceptional will gain a steady following in the long run. Users’ demands have increased. Journalism must fulfil them and abide by its own frequently formulated principles.
All for all.
The web constitutes an infrastructure for social exchange superior to that of 20th century mass media: when in doubt, the “generation Wikipedia” is capable of appraising the credibility of a source, tracking news back to its original source, researching it, checking it and assessing it — alone or as part of a group effort. Journalists who snub this and are unwilling to respect these skills are not taken seriously by internet users. Rightly so. The internet makes it possible to communicate directly with those once known as recipients — readers, listeners and viewers — and to take advantage of their knowledge. It is not the ‘know-it-all’ journalists who are in demand, but those who communicate and investigate.