Technology posts

So Apple is dancing around, boasting of one million users having joined Ping in under 48 hours. That’s a pretty funky dance, Apple. “One-third of the people who have downloaded iTunes 10 have joined Ping,“ says Eddy Cue, vice president of Internet Services. “As many more people download iTunes 10 in the coming weeks, we expect the Ping community to continue growing.” Alright, Ed. Granted, that sounds impressive. But consider the following: Spider-Man 3 is one of the top-grossing movies of all time. It is also universally hailed as one of the worst movies of all time. The perceived popularity…

If you enjoy adrenaline-filled racing, bone-crushing tackles, mind-blowing saves, and earth-shattering home runs, chances are pretty good that you have a satellite or cable subscription. This is reality: sports lovers can’t ditch their expensive television providers — not if they want to continue to enjoy the sports they love. Or can they? Let’s get the obvious out of the way — big media doesn’t like change. Big media would prefer that consumers pay for those expensive cable or satellite subscriptions for an incredibly long time. Big media wants suck people’s wallets dry while…

You thought that Retina Display was smooth. You thought pixels 4 times smaller than regular pixels were impressive. Man, have you got something to learn about what smooth be. Smooth be this: Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a display with a resolution so, so, so, so, so fine, that the pixels used are eight times smaller than those used on the iPhone 4. Now, let’s put this into perspective. To show off the technology, the researchers recreated the U of M logo on a screen 9 microns tall. A human hair is 100 microns wide. I know, right? Created with nanometer-thin sheets of metal,…

For years now, what web sites do with our data has become a serious problem in the online world. From confusing settings on Facebook – like their recent decision to again set strange defaults in Facebook Places – to online banking, how information about our lives is protected, distributed and use online has become a real issue. The big sticking point? Every individual site has its own rules about how it uses data. That means that not only do users have to carefully parse the user agreements for each site, they have to keep track of any ongoing changes. Think about that: that’s like you having to read…

The new Digg has had quite the time settling in. There was always a concern with Digg that stories could be manipulated to reach the front page, that not all stories were organically equal. That feeling has intensified, and one beneficiary has been fellow news site, Reddit. At one point yesterday, five of the top ten stories on Digg originated from Reddit. Was it malice, coincidence or are Digg users simply migrating to a competing service to show their displeasure? Paradoxically, this seems to have intensified now that discussions have formed on both sites about the so-called ‘gaming’ of Digg…

Assuming you’re one who enjoys nothing more than to gaze into the loins of a stranger, you’ll be delighted beyond reason to learn that Chatroulette is back, with a shiny new 2.0 and a promise of all the sweaty junk you can be hot and bothered to look upon. Okay, maybe not that last part. But that’s not going to stop daring exhibitionists around the globe from keeping their webcam at crotch-level – and, after having taken it for a short test drive, it certainly hasn’t. I guess my big question for Ternovskiy is: what’s 2.0 about this, dude? To be honest, I dig the new interface. I’m a fan of really, really minimal…

When you are a social bookmarking site/community owned by a huge mega-empire like Reddit is (Condé Nast for those not in the know), eventually you will be at odds with your dark lords and masters. The big issue for the Nastmasters on Reddit at the moment is Reddit ads being posted in support of California’s Proposition 19, which is a motion to legalize marijuana in order to profit from the fat tax dollars sure to come from the consumption of the demon weed. After Ben Huh of the Cheezburger Network noted publicly that, should there be trouble in paradise, he would be interested in acquiring Reddit,…

A new study by Pew Internet suggests that more old people than ever are using social networks. Now, before the nethers of some of Techi’s most well-aged readers get all puckered, I’m defining ‘old’ as 50 and up. Come on now, that’s fair. You’re old. Deal. Last year, it was approximated that only 22 percent of internet users over the age of 50 were using social networks to stay in touch. (Frankly, us in the twentysomething demographic didn’t mind that at all – those who have their grandparents on Facebook know what I’m talking about – but you didn’t hear that from me). But fast forward 13 months, and that…

Two big studios have joined forces to tackle a problem facing the industry. Which is great news, except they’re working on the wrong problem. Warner Bros and Disney have teamed up and are working together – not to provide a better product in a better way to the eager paying customers the music and movie industry has failed and continues to fail, but to attack an advertising company known to work with pirate sites. The target is Triton Media, an advertising consultancy firm alleged to have worked with up to nine websites the studios consider “one-stop-shops” for movie piracy. The ongoing problem…

Regular readers of Techi know that we love Digg and that, most of the time anyway, Digg loves us. So when Digg rolled out version 4 of its social aggregation site – or v4 as many have called it – many, including us, were excited, particularly because there have been rumors of Digg’s waning influence. The refresh promised to not only reinvigorate the platform, but also make it competitive with the massive influence of Facebook and increasing presence of Twitter. Alas, not all is well with the new Digg. In fact, many people are downright angry at some of the changes and flaws with the new site. Complaints…