Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 10, 2012, 3:04 am
It's only barely into the second week of February and already the iPad 3 rumors are running full steam ahead. It's because --- assuming Apple sticks to its annual refresh cycle --- the iPad 3 should launch in March. Rumors have run that Apple might announce the iPad 3 in February, because with Leap...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 10, 2012, 3:01 am
A group of hackers known as Swagg Security is claims to have breached the security of Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn. With an avatar very similar to that of LulzSec, we can imagine it's an offshoot of that group, and that this hack was part of the AntiSec campaign (against corruption in gove...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 9, 2012, 9:26 am
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is Horoscope HD Pro. Horoscope HD Pro is priced at $0.99 in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $0.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ between the two...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 9, 2012, 3:07 am
It's been some time since the last iPad 3 rumor, and we wouldn't want you to get complacent. The latest rumor comes via the website Repair Labs, which claims to have obtained the rear shell of the upcoming iPad 3 from an industry insider in China. Amazon.com WidgetsIt's now unknown for those invo...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 9, 2012, 3:04 am
A lesson learned from the death of HD-DVD: it's all about content. And on Wednesday Amazon.com announced a deal with Viacom that will raise the number of titles available in its Prime Instant Videos service to over 15,000. That would be three times the number of titles the service launched with. T...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 9, 2012, 3:01 am
Market research firm The NPD Group issued a new report on the state of the U.S. mobile market for Q4 2011, and it echoed prior reports: Apple and the iPhone had a huge quarter. While that was interesting, there's something more interesting in the report: Android attracted a lot of first-time smartp...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 8, 2012, 10:56 pm
A recent report in The New York Times described the human cost of the electronics we received from factories in China, including iPads and iPhones. While such conditions are not exclusive to Apple, with its position as the most valuable company in the world by market capitalization, the Cupertino-...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 8, 2012, 3:11 pm
How many times has it been demonstrated that it's a bad idea to have simplistic passwords like "12345?" To be honest, too many times to count. Yet here we have another example, and this one is one from a place that should know better: the office of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Hackers affilia...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 8, 2012, 9:19 am
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is High Flyer Jetpack Tests. High Flyer Jetpack Tests is currently exclusive to the Amazon Appstore. It is normally priced at $0.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 8, 2012, 3:04 am
Two of Google's most important programming projects were melded into one on Tuesday, as the company released the beta version of Chrome for Android. Available free in the Android Market, there's one big caveat: it only works on Ice Cream Sandwich. Another caveat: the Adobe Flash Player for Android ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 3, 2012, 3:04 am
U.S. authorities began seizing the domains of several sports streaming sites on Thursday, cracking down on sites that stream unauthorized video of sporting events. The move comes, of course, shortly before Super Bowl XLVI, perhaps the biggest single televised sporting event of the year. Amazon.co...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 3, 2012, 3:01 am
Rapper T-Pain and Viddy, the mobile social video application, have teamed to produce the first premium Viddy Production Pack. Viddy, free in the App Store, allows users to add visual effects, music, transitions, and even movie stars to your videos, and then share them via social media, including Fa...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 2, 2012, 9:56 am
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is Gravilux. Gravilux is priced at $1.99 in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $1.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ between the two marketplaces. ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 2, 2012, 3:04 am
A new survey by well-known dating site Match.com might give consumers yet another reason to choose --- or not choose --- Android over iPhone: Android users are more likely to have sex on the first date than iPhone or BlackBerry users. One notable piece of information: the data was obtained from Can...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 2, 2012, 3:01 am
It's dead, Jim, that is to say any hopes of seeing the Samsung Galaxy S III unveiled at Mobile World Congress (MWC) later this month. As rumored, Samsung is delaying the introduction of its next flagship Galaxy S smartphone version and will have a separate event --- still in 1H2012 --- to launch th...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 1, 2012, 10:38 pm
A woman who took Honda to small claims court over her Civic Hybrid's inability to deliver its advertised fuel economy has wond her case. Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan awarded Heather Peters $9,867 on Wednesday, saying Honda misled her about the expected mileage. Peters op...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 1, 2012, 6:00 pm
As expected, but far later in the day that most thought, Facebook filed its S-1 paperwork on Wednesday afternoon (PST). The filing sets the stage for the social networking giant to raise $5 billion in an IPO. Pretty much all the information about the filing had already been leaked.  For example, M...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 1, 2012, 4:36 pm
We now know that American alternative rock band The Flaming Lips has at least one iPhone 4S among its members. The band has taken the iPhone 4S-only digital assistant Siri and used it as a "singer" on a song. The song is "Now I Understand." Uploaded to SoundCloud, it's set to disappear in less tha...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 1, 2012, 4:04 pm
Samsung's Galaxy Note Super Bowl ad will be its first Super Bowl commercial ever, and on Wednesday the Korea electronics giant teased its upcoming ad, which the company said would be directed by Bobby Farrelly (yes, the "Something About Mary" Farrelly). To be honest, the ad is very reminiscent of th...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Feb 1, 2012, 9:18 am
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is Glow Tic Tac Toe Ad Free. Glow Tic Tac Toe Ad Free is priced at $0.99 in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $0.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 29, 2012, 3:04 am
We ---   the users of a free, unfettered Internet  --- only recently "defeated" (temporarily) SOPA / PIPA, two bills purportedly designed to halt Internet piracy that many feared would lead to Web censorship. While acknowledged as a victory by many, there is already another threat on the horizo...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 29, 2012, 3:01 am
McDonald's can't be "lovin' it." The fast food giant, like many companies nowadays, tried to use social media for a marketing campaign, only to see it end up with a big Twitter Fail Whale. Amazon.com WidgetsMcDonald's last week launched a Twitter campaign featuring paid-for Tweets. Those, as you...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 28, 2012, 7:45 pm
One thing we love about Amazon.com is its review system. What, then, if the system is gamed? That's exactly what happened with VIP Deals, a (now former) company with an Amazon.com storefront that paid customers to give it five-star reviews. Three customers told the New York Times that VIP Deals en...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 28, 2012, 10:19 am
Facebook is set to file paperwork for an IPO offering as early as next week, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. That's been a widely anticipated filing, and sources have said for some time that the social networking giant was targeting the IPO for sometime between April and June. T...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 28, 2012, 8:36 am
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is Dream Journal Pro. Dream Journal Pro is priced at $1.99 in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $1.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ between the t...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 28, 2012, 3:04 am
Whether or not the Kindle Fire has seriously affected iPad sales, the device has at least severely impacted Android tablet sales. According to Strategy Analytics, which released the earlier report indicating Android tablets are now approaching 40 percent market share, of that number, the Kindle Fir...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 28, 2012, 3:01 am
Some people are guilty of Googling themselves, but this goes beyond that: reality TV star Kim Kardashian has set up a Google Alert on herself. Amazon.com WidgetsIf you don't know what that means, you can go to news.google.com, search for something, and at the bottom of the page you'll see a link t...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 27, 2012, 7:36 pm
This is something that could never happen with Apple's new e-textbook initiative. Whether or not that's good or bad might depend on your point of view. Sophia Stockton, who is a junior at Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas, recently ordered a textbook from an third-party reseller on ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 27, 2012, 1:13 pm
Apple CEO Tim Cook has responded to a New York Times expose that explained in great detail the harsh conditions faced by workers at Foxconn, one of Apple's key manufacturers. In response, Cook sent out a long email to Apple employees refuting that report. Amazon.com WidgetsThe email, obtained by ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 27, 2012, 9:04 am
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is Router. Router is priced at $1.59 in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $0.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ between the two marketplaces. Am...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 26, 2012, 3:07 am
Blizzard has announced that it is cancelling Blizzcon 2012. Don't expect that you can hang onto the money you had allocated for that event, though: the reason appears to be that Blizzard is skipping holding Blizzcon 2012 because it's too busy with trying to complete games. The company's statement: ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 26, 2012, 3:04 am
In July of 2010 the U.S. Copyright Office and the Library of Congress ruled that jailbreaking (and rooting) was legal, issuing a DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) exemption for the process, which allows iOS and Android users to install software and access functionality not otherwise allowed. Y...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 26, 2012, 3:01 am
New details are emerging about Microsoft's next-generation video games console, which will be called the XBox 720. Don't let the number fool you: the 720's processor will be six times, not twice, as fast as the one in the Xbox 360. Sources told IGN that production of the Xbox 360's GPU will begin b...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 25, 2012, 10:59 pm
We've said before that Nokia and Microsoft will struggle to get adoption of Windows Phone, what with the miniscule and declining market share of Microsoft smartphone platforms, and what with the huge lead that iPhone and Android have over WP. However, smart pricing and a compelling product might ma...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 25, 2012, 8:47 pm
Amazon.com is aiming to expanding its streaming video service, Amazon Instant Video, and may even make it into a standalone subscription service, according to a report in the New York Post. Lending credence to the rumor: even Netflix believes such as service is coming. Amazon launched Instant Video...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 25, 2012, 5:55 pm
Apple got off schedule in terms of an annual summer refresh cycle with the iPhone 4S, which launched instead in October, but the Cupertino-based company could be back on track this year, if the latest rumors pan out. The information comes from "a reliable source" to 9to5Mac. Credence in the matter ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 25, 2012, 9:20 am
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is Twist n'Catch. Twist n'Catch is priced at $1.06 in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $1.06 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ between the two marke...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 25, 2012, 3:07 am
Wondering if someone would sit and watch an over-two-hour YouTube video? They will if it's "Star Wars Uncut: the Director's Cut," which was uploaded on January 18. The crowd-sourced fan-created version of "Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope" has to be viewed to be believed. The website starwarsuncu...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 25, 2012, 3:04 am
Verizon Wireless has announced just when the Droid RAZR MAXX will be available, and we also know how much --- juice that new battery will carry, that is. When Verizon and Motorola announced the Droid RAZR MAXX at CES we know it would be 8.99mm thick, about 2mm more than the RAZR, and that it would c...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 25, 2012, 3:01 am
Thirty-six percent of recent iPhone customers moved from another smartphone platform, such as Android, Palm, or Blackberry, according to a report released by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) on Monday. In addition, more than one-fifth, or 21 percent of iPhone 4S buyers felt they need...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 23, 2012, 3:07 am
As a type 2 diabetes sufferer, we find taking blood to measure our glucose --- and see just how our diabetes is doing, the most tedious (and slightly painful) parts of the disease. Although advances are being made in terms of glucose monitoring, one advance that patients would love --- not having t...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 23, 2012, 3:04 am
On Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, at 6:35 a.m. EST, former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno died of complications of lung cancer. But on Saturday, the day before, a Tweet issued by Onward State, an online news organization that serves Penn State's students, faculty, staff, alumni, and along with State Co...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 23, 2012, 3:01 am
Did you know there was (at least one) a site dedicated to crime related in way or another to Craigslist? Considering the number of cases that have been dubbed "Craigslist Killer," it seems like it's not a bad idea, not a bad idea at all. Amazon.com WidgetsRichard James Beasley, 52, is the latest ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 22, 2012, 4:42 pm
Fans have been waiting and waiting and waiting for Diablo III since it was first announced in 2008. While the last "official" date from Blizzard was that customers could expect a Q1 2012 release, events this week seem to negate that, and certainly the most recent info really casts doubt on that. Bl...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 22, 2012, 4:25 pm
Reports such as SACOM's from May of 2011 have shown us of the stresses, low wages, and unsafe conditions of plants such as those used for manufacturing iDevices and other electronics. Yet, on the surface, a New York Times reports seems to point to more than just cheap labor as being the reason just...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 22, 2012, 9:11 am
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is Cubicle Golf. Cubicle Golf is priced at $1.99 in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $0.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ between the two marketp...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 22, 2012, 3:04 am
After nearly three years, it's here at last: "Star Wars Uncut: the Director's Cut." No, we don't mean a "George Lucas as director" cut of his "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope." Instead, we mean the entire "film" by Casey Pugh and Jamie Wilkinson, a crowd-sourced, fan-made version of the original ...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 22, 2012, 3:01 am
Samsung's next "Next Big Thing" ad is here, and it makes you wonder what Samsung has planned for the Super Bowl. The "Next Big Thing" campaign begin in November, with a well-received ad that mocked Apple fanboys waiting in line for Apple's next big thing (a new iPhone). However, the Samsung owners...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 21, 2012, 9:17 am
Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is FishPop. FishPop doesn't appear in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $0.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ between the two marketplaces. FishPo...
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Michael S. posted an article on Tech-Ex - Jan 21, 2012, 3:04 am
While quite a bit of the U.S. has broadband, quite a bit of it does not, at least partially because --- to be honest -- the return on putting broadband infrastructure into sparsely populated rural America just isn't there. But a service that was hidden underneath all the higher profile announcement...
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