The new 2007 Digital Media Survey by Entertainment Media Research concludes that “Illegal Music Downloads” are now at an all time high. They claim that social networks with open music sharing type environments, paired with easy access are a major reason for why illegal downloads are taking off more than ever. Another reason they say is the rising cost of “legal music downloads” - which I think is the main factor. Read [Telegraph.co.uk]
After the shootings at Virginia Tech, eBay is updating their “Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy” by disallowing listings of any “part that is required for the firing of a gun.” including “items like bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, trigger assemblies, etc.” This decision was made after learning the Virginia Tech gunman purchased several empty ammunition clips through eBay about three weeks prior to the attack. I think this is a great idea, and it would be even better for online auction houses to stay out of any kind of weapons related deals all together. eBay Announcement
Some Brazilian peeps have written a little something in Python bring an iPhone-esque keyboard functionality to the beloved Nokia N800. What’s really interesting? The developer has never even used an iPhone. As I see it, no ‘predictive text’ is the only downfall to this. I’ve always viewed the N800 as nothing less than impressive, but I still love my iPhone. But then again, from what my friend Adam in SF keeps saying about his N800, I may just get one. Install for N800 via jk
At just 1/18th of an inch wide, this is the world’s smallest CMOS chip with camera attachment being only 3.2mm. Shoots at a resolution of 328 x 250 with NTSC output. This is being developed by the British TDC, “a technical component distributor specialising in embedded components for wireless applications such as GSM, GPRS, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi and ZigBee.” The Raw Feed
This is PhotoVu’s new PV1965w digital photo frame, and it will automatically resize your digital photos to 1440 x 900. It will also resize your bank account.
They claim this “is the industry’s first high-resolution, widescreen digital picture frame. [It’s] wireless, Internet-connected, and integrates with leading photo sharing web sites using RSS.” PhotoVu
Talk about a tasty deal on a decent laptop with Fedora Linux pre-installed. It’s the Celebrity from Sweden based Medison, and when it comes to making uber-cheap PCs - it blows the OLPC (about $175) and Intel Classmate PC (about $200) out of the water.
The features are very impressive for the price: 14-inch WXGA display, 1.5GHz Intel Celeron M 370 processor, 256MB RAM (expandable to 1GB), 40GB hard drive, WiFi, 3 USB ports, PC Card slot, and stereo speakers. They say they’ll ship within 4-6 weeks. Medison
It was only a matter of time before one of these mini-projectors made it into a mainstream mobile device. That mobile device will be made by Motorola, which has just inked a deal with mini-projector maker Microvision. Together with Motorola they will create a prototype handset will with Microvision’s new, WVGA 854 x 480 color wide angle scanner.
The Windows Vista successor formerly known as ‘Vienna’ is now codenamed ‘Windows 7′. According to Seattle PI’s Todd Bishop, the Microsoft secret sales meeting revealed that ‘Windows 7′ is “due out in approximately three years.” and “Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has vowed that the company will never again take so long to develop a new Windows version as it did to produce Windows Vista.”
This would put it at 2010. Well, they’re already behind apparently since Microsoft ’s executive vice president of development Ben Fathi said this in February: “You can think roughly two, two-and-a-half years is a reasonable time frame that our partners can depend on and can work with.” A release date change from two to three years? In only 5 months? I think we can count on more pushback for this OS too.
For the FCC’s upcoming auction for the 700MHz spectrum, Google has set aside $4.6 billion (the FCC’s reserve price) to bid on it. But - only if four “principles of openess” are met to give consumers a wider choice in broadband services. The openess will also increase healthy competition between providers.
The four principles Google wants the FCC to require are:
Open applications: consumers should be able to download and utilize any software applications, content, or services they like;
Open devices: consumers should be able to utilize their handheld communications device with whichever wireless network they prefer;
Open services: third parties (resellers) should be able to acquire wireless services from a 700 MHz licensee on a wholesale basis, based on reasonably nondiscriminatory commercial terms; and
Open networks: third parties (like ISPs) should be able to interconnect at any technically feasible point in a 700 MHz licensee’s wireless network.
Google lookin’ out for all of us peeps. Word. Press Release [Google]
Wired Magazine takes a look at some of the most miniature PCs in the world. The only one I can see they left out is the Jack PC (shown above) which is definitely one of the best super-small PCs out. The World’s Tiniest PCs [Wired]
The new 2007 Digital Media Survey by Entertainment Media Research concludes that “Illegal Music Downloads” are now at an all time high. They claim that social networks with open music sharing type environments, paired with easy access are a major reason for why illegal downloads are taking off more than ever. Another reason they say is the rising cost of “legal music downloads” - which I think is the main factor. Read [Telegraph.co.uk]
This is PhotoVu’s new PV1965w digital photo frame, and it will automatically resize your digital photos to 1440 x 900. It will also resize your bank account.
The Windows Vista successor formerly known as ‘Vienna’ is now codenamed ‘Windows 7′. According to 
For the FCC’s upcoming auction for the 700MHz spectrum, Google has set aside $4.6 billion (the FCC’s reserve price) to bid on it. But - only if four “principles of openess” are met to give consumers a wider choice in broadband services. The openess will also increase healthy competition between providers.