Section: Haven’t caught all of the Gadgetell news this week? Here's your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles! - TSA vs the iPad; do you or don’t you?
“Do you or don’t you have to take the iPad out for screeners at the airport security checkpoint? Can you add the iPad to the list of things you need to pull out separately while you…” MORE » - Microsoft is not intimidated by Google, stays away from iPad
” A few days ago, Stephen Elop, President of Microsoft’s Business Division, announced some interesting information regarding the future of Office. The Apple iPad is definitely an interesting opportunity for Microsoft to work into some Office products, but at this point in…” MORE » - New York Times increases e-edition pricing to $19.99
” Just yesterday, the New York Times announced a price increase of their Times app for the Kindle from $13.99 a month to $19.99. This 43% increase in price will be felt heavily by possible Kindle subscribers as they will now have…” MORE » - Buzz to reset privacy settings - users back in control
“At launch Google’s stab at social networking outraged many at the lack of concern over privacy. Since launch, Google has made many changes (rather quickly too) in efforts to right the wrongs the company committed. Rumored to be tomorrow, Google will reset everyone’s privacy, asking users to…” MORE » - Sprint order form reveals upcoming BlackBerry 9650, BlackBerry 8230 and Motorola ES400 releases
” Internal ordering systems always seems to be a good source of information for upcoming handset availability. Well, a good source assuming there is an employee ready and willing to leak those screenshots. Thankfully, that seems to be the case with Sprint as of late. And based…” MORE » - Redbox $3.95 all-you-can-stream movies?
“According to a Redbox survey, the company is considering a move into streaming movies Netflix-style for a mere $3.95 per month. Netflix currently offers streaming free, as long as you have a minimum $8.99 plan. Redbox currently operates kiosks that distribute movies for $1 a night across the…” MORE » - Microsoft to hold event on April 12: Project Pink announcement?
” Not too long before Apple announced that it would be holding an event to show off iPhone OS 4, Microsoft announced an event for next week for an announcement of its own. Unlike Apple’s announcement, Microsoft wasn’t too clear as to…” MORE » - Taking away the toys: 30 years no computer is too harsh
“A Maryland man, caught trying to meet a girl online who he believed was 13 years old, was sentenced to 30 years without use of a computer “for any reason.” The convicted man was formerly…” MORE » - HP Slate spends some time on video, shares specs
” Yesterday seems to have been a good day for the upcoming HP tablet style PC, after all we saw a decent, albeit short video as well as a set of leaked specs. In short,…” MORE » - Flip Slide HD pocket camcorder spotted at Best Buy
” Wow, you would think that taking a picture of an item in a Best Buy would come as a better image. Thankfully it is not super blurry, but at the same time the angle…” MORE »
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Imaging, Camcorders Its another day, and we have found another bit of information regarding the Flip Slide HD pocket camcorder. This latest information is coming from an image on an internal system at Best Buy and appears to reveal the model number and perhaps a little more important—the price and a release date. In short, it looks like the Flip Slide HD will be sporting a model number of S1240w and will be available as of April 18, 2010 for a price of $279.99. Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Features, Originals, Columns, Who's On Crack 
Welcome to another week of Who’s on Crack where we seek out the news in tech that defy’s logic, unless your hopped up on illegal narcotics. The past weeks have offered much fodder for us so let’s get right to it. This weeks nominees are:
- Close or reply:Apple’s notifications to stay
- Attack of the ebooks (in mass market stores)
- Can HP finally get touch right?
They didn’t get the memo? Apple not changing notifications? Really? Let’s face it, the notification system on the iPhone is annoying and outdated at best. Like an only child, the notification demands your attention and response before your allowed to go back to your app. It’s weak and is beat by every other OS out there. Palm’s webOS and Google’s Android offer much elegant solutions, alerts that limit themselves to the bottom or top of the screen allowing you to deal with them as you wish, not when the OS demands it. It’s no secret, bloggers have been harping on this for years, yet still no improvement? Clearly, Apple put lots more resources into wallpapers (wha?) and iBook for iPhone. That is what users were demanding, “please Apple, give us yet another ebook reader app and wall paper.” I can’t think of more inconsequential changes. And to use them as tentpoles? These two tidbits wouldn’t hold up sheet of toilet paper, much less a tent. 
Ebook readers everywhere. News came this week that ebook readers are expanding. No not in size but in distribution. Target will get the Kindle and Best Buy the Nook. Are these products big enough to make a hit at big retailers? I’ve always seen the ebook reader market as a niche - one that maxes out with folks who like to read and are tech savvy. By definition, these folks are comfortable (to an extent) to purchase devices online. So moving them to mass market retailers like Target and Best Buy while allowing more touch and feel should have little real impact for the company. Throw them an impulse buy bone now and again but those that consume content have already made the move. That doesn’t even take into consideration the iPad effect. Amazon is begining a new ad push but for many it seems like a much smaller product with a much smaller draw than something like the iPad. Shopper: “Where can I find the ebook readers?”
Worker: “oh, there are over there in the bargain bin” 
HP still touchy after all this time HP has been at the touch game for some time. From their touchscreen laptop “tablets” to touch screen home computers to touch screen commercial applications, they’ve been all over the place. The company has done a keen job of putting a touch friendly UI over Windows that seemed to fight it every step of the way. Consumers just don’t seem to want to reach out and touch their desktops. Now with the Slate, HP may find success. Our Robert Nelson wrote, “in short, the HP Slate seems like it will be a device worth looking forward to seeing.” From the promo video, it looks almost Applish in elegance, but grounded in Windows-do-what-you-like (USB,SD cards, cameras, etc.). Could they have a hit, finally? I am anxious to see it. How about you? Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Computers, Security, Features  Social Networking is red hot these days. MySpace may have reached a plateau and be headed for decline, but Facebook, LinkedIn, Tagged, and Hi5 are steadily rising in popularity and here to stay.
However, along with their popularity come concerns about privacy and security and with good reason. By their very nature social networking sites encourage the sharing of personal info, and while in most cases this is beneficial and safe, scammers know the huge audiences these sites command and do everything they can to take advantage of them. Another issue with these sites has been with their invite policies. In the past sites like Classmates and Reunion.com have gotten in hot water with their shady invite system, which didn't clearly inform members that their entire address book would be sent invites nor allow them to opt out of doing so. So how are the top social networking sites doing? Here's a look, complete with grades: Facebook: This is currently the king of social networking sites with over 400,000 million members. At one time I would have given them an A+ for their privacy and email features but that changed earlier this year when they revamped their privacy tools, and not for the better. Previously users could chose exactly what information they wanted to share with the world, but after the revamp they discovered they were forced to show their profile photo, location, and all the pages and groups they are a member of. This didn't go over well with many members, especially those who used photos of their children as their profile photos. They've also started indexing posts made to fan pages and groups on Google in real time. Facebook members who are members of 12 step groups and other types of support groups on the site aren't happy about that. Their invite feature is solid however-it won't automatically spam your contact list, and they've cracked down on the flood of app spam as well. Rouge apps are still a big problem thanks to their lax app vetting. B+ MySpace: The granddaddy of them all has seen better days, but the site is still going strong and is still popular with musicians and bands. The site has excellent privacy tools that allow you to custom tailor who you want to see your page, what on your page you want them to see, and what types of people and groups you will accept invites from. You can also opt out of every type of mailing and notification MySpace offers if you want. The site itself may be in need of an overhaul but their privacy tools are top notch. A Tagged: At one time Tagged had found itself in the midst of a PR mess and several lawsuits as a result of its shady invite process, which repeatedly spammed the address books of its users.
Happily, the site has re-tooled and with it has turned over a new leaf. It no longer spams address books and after settling a lawsuit with NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, adopted new privacy reforms and simplified the registration process. It's also become a member of the Social Media Advertising Consortium, which is a trade organization dedicated to increasing and maintaining advertising standards within Social Media. They even sued a spammer and won! The registration process is simple and privacy is a top priority. Users over 18 are blocked from accessing the profiles of underage users and all users are able to completely customize their email preferences, choosing exactly what types of emails to receive from the site and which to block. Alas, like Facebook they force users to show their profile photo and location and also their age, all things that the user should be allowed to decide whether to share or not. Despite that they are definitely much improved! B+ Hi5: This site is extremely popular in Latin America and claims to be the third most popular social networking site in the world. Unfortunately it has a long ugly history of sending spam invites-in fact after you register you are presented with a nag screen asking you to "check your address book" by giving the site your email address and password. A drop down list reveals it's prepared to check just about every popular webmail service and ISP. Users who hand over the info promptly spam everyone in their address books with invites to the service. It does offer privacy tools for profiles and email preferences but the spam invites leave a bad taste in one's mouth. In tiny print they say they won't contact your friends without your permission, but experience and the tons of complaints a Google search turned up say otherwise. D Bebo- This site, whose name stands for "Blog Early, Blog Often" is currently owned by AOL. I can't say much about there privacy standards because their registration tool is broken. No matter what email address I used it returned an "Email can not be used" error. I tried Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and Roadrunner addresses before I gave up. F LinkedIn- This is by far the best site for those that are serious about the networking part of social networking. It's a quieter, more refined version of Facebook minus the distractions of Farmville, Mafia Wars, videos, and app invites. Users have an in-depth business profile showcasing their past and present employers/positions, and a wealth of social groups to interact with others in their field. Like other sites it offers you the chance to invite friends but there is a very clear and easy to see "Skip This" link and you're not asked again. The only emails the site sends are a weekly update of your contacts' activity and notifications that someone has invited you to join their network, and they can be turned off if you wish. (If you join any groups you may receive messages from them as well-it's left up to you) Unlike other social networking sites it allows you to completely block your profile from public view, or decide exactly what info to share if you do make it public. This is a top notch site all the way. A+ Social networking is exploding in popularity, and that means more and more people will be using it to share personal information and connect with others. This makes privacy an increasingly important subject and one I hope these sites will either continue to make a priority or begin to. After all, the success of these sites depends on the willingness of users to trust them with large amounts of personal info. If they misuse this trust they will find themselves sinking fast. Spam belongs in the grocery aisle, not in our inboxes. Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Mobile  Tomorrow, it is expected that 30 million cellphones in Mexico will no longer be allowed to connect to the network thanks to a law passed last year requiring all users to register their phones. The law is aimed at stemming drug and gang violence that plagues many cities in the nation. Users were required to send a text message with their personal information as the majority of the cellphones are prepaid and anonymous.
America Movil, the nationals largest wireless provider, expects this law to cost them $10 million per day if the 30 million lines are cut. Many who rely solely on a cell phone but have not submitted the required information may see their only lifeline cut. The government is executing a media blitz in effort to make everyone aware of the looming shutdown of service for unregistered phones. Mexico has 84 million cell phones operating within it’s borders. So far, senators have refused to push back the deadline though a last-ditch effort could still be mounted. The ploy is a new take on combating violence by the Mexican government. Though, the argument has been made that enacting a law only affects the law-abiding. Read: [Reuters] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile It looks like some additional BlackBerry 9650 images have been spotted and these latest confirm that it will be a Bold, and not a Tour as previously rumored. And that confirmation was made pretty simple by the big Bold name on the back, you see, just above that 3.2 megapixel camera with flash. Otherwise, the images confirm a few other little tidbits such as RIM seems to be moving forward and completely away from the trackball. Yes, the Bold 9650 will come touting an optical trackpad. That and, one of the images also confirms that it is sporting 3G, CDMA and Wi-Fi support. And that confirms the earlier reports of when the 9650 showed up in Sprint’s ordering system. Still, nothing new in terms of a release. But at the same time it somehow feels nicer that this is a Bold and not a Tour. And make sure you hit the read link below to see the remaining images… Read [Crackberry] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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