Slacker Radio Launches For Android

Topic: Technology News

Just in case Pandora wasn't good enough for you Slacker, Inc. (one of the best names for a company ever) has just announced the launch of their Slacker Radio app for Android. Users with Android smartphones can now download the app from the App Market. Like most other custom radio apps, Slacker is 100% free to download and use.

Slacker Radio sets itself apart from the herd by offering several cool features not seen on similar applications. Artist biographies, album reviews, and song lyrics are available to users at a glance, and the app also contains the ability to 'peek ahead' and preview music. The app also lets users totally ban artists and songs from their station.

Posted on Fri, 6 Nov 2009 08:14:11 CST | by Robert Evans

Windows 7 Sales Eclipse Vista By 234%

Topic: Technology News

If you ever needed more proof of how awful an operating system Vista was, this is it. The NPD group has just sent out a press release stating that the first few days of Windows 7 sales have been 234% higher than the first few days of Vista sales were. Revenue was also much improved. Total dollar sales are up 82% from Vista to Win 7. The reason for the disparity between sales growth and actual revenue growth is being attributed to the early discounts on pre-sales and Microsoft's failure to heavily promote the Ultimate edition of 7.

I've been using Windows 7 for the last two weeks and, I have to say, it's a solid OS. That said, I think these numbers owe more to the piss-poor nature of Windows Vista than they do to the strengths of Windows 7. I'm beginning to wonder if Microsoft's grand strategy might be to release awful operating systems in order to make their decent releases seem exceptional. But that's probably crazy-talk. Probably.

Posted on Fri, 6 Nov 2009 06:46:04 CST | by Robert Evans

Verizon To Offer Prepaid Wireless Service For Laptops

Topic: Technology News

Folks who want the option of having mobile wireless broadband access without the cost or commitment of signing up for a contract now have a new option. CNet reports that Verizon will soon begin to offer prepaid wireless services. These new services will come bundled with a VZW USB760 and will be available for laptops running Windows, Mac, or Linux.

One day of pre-paid access will cost you $15 and get you up to 75 MB of data. That's enough for a fair amount of browsing, but if you need more there'll also be a weekly plan available for $30. That one comes with a 250 MB data allotment. The largest prepaid option is the monthy plan, which costs $50 and gives you 500 MB of data.

Posted on Thu, 5 Nov 2009 09:33:53 CST | by Robert Evans

Google Dashboard Launches

Topic: Technology News

If you're anything like me, you use a lot of Google products on a daily basis. I frequently make use of Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs, and Picassa, and I've also got a YouTube account that I use every once in a while. Switching between different pages to access all of those different things can be a pain in the ass at times. That's why Google's launched their new Dashboard service.

Google Dashboard allows you to connect to and display information for all of the Google products you use on a single page. From one central area you'll be able to check your messages and chats received and sent, change your account settings for every product you use, and view any updates and changes that have occured. Mind-blowing and paradigm-shifting? No, not really. But that doesn't stop it from being useful.

Posted on Thu, 5 Nov 2009 07:49:28 CST | by Robert Evans

Google Commerce Search: To Ease Your Holiday Shopping

Topic: Technology News

Once again, Google's come up with something to make a traditional pain in the behind less of an agony. Their latest new service isn't nearly as awesome or convenient as Google Voice, but it still helps to simplify what was once an annoyance. Google Commerce Search launched today, with the stated goal of simplifying holiday shopping for consumers and online retailers alike.

A good search service that returns pertinent hits is a crucial part of any e-retailer. Plenty of websites have awful search engines that keep customers from stumbling upon great deals and finding the products they really want. Google Commerce Search is a program that applies Google's search engine to whatever online store you happen to be browsing. It allows shoppers to search by category, price, brand, or any other attribute you can think of.

Posted on Thu, 5 Nov 2009 04:59:06 CST | by Robert Evans

T-Mobile Releases Q3 2009 Numbers

Topic: Technology News

T-Mobile has been going through some hard times lately. Profits have been down for months, a slow but steady flood of customers have fled the carrier, and the Sidekick Data Disaster certainly didn't help anything. The word on the street is that Deutsche Telekom, T-Mo's parent company, is considering rash action if the carrier can't pull things up out of the gutter soon. With the tough times they've had recently, T-Mo needs something good to report.

Sadly, that 'something good' isn't going to be their Q3 2009 earnings report. Don't get me wrong, T-Mo isn't in free-fall, but they haven't yet managed to staunch the bleeding. While total revenues were $5.38 billion, up from $5.34 billion in Q2, their net income was only $417 million for this quarter. That's down a bit from $425 million in Q2, and down a lot from $445 million in Q3 2008.

Posted on Thu, 5 Nov 2009 04:35:52 CST | by Robert Evans

Google Celebrates Sesame Street's 40th Birthday

Topic: Technology News

The Google homepage is getting taken over by Sesame Street characters over the next seven days leading up to the 40th anniversary of The Sesame Street.
Sesame Street celebrates its 40th anniversary on November 10th.
Sesame Street Googled 16 years before Google was even founded. See the video below from 1982 as proof. Read more

Posted on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:39:29 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Grote Announces First Flexible LED Lighting Film

Topic: Technology News

Flexible LED sheets are here! At the 2009 SEMA show, Grote Industries has announced the release of the first commercially available LightForm flexible LED film. These LED sheets are less than 1 mm thick, and come in strips that are 10” long and less than 1” wide. You can cut them, paste them around corners and inside crevasses (time to rice up your car with some LED trim?), and even sew them into clothing. A whole new era of bright, gaudy fashion is about to arrive.

These LED strips come in red, green, or blue. You just peel off the back and apply the adhesive to a clean surface and, voila, instant festive lighting! Initially the uses for the LightForm film will probably be limited to decorating vehicles and costumes. Since the film is billed as durable and weather-resistant, it could also be perfect for decorating your home during the holidays.

Posted on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:27:50 CST | by Robert Evans

Samsung Makes Crazy-Thin 32 GB Flash Memory

Topic: Technology News

Flash memory just got a little flashier. As Electronista reports Samsung has just revealed yet another advance in NAND flash memory. Their new chip fits 32 GB onto a single .02” thick chip. According to the Korean-based company, this new advance was managed by using a new “bare” package that is half as thick, but apparently as sturdy, as the old one.

Posted on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 08:30:46 CST | by Robert Evans

New MSN Homepage Launching

Topic: Technology News

Once again, Microsoft has given a facelift to the MSN homepage. All Things Digital reports that the new page has started rolling out now. Microsoft's goal is to give roughly 10% of of their user base access to the new page by the time 2010 rolls around. At that point, the updated homepage will be available to all US customers, with a worldwide release to follow.

If you just can't wait to see what's new with MSN, a preview page is available here. My immediate impression of the new page is that there is quite a lot of white space. Bing has been integrated into the page, and on the lower right hand side you can see a hotmail and a Windows Live toolbar. The coolest new change is definitely the addition of a Facebook and Twitter sidebar.

Posted on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 07:41:44 CST | by Robert Evans

envIO Chorus: The Future of iPhone App Advertising

Topic: Technology News

In a few days Apple will send out a press release celebrating the approval of the App Store's 100,000th application. The news will be met with much celebration at Cupertino and pages of analysis from bloggers and tech sites. The rapid, unconstrained growth of the App Store is fine news for Apple shareholders and iPhone owners, but the message it carries for developers is not entirely pleasant. In a crowded ecosystem with 100,000 apps and counting, how do you separate your product from the herd?

This isn't just a problem for apps that have dozens of virtually identical competitors gobbling up their customers. Even if your app is truly unique it has better than even odds of being buried under a mountain of crap. When the cost of successfully pushing an app becomes greater than the small developer is able to bear, those independent (and innovative) small developers risk being pushed out of the business altogether.

Posted on Tue, 3 Nov 2009 09:00:00 CST | by Robert Evans