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Lon Seidman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:23:36 PST

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Lon Seidman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:07:24 PST

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Google Plans to Introduce Maps Navigation, Could Come to iPhone

Darrell Etherington — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:22:16 PDT

If you’re the CEO of TomTom or Garmin, you may want to sit down for this. Google is working on a turn-by-turn navigation app that it will be offering for free on Android 2.0 handsets. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it’s working with Apple to bring it to the App Store, too.

But hey, maybe it isn’t so bad for you, GPS industry. Maybe people will still want to pay way too much for single-purpose devices instead of installing a free app on the cell phone they already have, that works with the Google Maps and Google Search they already use.

According to CNET’s Tom Krazit, Google’s new app, appropriately dubbed Google Maps Navigation, was demoed Tuesday for reporters, and will be officially announced sometime today. The Google demo had the app running on an unidentified black Motorola Android 2.0 phone, believed to be the upcoming Droid device.

The good news for us Apple faithful is that Google announced at the event that it is working with Apple on bringing the game-changing software to the iPhone platform. The words “working with” are well chosen, because Maps Navigation requires a slightly different approach than the standard App Store approval process, since it won’t be a standalone application, but will instead work directly out of the built-in Google Maps app.

Direct Google Maps integration means that the new navigation app will be uniquely positioned among its competitors to deliver some really cool features, including Google Search for nearby points of interest (POI). Google Street View will also play a part, allowing you to see the actual street at upcoming turning points along your trip route, so that you’ll recognize exactly where you should turn. That should eliminate a lot of confusion in dense, layered urban areas where freeways and streets overlap, and many route divergences and convergences are subtle.

The version for Android 2.0 demoed also had a feature that recognized when the device was placed in a cradle or cupholder, and enlarged on-screen buttons to make it easier to work with while driving. The only feature not mentioned that is already present in many other GPS devices and apps is voice guidance, but even if not currently present, it’ll probably make an appearance down the road.

While I can’t see why Apple would reject or hamstring the introduction of this exciting, new feature, we’ve seen in the past that the relationship between it and Google can be tricky. I think Cupertino will realize, though, that in this case, the ability to market built-in, free-of-charge navigation is a great way to move more hardware, even if Navigon and TomTom won’t be too pleased with the decision.

The Thirty Foot Asteroid That Headed Toward Earth Unnoticed!

Geoff Fox — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:38:54 PDT

Space is a dirty place. There's all sorts of interstellar junk flying around at breakneck speed. In our solar system Jupiter, the largest planet with the strongest gravity, gets hit most often.

Still, in terms relative to the age of our planet, the Earth gets hit all the time. Just the random dust and specks burning out in the upper reaches of our atmosphere add a few hundred million pounds of additional mass to Earth every day!

Sometimes the incoming rocks are large.

We don't see much evidence because water and weather gradually heal our wounds. The pock marked surface of the atmosphere free Moon gives a more realistic impression of what really happens.

I mention this because a reasonably significant rock came pretty close to hitting the Earth a few weeks ago. I'm only hearing about it now--and I'm usually pretty up on these things.

Here's NASA's dispassionate reporting:

On October 8, 2009 about 03:00 Greenwich time, an atmospheric fireball blast was observed and recorded over an island region of Indonesia. The blast is thought to be due to the atmospheric entry of a small asteroid about 10 meters in diameter that, due to atmospheric pressure, detonated in the atmosphere with an energy of about 50 kilotons (the equivalent of 100,000 pounds of TNT explosives).

The Jakarta Globe said the explosion was loud enough that, "Locals at first thought it was an earthquake and ran out of their homes in panic."

Well, yeah. A hundred thousand pounds of TNT would make quite a rumble.

No one saw this bad boy coming. Not NASA. Not the Air Force. Surprise! It was the size of a small house and we had no warning at all.

What little we do know of this incident comes because we monitor atmospheric noise while searching for nuclear tests. Again, it's a surprise to me, but there is a network of "infrasound stations" associated with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and they pinned it down.

In writing about this incident NASA scientists mention "an average impact velocity for NEAs of 20.3 km/s." In other words, near Earth asteroids hit the Earth's atmosphere at around 45,000 mph! That's New York to Los Angeles in under four minutes!

Bottom line, those scary movies where asteroids plunge to Earth causing death and destruction... maybe they're more science and less fiction than we think.

Phil Schiller: Holiday lineup in place

Dave Caolo — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:00 PDT

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Hardware, Retail

It's now safe to shop for Apple products without fear of getting burned by a last-minute release, at least for the next few months. Apple's senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller, told Gizmodo today that "... the holiday lineup is set." Apple typically does this in late autumn to simply let customers know that it's safe to start spending money.

Gizmodo notes that they originally stated, "No more Apple products this year," but they subsequently received a call from Apple asking (by "asking" we mean "telling" ) them to use the language, "The holiday lineup is set." Conspiracy theorists will say that means there could be new stuff still in the pipe, but we think it's just meant to get people in a shopping mood.

[Via The Loop]

TUAW Phil Schiller: Holiday lineup in place originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Poll: NYC Mayor Bloomberg holds 18-point lead

peterhamby — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:15:08 PDT

Bloomberg has a clear lead in the New York City's mayoral race.

(CNN) – A new survey suggests that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, vying for a third term in office, holds an 18-point lead over his Democratic rival, with just eight days to go before voters there head to the polls.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday morning, 53 percent of likely New York City voters support Bloomberg, running as an independent, with 35 percent backing the Democratic candidate, New York City Comptroller William Thompson. Ten percent of those questioned are undecided, and 3 percent support Conservative Party candidate Stephen Christopher.

Bloomberg held a 16-point advantage in a Quinnpiac survey conducted in late September. Bloomberg also held a 16-point lead in a Marist College poll that was released last week.

The Quinnipiac survey suggests that Bloomberg is leading overwhelming among Republicans, has a 36-point advantage among independents, and is splitting the Democratic vote with Thompson. The poll indicates a racial divide, with white voters backing Bloomberg by a 2-to-1 margin, African-Americans supporting Thompson in roughly the same proportion, and Hispanics backing Bloomberg by 14 points.

"It's been shaping up all along, and now the new numbers say it looks like a Bloomberg blowout," says Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Bloomberg has captured the endorsement of all three of New York City's major daily newspapers, the Times, Post and Daily News. The Spanish-language daily El Diario La Prensa endorsed Thompson.

The Quinnpiac University poll was conducted October 23-25, with 1,088 likely New York City voters questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn

Genghis Conn's Blog Was A Noble Effort

(author unknown) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:00:00 PDT

Connecticut's Web-savvy political aficionados are losing one of their most bookmarked commentators. Chris Bigelow, who under the nom de Web of Genghis Conn has authored the popular blog Connecticut Local Politics for the past five years, has announced he is giving it up after the November election.

If These Ten Apps Don’t Convince You To Jailbreak Your iPhone, Nothing Will

Tim Cox — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:53:13 PDT

Last week, we published The Complete Guide to Unlocking and Jailbreaking your iPhone and iPod Touch. Here’s a list of must have apps and tweaks that you’ve enabled by following our guide. Through Cydia, you can download and install each item below and add new functionality and usefulness to your iPhone. I give you the [...]

Twitter Sides With Dems Over Fake Accounts

(author unknown) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:51:30 PDT

Remember those fake Twitter accounts the Connecticut Republican Party created? Well, Twitter has sided with the Democrats in this cyber battle du jour and has agreed to take them all down because they violate the company's impersonation clause. "Impersonation is against our terms unless it's parody," Laura at Twitter wrote in an email Wednesday to Speaker of the House Chris Donovan's policy director.

Apple ditches U.S. Chamber

Lisa Lerer — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:05:37 PDT

Apple leaves the Chamber of Commerce due to the group's conservative approach to climate policy.

New FTC guidelines call for greater blogger disclosure

CNN Audience Interaction Producer Eric Kuhn — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:00:12 PDT

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Federal Trade Commission passed new guidelines Monday that advise bloggers and celebrities to clearly disclose their relationships with advertisers.

"The test here is, if the relationship were known between the blogger and the advertiser, would that affect the credibility of the endorsement?" FTC assistant director of advertising practices Richard Cleland told CNN. "That question has to be determined on a case by case basis. What we have produced is a general guidance that says in certain cases receiving a free product is not any different than being paid directly for an endorsement."

Cleland admits there will be no new team to monitor all the blogs, and that enforcing these guidelines would be a "game of whack-a-mole" given the numbers involved.

The new guidelines are viewed as more of an educational tool than any kind of requirement, and geared at advertisers more than bloggers. If numerous complaints are filed regarding a blog, the FTC is likely investigate that the advertiser has properly advised the blogger of these guidelines.

The rules, which go into effect December 1, do not mandate the manner in which the disclosure should be made, stipulating only that it should be clearly visible, and easy to understand. Nor does the 81-page document specify a penalty for bloggers or advertisers if the guidelines are violated.

Bloggers aren't surprised by the new regulations, said Susan Getgood, co-founder of the Web site Blog With Integrity, which advises bloggers about advertising and ethics: "We have been talking about it for a long time, this document just makes it clearer."

(Watch CNN's Abbi Tatton report from The Situation Room after the jump.)

Embedded video from CNN Video

CNN Revisits Activist's 2007 Arrest At Rell Inaugural Parade

(author unknown) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:52:14 PDT

Political activist and free-lance journalist Ken Krayeske appears in a new CNN video report as the lead example of a citizen whose rights were allegedly violated by government security and surveillance measures. The CNN report can be viewed online at: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/09/30/willis.fusion.centers.cnn

The report opens with Krayeske revisiting the scene of his Jan. 3, 2007 arrest near Bushnell Park in Hartford after he took pictures of Gov. M. Jodi Rell at her inauguration parade. Then it jumps to the national issue of post-9/11 "fusion centers" set up in states around the country, in which law enforcement officials from federal, state and local jurisdictions share information about possible terrorism and other threats.

Krayeske now has a federal lawsuit pending over his arrest on charges of breach of peace and interfering with police - charges that were later dropped. The CNN report, which lasts about three minutes, mentions Krayeske lawsuit, and it shows a security leaflet with Krayeske's picture on it that the state police handed out to law enforcement personnel before Rell's inauguration parade.

The report concludes with Krayeske saying that, in his case, "the police did not determine the difference between who was dangerous and who was merely expressing ... constitutionally protected viewpoints."

Krayeske's lawsuit has unearthed information about state police surveillance efforts during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign of Rell, a Republican, against Democrat John DeStefano, Green Party Candidate Cliff Thornton and Concerned Citizens Party candidate Joseph Zdonczyk. Krayeske acted as Thornton's Green Party campaign director in 2006.

Documents filed in Krayeske's lawsuit show that the state police Central Criminal Intelligence Unit set up a surveillance operation to watch Green Party supporters during an Oct. 18, 2006, gubernatorial campaign debate at the studios of WVIT, Channel 30, in West Hartford.

The episode was reported in a Government Watch column in The Courant on May 31. It can be read online at: http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-citizen-surveillance-green-party-0531-column,0,7974920.column

Dodd introduces bill to repeal immunity for telecom companies that participated in warrantless wiretapping

(author unknown) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:37:44 PDT

Sen. Chris Dodd, along with Democrats Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Jeff Merkley of Oklahoma, introduced the legislation yesterday.

The measure would repeal a provision that offered retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program.

UPDATE: Rob Simmons, a Republican who is seeking Dodd's Senate seat and a former CIA operations oficer, issued a statement objecting to Dodd's bill.

"I agree with the position taken by then-Senator Barack Obama last year that telecommunications firms should not be penalized for their cooperation with the government on programs designed to protect Americans in the case of emergency situations where a terrorist attack may be imminent,'' Simmons said. "As someone who understands the intelligence community, I can say without hesitation that the terrorist surveillance program is a critical tool in keeping America safe."

The program, which allowed the government to eavesdrop on private phone conversations without a warrant, was hugely controversial. Repealing the offer of retroactive immunity would leave the telecom companies open to lawsuits from customers whose privacy had been breached.

AT&T's 3G MicroCell site goes live

Chris Ziegler — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:35:00 PDT

We still don't have all the details we'd like on pricing and availability, but AT&T's official 3G MicroCell site is now up and running where you can enjoy some video overviews and get a good gander at what the finished product looks like (it's way better than the version briefly shown a few months back, if you ask us). Availability of an unlimited calling add-on is confirmed here, and any calls that originate on the MicroCell before being handed off to AT&T's old-school towers will be kept completely out of your minute bucket as long as you sign up for the unlimited package. Also notable is that the carrier officially recommends placing the box near a window so that its GPS receiver can get reception -- like its cousins on Sprint and Verizon, the MicroCell includes GPS so that it can't be used out of the country. So far we're not able to find a ZIP code that works with the availability checker (including the rumored limited release markets mentioned last week), so if you get through, give us a shout.

[Thanks, joe_smith55]

Update: ZIP code 28201 works, though it doesn't let you see plans or buy online -- it just hooks you up with the addresses and phone numbers of nearby stores. There'll be a few calls being made in the morning, eh? Thanks, ryan0816!

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

AT&T's 3G MicroCell site goes live originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ACCCE Loses a Member

(author unknown) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:22:47 PDT

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the scandal involving Bonner & Associates sending fraudulent letters to Congress on behalf of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. ACCCE is nothing more than a coal industry Astroturf group and today they are weaker. One of their major partners, Alstom Power, left the coalition. While ACCCE continues to lobby for dirty energy, Alstom has joined the “U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of environmental groups, auto companies, utilities, and other corporations that are pushing Congress to pass a cap and trade bill.” It’s easy to get disenchanted by the legislative process, but slowly and surely we are winning.

Crash For Clunkers: Demolition Derbies Hard Up for Cars

(author unknown) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:40:00 PDT

The cash-for-clunkers program has meant more cars going straight to the junkyard, rather than making a stop at the county fairground

White House: Dodd Can Get the Job Done on Health, Finance

(author unknown) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:36:42 PDT

Following the death of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, his close friend, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, is now in line to be the chairman of the powerful Senate health committee.

Dodd is already busy, and it comes at a time when plenty of important legislation is passing through the halls of Congress.

The issue came up Thursday on Martha's Vineyard during a press briefing with the deputy press secretary, Bill Burton.

According to the White House transcript, a reporter asked, "Senator Kennedy's death has left Senator Dodd juggling both the banking and health committees. How concerned is the White House that he now has too much on his plate, that he's not going to be able to push through financial regulatory reform?''

Burton replied, "Well, for starters, Senator Dodd is obviously one of the most able and competent senators in the United States Senate. He's been a great partner on important issues that the President has worked on, from health care to financial regulation to a whole host of other things. But in terms of whether or not he can handle the load, I don't think anybody doubts it. But those decisions are up to the particular committees in the United States Senate to make, not for the President.''

Apple dips 1%, still trounces Dell, in customer satisfaction

Philip Elmer-DeWitt — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:51:42 PDT

"Apple Still Shines" is the headline of the PC section of a report issued early Tuesday by the American Consumer Satisfaction Index.

Apple's (AAPL) score actually dropped this year — from 85 to 84 on a scale of 100 — even as overall user satisfaction with personal computers rose a point to 75 after two straight years of decline.

But as the report notes,

"the decline has done little to hurt the large lead Apple has enjoyed for six straight years over the Windows-based manufacturers. Apple maintains a 12% lead over Dell, one of the largest gaps between first and second place for any industry."

Yet it's the manufacturers of Windows-based machines that are responsible for the improvement in PC satisfaction. Specifically:

Dell (DELL) was unchanged at 75
Gateway (Acer) rose 3% to 74.
HP (HPQ) inched up 1% to 74,
Compaq jumped 6% to create a three-way tie with HP and Gateway.

ACSI managing director David VanAmburg told Computerworld that the rise of cheap netbooks that run Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows XP, not Vista, could explain the improvement in overall satisfaction.

"Vista had a lot to do with Windows PCs' poor showing last year," said VanAmburg. "The fact that a lot of the popular computers this year didn't include Vista had an impact."

Given that the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 points, he added, the dip in Apple's score could be statistical noise.

The ACSI is produced by University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business in partnership with the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and CFI Group. It surveys 200 U.S. companies and government agencies in 44 industries and issues quarterly reports with new measures for different sectors of the economy.

Below: Fifteen years of ACSI ratings for the PC industry.

Graphic: ACSI

Damn kids

(author unknown) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:30:43 PDT

This is my favorite part of Jon Lender's piece from the weekend about the Jodi Rell media team circling the wagons to discuss their spinning strategy as we prepare to enter autumn without a budget deal.

Among the items discussed was "the opinion that the new crop of reporters is so young that sometimes they lack the experience to convey complexities or provide balance, and instead gravitate toward the sensational or simplistic."

Surely it is the youth of the reporters that is the problem. What is youth, anyway, but the inability to remember to properly inject "balance" into reporting at all times, the better to avoid ugly little tasks like using one's judgment or locating the actual truth.

According to the collective wisdom of the publicly paid press secretaries of Connecticut, it is those older reporters who get it: with the passage of years, they've learned not to take anything said by anyone in the Capitol, particularly a spokesman for a state agency or politician, at face value. And in time, the thinking goes, they learn not to get so uppity when it turns out that all that talk about this year being different, and stepping into the breach to confront a crisis, turned out to be just as hollow as every other weekday's self-congratulating press release.

Somehow I doubt the implicit assumption of this insipid whining point -- that the veteran reporters are less likely to do inconvenient things like calling spinning flacks on their b.s. -- has been all that well-received in what remains of the press corps.

Like, say, by the veteran reporter who uncovered this idiotic little conclave in the first place.

Dances With... Buffalo?

Amy and Dave Mueller — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:26:49 PDT

It has been a couple of weeks since we were able to update the blog, so this will be probably be another long one with a bunch of pictures... So last week, we were able to finish replacing the windows, siding and skirting on the Jones' family home. In the short time that we have been here, it has become more and more clear to us how important Jerry's "Renovating the Rez" program is for so many of the residents here... and while the work done on a home may not completely bring it up to standards, it may mean the difference between making it through the winter or not... or being able to buy food instead of fuel.

We have been working the last few weeks with volunteer groups from all around the country, but we have worked mostly with Habitat's two summer interns, Francesca and Amanda. Francesca is 18 years old and from Chicago and has been on the Reservation since the beginning of May and Amanda is 20 years old and from Wyoming and came to the Reservation about the same time that Amy and I did. Both of them had their last day this past week since they had to go back to school and we were sorry to see them go... We had a lot of fun working with them and hanging out with them after hours and were really encouraged by their willingness to give their time and love to the Lakota people. We will definitely be missing them alot as Amy and I will be the only volunteers with Habitat for the next three weeks.

This past week, the four of us worked at the home of Mary who is a 68 year old widow living in Eagle Butte. Her husband passed away in 2005 after being sick for many years, and she has been living by herself with her dog, Ginger since that time. Mary's home has the same problems that many of the homes on the Reservation have... leaky roofs, gaps in the siding that let water in, rotting floors and doors or windows that in some cases won't even close. While we weren't able to replace the siding and windows like we did on the Jones' home, we were able to seal her roof to stop the leaks that had been coming in for years, cut out and replace the floors that had rotted out in the living room, bedrooms and kitchen, replace her carpet and vinyl tile in her kitchen and hallways, cut in a new door in the back of her home and replace a bunch of weatherstripping that had fallen off. This past Friday as we were cleaning up at the end of the day, Mary was walking around looking at what had been done over the course of the week and said to her dog, "Look Ginger... we got a new home"! What a difference such a little bit of work can make to someone who can't do it for themselves... That's probably one of the biggest lessons that we will take away from our experiences on the road... that you can make a huge difference by doing something small for someone... by investing a little bit of your time into someone else's life. Amy and I call it "being Jesus with skin on"... taking the time out of your own schedule to help someone and love on them, to listen to their story and tell them why you are doing what you are doing.

This past week, Amy was also able to write and submit a grant working in conjunction with another local non-profit for a community playground that would be placed in the middle of a 50 home neighborhood here in Eagle Butte. If the grant is awarded, it would make a huge difference to the community, as there are over 350 children in this one neighborhood alone that has no playground and no place for the children to go. She is also pursuing other grants to help get tools for Jerry and the Habitat chapter here on the Reservation as they are severely lacking in tools that would help them continue their work.

While we have been on the Reservation, we have been trying to immerse ourselves into the culture as much as possible and we have been fortunate enough to participate in Sweat Lodge cermonies and have been to a Pow Wow and Rodeo along with visiting many of the sites that are sacred to the Lakota. We also had the chance last week to literally go out into the middle of a herd of Buffalo on Jerry's 30,000 acre ranch...(no - that's not a typo...) which was really amazing. I am posting a video below of a portion of the herd, but really wanted to show you some of the beauty that is out here as well.

As we mentioned earlier, Amy and I are going to be the only volunteers for the rest of our time here. This leads me to ask for two things from all of you. First, if you have any time in the next three weeks or anytime after that, please consider coming out to the Reservation to help out. They are in desparate need of volunteers to work on the hundreds of homes that are in need of repair. We received one comment after the last blog update wondering where donations could be sent to be most effective and get directly to the Lakota people. Amy and I are looking into that and will let you know in a future update. The second is that we would ask that you keep us in your prayers for strength and protection. This past week was a tough one for us, but we know that God is bigger than anything that can get thrown at us. We are very grateful for the prayers that have been poured out on our behalf over the past week and we have felt covered particularly over the past few days, so thank you and please continue to pray for us if we happen to cross your mind. Love to you all!

Dave and Amy