By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Has everyone seen the Snap popup preview that is running on some of the big blogs like Techcrunch? I thought I was the only one who hated as I had never seen any posts about it, it was like they just popped it on their blog and no one cared, so I didn’t complain any. I couldn’t believe that Techcrunch added such an annoying thing to their blog, I know it had to run off some readers, I haven’t visited it very much since, reading it mainly in my RSS reader. Well, now I know I’m not the only one, Nick Wilson from Performancing just blogged about it and almost everyone who commented agreed. Woohoo, I was beginning to think it was the 90’s all over again, with the blinky text and the annoying midi files.

Snap’s preview anywhere gizmo is ruining the reading experience for millions of people. Its intrusive, obstructive and un-useful in almost every respect and use case. The fact that so many big blogs are using it, big well respected blogs, does not mean that it’s useful, it just means that they, like most bloggers, have all the self restraint of a magpie in a sparkly things factory. Source: Performancing

We Say: At least I say, I agree with Nick and everyone else that hates it, and I can’t believe Wordpress added it to run by default, how annoying was that for some webmasters? Some people complained that if you go to the Snap.com site and disable it, that it will come back if you clear your cookies, well, there are a couple other ways to block it. One is to turn of JavaScript, I believe, not for sure as I have it turned on, or you can go into internet explorer, into the security tab and Add http://spa.snap.com to your restricted sites, and it is over. No more popup previews.

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

Now this could get me buying cigarettes again.

Actually, RF jamming is illegal in the United States, but a hacker/researcher at MIT Media Labs named “Lady Ada” has developed a RF jammer she calls the Wave Bubble based on this philosophy:

“In a high population density city, inhabitants must be prepared to defend their own personal space. Technologies that increase personal productivity are on the rise, even though they may intrude on others. The unavoidable reaction is to create technologies that counteract other people’s devices. Wave Bubble is a product that counters the all-too-familiar annoyance of loud ring tones and overt cell-phone conversations in public.”

We Say: Go Ada! Actually her concept of “Social Defense Mechanisms” is right on the money even if it a bit scary. People want to turn off loud airport TVs, and silence ear-splitting ringtones in movies and restaurants. The technology has actually been available for years, and is in use in Japan, but the US is especially sensitive to the fact that a jammer can mess up a pacemaker. And you know how Americans love to sue. To that we say - smoke em if you got em.

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

Shouldn’t we be over “Web 2.0″ by now? The use of big fonts and colors and tags and all the other zoomy things that dressed up Web pages and made us feel better about the crash? That’s what I thought until I have to say I was taken by silly-sounding Zirr.us.

You basically create a mini ecosystem of tags based on how important the task is, and Zirr.us generates a tag cloud - visually reminding you that your 5:00POM deadline is far more important than that aspirational “Start a Band” to-do.

We Say: Silly and not very serious, Zirr.us is nice try, and I now have using it on my own to-do list.

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

I have to admit that all the friend-making in cyberspace is a bit much, espeically when you know that many a troll lurks behind that friend-ladened profile. That’s why we found Snubster to be a breath of fresh air. The concept is easy to grasp - you post a gripe in either a “Dead to Me” list or the less severe “On Notice” section and set yourself free. Here is a sample:

sugarless soft drinks They are unreal and have a bitter aftertaste - like Starwars 1, 2, 3

Bottom Line: Great for people who have something to get off their chests every five minutes. Not so great for those who have more on their minds. And watch for the dark entries like, “Left me even though he only has one hand” and ” She killed my mom.”

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

Happy New Year! Thought I’d kick off 07 with something interactive and fun - an online quiz. And as you can see, I am Iron Man. Not sure how I feel about it, but I gess there are worse heros to be!

Your results:

You are Iron Man

Iron Man 85% Spider-Man 80% Green Lantern 65% Wonder Woman 60% Supergirl 55% Superman 50% Batman 50% Robin 45% The Flash 40% Hulk 40% Catwoman 35%

Inventor. Businessman. Genius.

Click here to take the “Which Superhero am I?” quiz…

By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Bill Gates met with a bunch of bloggers today in an hour long any question goes session that included free Zunes for everyone. Wonder how much traffic you have to get to get an invite?

Gates didn’t get into what could replace DRM, but he did give some reasonably candid insights suggesting that he thinks DRM is as lame as the rest of us.

Gates said that no one is satisfied with the current state of DRM, which “causes too much pain for legitimate buyers” while trying to distinguish between legal and illegal uses. He says no one has done it right, yet. There are “huge problems” with DRM, he says, and “we need more flexible models, such as the ability to “buy an artist out for life” (not sure what he means). He also criticized DRM schemes that try to install intelligence in each copy so that it is device specific.

His short term advice: “People should just buy a cd and rip it. You are legal then.” Source: TechCrunch

We Say: Now I know everyone who reads the post, will want to comment on the statement from Arrington about the look on Bill’s face when he saw everyone had a laptop from Apple, so let the argument begin.

By: Chief Gizmateer, Gizmos for Geeks
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Alice Hill was just featured on CNBC.com talking about upcoming gadgets and trends for the new year.

The first gadget Alice covered was the Palm Treo 680 ($199) stressing that accessibility and smartphones will begin to become more mainstream with cell phone users. She then brought up the opposite trend of some people not wanting to be connected all the time and not “showing off” their gadgets like in years past.

Next, Alice talked about the format wars for HD video - Blu-ray or HD-DVD, and how no one wants to really deal with this war especially after having repurchased their entire video library in DVD format. The product I believe she featured was the DVD upscaling Helios H4000 ($169) which provides the bridge from DVD to HD. She may have featured the Helios X5000 ($579).

The wireless Mvix, MX0760HD ($329), was the next gadget featured which allows you to store your entire digital library in a hard back book size. You simply add a hard drive in the unit for the size you need. You can even expand the storage space through the USB ports. She’s bringing this to Tahoe for Christmas!

Belkin’s wireless USB hub ($79) was featured next. This gadget allows you to roam around the house and use USB devices attached to the hub wirelessly. For example, you can access an external hard drive or USB printer from up to 40 feet away.

Unfortunately I did not get the name of the final gadget Alice talked about that helps lower stress. Basically the gadget helps you focus on lowering stress in your life as you put your finger on the sensor and try to change the color from red to blue to peaceful green. Perhaps Alice can fill us in on this gadget.

CNBC.com has part 1 and part 2 online now. Great job Alice, you picked the same gadgets “the Geeks” would have!

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

I can’t tell you how long it took me to create the little orange box with an R in it as our official RealTechNews FavIcon. For those who need a quick Web refresher - a FavIcon is a tiny graphic you create and post on the root of your website with the extension .ico. Browsers look for it when you bookmark the site and will display the graphic in the address bar, a tab, or anywhere you store a “favorite” or bookmark. It’s a nice way to make your bookmark stand out.

Problem was, creating a FavIcon usually involved awful freeware utilities that made drawing even a simple “R” in a box an undertaking. Wish we had known about FaviIcons from Pics. The URL for this handy and FREE service is horrible: http://www.chami.com/html-kit/services/favicon/ so make sure you bookmark it. Upload a graphic and boom - instant FavIcon including one that is animated (don’t go there.) Source: FavIconsFrom Pics via Noheat