October 23rd, 2006
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
I’ve noticed FileForum has a tendency to release things a tad bit early … frequently earlier than other download sites. For example, last week they had the Yahoo! version of IE7 out before Microsoft even updated their site.
Now, this isn’t necessarily a good thing because something they release something as final when it’s not. On the other hand, they frequently release stuff early that is valid. In this case, it looks like they have version 2.0 of Firefox already available, despite my story over the weekend in which Mozilla stated it would be delivered tomorrow. I followed the path to the ftp directory, and it looks like it’s correct. There’s a directory labeled 2.0 and it’s got a binary in it that’s dated today.
We Say: No sign of this on Mozilla’s site at the time of this writing. It looks legit, but your mileage may vary.
October 23rd, 2006
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
My wife said, “You’re kidding, right?”, but no, I’m not. It’s been five years to the day that the iPod was introduced. Seems like it’s been around forever, and as we know, it’s taken over the majority of the MP3 player market.
Difficult as it may be to fathom, it was only five years ago that Apple, long known as a cutting-edge computer company, launched a product that enabled people to carry their entire music collections in their pockets. The easily-navigated personal jukebox transformed the way people listen to music.Now, there are roughly 70 million of them out there. Source: CBS News
We Say: Apple is clearly the market leader, but it needs to continue innovating to keep the lead. As we all know, the Zune is due out soon, and while that most likely isn’t going to make much a dent short-term, Microsoft has one huge marketing machine.
October 23rd, 2006
By Jessamy Hawley, Contributing Writer
RealTechNews
Lights, camera, HD slap. The GadgetCandy girls yesterday bagged a few trade secrets from make-up artist Jane Bradley and found out just why celebrities are so worried about the High Definition Revolution…
“HDTV is a real confidence booster for everyone else”, said Jane, speaking at a Sony Consumer Electronics event yesterday. “We’re so used to seeing celebrities as perfect.” But HDTV, which is a digital standard for high-quality telly, broadcasts in such pin-sharp detail that viewers are able to spot every pock mark, wrinkle and shadow.
Click here to read more.
October 23rd, 2006
By Jessamy Hawley, Contributing Editor
Real Tech News
The pink floodgates opened last year when Maria Sharapova was spotted with a candy-coloured Motorola RAZR glued to her ear. What followed was a deluge of blushing gadgets, all vying for their share of the pink pound. But is this what tech-savvy females really want? Over 3,000 GadgetCandy readers share their thoughts on the great pink stink…
Sixty-six per cent of women revealed that they love the fuchsia gizmos that grace GadgetCandy.com, while 34 per cent said that rouge-coloured kit leaves them red in the face.
Click here to read more.
October 23rd, 2006
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
You may recall how Apple was under the gun for possible hearing loss related to use of earbuds (in fact, they were eventually sued), and how they eventually released an update that reduced the maximum volume level of the iPod. Of course, other MP3 players have also been accused of the same sort of hearing loss.
Now there is the same sort of speculation surrounding the use of Bluetooth headsets, those of the type usually paired with cellular phones.
Lawsuits filed in Tampa federal court this week accuse manufacturers Motorola, Plantronics and Jabra of failing to warn consumers that their headsets can cause permanent hearing loss. More
October 21st, 2006
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
Perhaps you browser downloaders downloaded the wrong “new browser”? Less than a week after Internet Explorer 7’s debut, Mozilla plans to release version 2.0 of Firefox.
According to Mozilla Vice President of Products Christopher Beard, Firefox 2.0, which should be available on Tuesday if all goes according to schedule, includes key new usability features missing in the new IE 7. More
October 20th, 2006
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
Electronic Arts has had a bad week. Not only has EA been under the gun for the alleged spyware in BF2142, which I previously wrote about, the in-box (or in this case, in-patch) surprises keep coming. According to the readme for the 1.01 patch, you should remove the security update KB917422 in order to play the game.
But before we pile on EA, there’s this:
Blame, however, does not rest EA but with Microsoft, as a quick Google search of KB917422 brings up many gamers, developers and publishers bitching about the Windows update breaking various games and applications. More
October 20th, 2006
By Chief Gizmateer
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Perhaps this product is not news, but micro flying machines are just cool… I don’t care who you are!
This Air Hog R/C Helix Micro Helicopter has a crash-resistant foam fuselage and is great for a big room and dive-bombing various household pets. The controls allow you to throttle up and down or bank left and right using the 6-way controller. Twin drive props provide directional control while the dual rotors lend stability.
The Micro Helicopter comes with a set of spare propellers and battery charger and the R/C copter runs on a rechargable lithium polymer battery.
Source: Gizmos for Geeks
