Q101 The Alternative
Q101 (formerly on Chicago radio @ 101.1 FM) The Alternative - Chicago's New Rock Alternative - Everything Alternative - Chicago's Alternative - Gen X - Generation X
I think I can speak for the majority of men when I say we like big televisions. The Android operating system is also extremely popular. Not just to us cave-dwelling macho men either. Android runs on around 40 percent of the smart phones on the market, and is enjoyed by men, women, children, and some nuns. So why not smash those two things together, and get some attention? That’s what tech company Lenovo is doing. Don’t call it a Google TV, however. It’s running Android 4.0, also known as “Ice Cream Sandwich”, which is the newest version of the Android operating system that is making its way to the public.
This week, at a sneak peek of the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show, Lenovo showed off their 55 inch LE TV, or “IdeaTV”, that’s using Android, with its own wallpaper, or “skin”. Yes, it’s a full HD television that comes with 2 remote controls with a little extra schwing. The remotes come with touch inputs to interact with the icons and applications on the television. 4 remotes can be used together in conjunction to interact. 4 USB ports, a micro SD slot, and HDMI ports make this a formidable television for the market.
Don’t get your hopes up just yet. Its initial release is coming to…. China. Yes, that’s right, China gets the first incarnation of this television in April. Patience is a virtue guys.
The Internet’s most popular destinations, including eBay, Google, Facebook, and Twitter seem to view Hollywood-backed copyright legislation as an existential threat.
It was Google co-founder Sergey Brin who warned that the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act “would put us on a par with the most oppressive nations in the world.” Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, Twitter co-founders Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman argue that the bills give the Feds unacceptable “power to censor the Web.”
But these companies have yet to roll out the heavy artillery.
When the home pages of Google.com, Amazon.com, Facebook.com, and their Internet allies simultaneously turn black with anti-censorship warnings that ask users to contact politicians about a vote in the U.S. Congress the next day on SOPA, you’ll know they’re finally serious.
True, it would be the political equivalent of a nuclear option–possibly drawing retributions from the the influential politicos backing SOPA and Protect IP–but one that could nevertheless be launched in 2012.
“There have been some serious discussions about that,” says Markham Erickson, who heads the NetCoalition trade association that counts Google, Amazon.com, eBay, and Yahoo as members. “It has never happened before.” (See CNET’s SOPA FAQ.)
Web firms may be outspent tenfold on lobbyists, but they enjoy one tremendous advantage over the SOPA-backing Hollywood studios and record labels: direct relationships with users.
How many Americans feel a personal connection with an amalgamation named Viacom — compared with voters who have found places to live on Craigslist and jobs (or spouses) on Facebook and Twitter? How would, say, Sony Music Entertainment, one of the Recording Industry Association of America’s board members, cheaply and easily reach out to hundreds of millions of people?
Protect IP and SOPA, of course, represent the latest effort from the Motion Picture Association of America, the RIAA, and their allies to counter what they view as rampant piracy on the Internet, especially offshore sites such as ThePirateBay.org. It would allow the Justice Department to obtain an order to be served on search engines, Internet providers, and other companies forcing them to make a suspected piratical Web site effectively vanish, a kind of Internet death penalty.
There are early signs that the nuclear option is being contemplated. Wikimedia (as in Wikipedia) called SOPA an “Internet Blacklist Bill.” Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has proposed an article page blackout as a way to put “maximum pressure on the U.S. government” in response to SOPA.
The Tumblr microblogging site generated 87,834 calls to Congress over SOPA. Over at GoDaddyBoycott.org, a move-your-domain-name protest is scheduled to begin today over the registrar’s previous–and still not repudiated–enthusiasm for SOPA. Popular image hosting site Imgur said yesterday it would join the exodus too.
Technically speaking, it wouldn’t be difficult to pull off. Web companies already target advertisements based on city or ZIP code.
READ MORE HERE
GET INVOLVED HERE (at your own risk…we don’t own nor have anything to do with this website…so be careful!)
Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57349540-281/sopa-opponents-may-go-nuclear-and-other-2012-predictions/
The partnership between these 3 tech giants: Google, Samsung, and Verizon Wireless has produced a much anticipated and high-powered device: The Samsung Galaxy Nexus. A powerhouse mobile device, exclusively on Verizon’s 4G LTE network, which is available in 190 United States markets, and covers 200 million people (claimed).
This phone comes out of the box ready to do almost everything except wash your car and help you travel through time. The operating system, care of Google, is Android 4.0, also known as “Ice Cream Sandwich”, as all of Androids operating systems have quaint food-related nicknames. 4.0 brings the Galaxy Nexus a complete overhaul to the look and feel of Android, touting a new UI (user interface), a better multi-tasking capability, and HTML5 total web experience.
Note – this phone is one of the devices that are part of the brutal patent battle between Samsung and Apple. To see more about the battle you can go here.
The Nexus holds a very impressive spec sheet, one that could give some of the low-end PCs and laptops a run for the money. A 1.2 GHz dual core processor with 1 GB of ram, and 32 GB of internal storage. A 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat, and rear camera of 5 megapixels, with panoramic shot capabilities, no shutter lag for those quick, off the cuff photos of your cat flying through the air after a laser pointer, or a good prank shot of your buddy taking a dump. A small suite of built-in photo editing effects guarantee you can give grandma a biker beard just in time for holiday photos.
Bluetooth 3.0 for clear sound and talking on wireless headsets, speakers, and PC communication, the ability to become a mobile hotspot, which when signed up for the service through the provider, will allow you to tether up to 10 Wi-Fi devices. (Man, she really can take a lot at once, can’t she?). 9.47 mm thin, with a 4.65 in Super Amoled HD screen, giving you one the biggest screen on the market for typing, taking photos, or viewing and recording videos.
A very interesting, and new feature being discussed with this device, is facial recognition software that utilizes the phone’s camera to lock/unlock your phone. Along with Android Beam, which is what you can use to share videos, apps, contact info, etc. just by literally tapping the two compatible phones together. Google Music and Google Cloud play a big part in the Galaxy Nexus, too, letting you choose the data that’s stored on your phone to sync with your cloud, along with using Google Music to be able to save up to 20,000 songs to the cloud.
Are you excited? Are you Sweaty, or maybe a little tight in the pants? Before you jump in your’ 91 Toyota, or charge your Segway, these are the rules that Verizon will impose on you:
The phone is available for $299.99 with a 2 year contract or upgrade, and you will have to have a voice plan higher than $39.99 a month, along with a minimum of their 2GB data plan. If you think that’s a raw deal, you can always stream your Netflix account, and furry porn on your home Wi-Fi connection.
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