The Pirate Bay, the torrent site that has attracted millions of users by sharing a wealth of (often illegal) content, is now at a turning point. With a $3.8 million fine dangling around the neck of the owners and a fresh $7.8 million acquisition by Global Gaming Factory X, announced this morning, the site is about to embrace a legal business model. How well will this work? [Read article]
Dell is developing a pocket-sized gadget fashioned after Apple’s iPod Touch that will play music, videos, and connect with the Web and is based on the Google Android mobile operating system, according to reports in today’s Wall Street Journal.
Dell hopes to break a bad streak of luck with consumer gadgets. It wasn’t very successful with its DJ Ditty music player line or with the Axim PDAs, which got axed a few years ago. Dell is giving pocket-sized devices one more shot, this time with an iPod Touch-style mobile Internet device (MID). So will it make a difference? [Read article]
Watch out, Hollywood — another threat to your profits appears to be setting sail and headed in your direction. A site called The Video Bay aims to make pirated TV shows and Hollywood movies also available in hi-def quality for streaming through your Web browser — no hefty downloads required.
The site, reportedly in development by the people behind the controversial site The Pirate Bay, is aiming to compete with Hulu and YouTube. As far as I can tell, the new venture isn’t bothering with any cumbersome legal issues such as copyrights and content licences. [Read article]
Microsoft is readying its next major release of the Windows operating system. After months of demos, early testing, beta releases, MS finally announced launch plans. Here’s what you can expect in the upgrade. [Read the guide]
Having trouble logging onto AIM? You’re not alone. At about 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, users of the AOL instant messaging service started experiencing problems with the service. And where to turn? Twitter. But another surprise awaited anyone who migrated there. [Read article]
Apple has apparently changed its mind about allowing applications with explicit content in the iPhone App Store. After approving earlier today the first app featuring photos of nude women, Apple has now removed “Hottest Girls” from the App Store.
UPDATE: It appears Apple has not banned “Hottest Girls” application. The app developer claims in a note on his site that the application is “sold out” due to a strain on the servers. “Hottest Girls” loads the images it displays from the developer’s servers and the “popularity of this app” could crash them, he says. [Read article]
Apple’s App Store has approved the first application to contain sexual material. The move, which has been anticipated for a few months now, will allow parents to test the iPhone’s new parental controls to filter what their teenage children get to see.
The first app to see the light of nudity in the iTunes App Store is called “Hottest Girls,” and is priced at $1.99. Until now, this application was delivering photos of women in lingerie, but the latest update, approved by Apple, takes it up a notch with pictures of nude women. [Read article]
HTC introduced today its latest smartphone running on Google’s Android mobile operating system, the HTC Hero. The new device packs in some better hardware features from its predecessors and brings a revamped user interface (UI) to Android-loving fans.
The software on the HTC Hero is to take center stage in this announcement, as the device is the first Android smartphone to support multitouch (iPhone style) and — surprise! — Adobe Flash.
With the launch of the HTC Hero, Android is raising the stakes against the Palm Pre and the Apple iPhone. The Europeans will get their hands on the new device later this summer, while the U.S. is expected to get a “distinct” version of the HTC Hero later this year. [View slideshow]
You know you’ve made it big-time when a movie is made about you. Remember last year when we heard news of the story behind Facebook coming soon to cineplex near you? Today we are hearing that the movie, called “The Social Network”, is approaching production schedule, set for sometime at the end of this year. [Read article]
Adobe is set to introduce Flash Player 10 for most mobile operating systems later this year, including Google Android, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Nokia Symbian and Palm WebOS.
Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen said during a recent earnings call that multiple partners of the company have already received an early version of Flash Player 10. Developers will be able to get their hands on a beta version of Flash Player 10 mobile later this year, at Adobe’s Max conference in October. [Read article]
Can T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G woo the mobile-phone masses? Does it have what it takes to convince T-Mobile G1 owners to upgrade or is it cool enough to convince the iPhone-envious to take the myTouch plunge? I say T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G offers too little, too late. Here is why.
The first time we have seen a version of the T-Mobile myTouch 3G was back in February, when Vodafone launched the phone in Europe calling it HTC Magic. [Read article]
Top: the new Facebook inbox, bottom: Facebook Persian translation | Images: Facebook
Let’s face it: our Facebook inboxes are getting more and more clogged with not only messages from friends but also all sorts of notices and announcements from various applications installed and pages we are following as fans.
The Facebook inbox is in dire need or some sort of an organization tool. And after hearing out the cries on the tubes, Facebook is preparing to introduce a streamlined inbox, which will make it easier for users to find, read, and control their social networking messaging. [Read article]
It has been a crazy night trying to download the latest iPhone update, with many reporting that they are unable to access Apple’s servers due to unusually high traffic. But Apple’s servers are now up to scratch and everybody should have the 3.0 software update installed on their iPhone and iPod Touch.
If you haven’t had a proper run-down through all the new features in the iPhone 3.0 software update, my colleagues from Macworld have a comprehensive hands-on review. But now that many had the chance to play around with the new iPhone OS, plenty of undocumented features and nifty updates started showing up.
I have complied for you this list of the top 10 hidden gems within the iPhone 3.0 update, which are some of the most important undocumented features so far. [Read article]
Photo: Apple
On the grand launch day of the iPhone 3.0 software update (which is available to iPhone users around the word as I write), some of the tech hotshots have gotten their hands on the brand-new (and yet unreleased) iPhone 3G S.
David Pogue from the New York Times, Walt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal and USA Today’s Edward C. Baig have now posted their advance reviews of the iPhone 3G S.
And while I’m installing the 3.0 software update on my iPhone 3G (my thoughts on that a bit later), here’s a breakdown on what the big shots have to say about Apple’s new phone. [Read article]
Facebook is testing a new version of its search engine. A fraction of the social network’s users are now able to trial an improved search function, which besides finding users, pages and groups, can also look through content posted from people, organizations and public figures. [Read article]
Two new business-oriented smart phones are about to the hit store shelves: The latest in Nokia’s line of business phones, the E72, and the long-rumoured BlackBerry Tour 9630.
Both phones will be on the market later on this year, with the BlackBerry 9630 available this summer on Sprint and Verizon, while the Nokia E72 will be available in the third quarter. Here’s a head-to head comparison of these brand new business phones.
For a full rundown on the specifications of both phones, check out the chart I have put together. Read on for an outline of the main pros and cons of the BlackBerry Tour 9630 and the E72.
The new Nokia 5530 Xpress Music | Photos: Nokia
Nokia introduced today the 5530 XpressMusic, a follow-up on the company’s 5800 device, with a sleeker look but with some scaled-down specs. Aimed at the youth market, the 5530 brings an improved touch interface cased in a steel frame finish. Building up on the success of the 5800 model (with over one million devices sold), the new Nokia 5530 is somehow a step down from its older sibling. [Read article] [Spec sheet]
Archos 9 MiniPC | Photo: Archos
French portable media players maker Archos introduced last night the Archos 9, a Windows 7 powered touchscreen-only Internet tablet. Calling it a MiniPC, the Archos 9 is not exactly the Google Android-touting Archos MID everybody was expecting. [Read article]
The line starts here: Both Apple and AT&T have announced details on where, when, and how to get a shiny new iPhone 3G S, when the device starts shipping on June 19. [Read article]
In the UK, the iPhone 3G S can only be pre-ordered from the Carphone Warehouse or you can buy it on the day from Apple retail stores and O2 shops.
O2 iPhone Pricing in the UK | Image via MacWorld UK
Facebook has finally decided to give its over 200 million users an easier way to share their profiles. In about two days, the social network will let users chose an alias for their Facebook profile on a first-come, first-serve basis. [Read article]
