Tag Archives: technology

The ad-free ride on YouTube has ended. Today Google is launching “overlay” ads that will appear 15 seconds after the clip begins, running for 10 seconds on the lower fifth of the playback image. Viewers will be able close the ads, let them play, or click thru to the advertisers. At the start, the ads will only appear on clips …

The next-gen DVD wars are heating up and Blu-ray might end up the loser. Paramount is being paid $150M by the makers of the HD-DVD format to release its movies exclusively on HD-DVD for the next 18 months. Similar to the VHS/Betamax wars of long ago, the technologically superior (according to some) Blu-ray format, which currently enjoys higher sales, may …

There’s a new service out of NYC called Daily Lit which will email you chapters of classic novels and famous texts for easy reading via your PDA. If you’ve got a train or bus commute and you have a Blackberry or similar device, you can catch up on the classics, 1000 words at a time. It’s a free service, all …

Home 3-D printers are coming. Technology exists for the downloading and creation of 3-dimensional objects, created in home printer “easy-bake” ovens and the prices are expected to be within the reach of most home consumers wthin a few years. By then, you’ll be able to download the specs for and create a missing cellphone cover, doll part, art object, whatever…as …

Google has launched another innovative service, a free local 411 directory. Dial 1-800-GOOG-411 and they’ll connect you for free to any business. I think my cell phone company charges about a buck for each 411 call. Now I’ve got to figure out what Google is getting out of this.

In order to a do an occasional short audio post, I’m looking for a decent microphone and audio editing program. All I’ve got is the lame mic that came with my laptop, plus whatever recorder came packaged with WinXP. Advice? I don’t need anything fancy, just something that a luddite like myself can operate. Is there anything out there that …

So who’s got Vista already?.

By the many arms of Vishnu, I swear that I will never wear a Bluetooth earpiece. Can you hear me now? Good..

The caffeinated doughnut. I’ll have the venti jelly..

The Pentagon has a new microwave “crowd control” device that is fired from a Humvee-based satellite dish. Those in the path of the beam feel as if they are about to burst into flames. With a range of 500 meters, the military claims that the device only penetrates human skin to a depth of 1/64 of an inch and cannot …

New York City taxis are about to be outfitted with a GPS-based video system that will play commercials for restaurants and stores as the taxi approaches that location. Passengers will have the option of turning the screens off, but I expect that most will sit slack-jawed and vacant-eyed, watching dreary Starbucks ads and robbing themselves of the quintessential New York …