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Sony Online Service to challenge iTunes selling music, movies, and books as digital downloads
Sony announced in Tokyo today that it will launch a new music, movie, and book downloading service called Sony Online Service. It's going to be an extension of the existing PlayStation Network for a wide variety of Sony devices (not just gaming consoles), and it's likely to bear a striking resemblance to iTunes.iTunes currently doesn't have a strong competitor. Services like Rhapsody and Amazon MP3 offer the same kinds of content, but their sales pale in comparison to Apple's accomplishments. Sony is hoping to do better.
The company's executives also said that they would consider eventually selling third-party apps for its devices through the Sony Online Service.
Around the web: businessweek.com
, techmeme.com , downloadsquad.com (11 comments) , 9to5mac.com (10 comments) , mashable.com (7 comments) , appleinsider.com (52 comments) , engadget.com (9 comments) , pocket-lint.com Profile pages: Sony, PlayStation Network, Apple iTunes, Sony PlayStation 3, Rhapsody, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation 3 Slim, Sony PlayStation 3 Slim 250 GB, Apple
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YouTube adds automatic captions for the hearing impaired, lovers of the mute button
The new feature uses speech recognition technology to caption any video uploaded to YouTube.
YouTube now uses the same voice recognition technology (called ASR) used for Google Voice to automatically generate captions on any video on the site. When you upload a video you can now include a text transcript to avoid errors, too.
Cooler still, the site can translate the captions on the fly into any language supported by Google's existing machine translation technology. The auto captions are rolling out to certain content partners this week, with a wider release coming sometime soon. The text transcript option is available to everyone as of today, though.
Look below for a demonstration video.
Around the web: googleblog.blogspot.com
, Techmeme , venturebeat.com , theregister.co.uk , NewTeeVee , ReadWriteWeb (5 comments) , news.cnet.com (3 comments) , Search Engine Watch Blog Profile pages: YouTube, Streaming video, YouTube, Google, Google Voice
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Twitter asks "What's happening?" Farewell, "What are you doing?"
The site has asked "What are you doing?" since its inception, but because it has evolved into new territory a new phrase was needed.
Since the beginning, Twitter has asked you to (in 140 characters or less) answer the question "What are you doing?" That's because the site was originally conceived as a means of delivering personal statuses ala Facebook. Over time, though, Twitter has become much more. It's become a social news aggregation system, a professional networking tool, and a new frontier in media.
As a result, the folks in the Twitter offices have finally decided it's time to stop asking "What are you doing?" Instead, the Twitter web interface will ask the more open-ended question "What's happening?" We'd say it's the end of an era, but we're pretty sure that in the long term "What are you doing?" will be forgotten by all but the most veteran social media enthusiasts.
Around the web: Twitter Blog
, techmeme.com , news.cnet.com , venturebeat.com , TechCrunch (11 comments) , Mashable! (18 comments) , thenextweb.com (1 comment) , erictric.com Profile pages: Twitter, Twitter, Inc., tweet, Facebook, Microblogging, Social networking
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Rumor: Apple Tablet gets $2,000 OLED model, delayed till late 2010
The rumored 9.7-inch OLED tablet would supplement the already-rumored 10.6-inch LCD version.
DigiTimes is citing sources who say that the Apple tablet—which has long been rumored for an early 2010 release—will actually launch closer to the end of 2010. The delay is allegedly because Apple has decided to make a high-end, 9.7-inch, OLED-display-equipped version of the device that will retail for a whopping $2,000.
The OLED version wouldn't replace the 10.6-inch LCD model, which would still cost somewhere between $800 and $1,000. DigiTimes' sources weren't named and this is only one of many Apple tablet rumors so don't jump to any conclusions.
In related news, magazine publisher Condé Nast (best known in the tech community for Wired magazine) has officially announced that it will support the Apple tablet by delivering its content to the device.
Around the web: DIGITIMES: IT news from Asia
, Techmeme , news.idg.no , 9to5mac.com (25 comments) , Gizmodo (4 comments) , news.softpedia.com , i4u.com , Electronista Profile pages: Apple, Tablet PC, OLED, LCD, Touchscreen, Capacitive touchscreen, multi-touch
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Rumor: Google Phone will be VoIP only, arrive in early 2010
Anonymous sources have told tech bloggers that Android as we know it now is only the beginning, and that a genuine Google-branded phone will hit next year.
TechCrunch's Michael Arrington is citing unnamed sources who say that Google is actually working on a Google-branded phone, not just offering the Android operating system to existing hardware manufacturers. However, it's likely the phone will be ghost-manufactured, as it were, by an established company.What's most interesting about this new rumor is that it alleges that the Google Phone will actually be VoIP-only, making calls over a 3G (or maybe ultimately 4G) data network instead of over the normal cellular voice network. The sources say AT&T is among the companies bidding to carry the device. That's rather amusing since AT&T has been against allowing VoIP over its data network on traditional smartphones.
While TechCrunch's sensational headline declares "the Google Phone is very real," the article admits that some of the sources are pretty thin, so we'll see how this pans out. Here's some fuel for the fire, though: Google has been pushing its Google Voice service, which already provides phone numbers to customers, and the company also just bought VoIP company Gizmo5.
Around the web: techcrunch.com (41 comments)
, Techmeme , IntoMobile , MakeUseOf.com (3 comments) , All Things Digital , Crenk , t3.com , insideaffiliates.com Profile pages: Google Android, Google, Google, Google Android, VoIP, Google Android 2.0, 3G, HTC, Google Voice, Android OS, Operating system, 4G, Smartphone
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Sony PlayStation 3 joins Facebook with firmware 3.10 today
Sony says that more Facebook features are coming, but that it has no plans for Twitter integration.
As promised yesterday, Sony has released firmware update 3.10 for the PlayStation 3 game console. The update adds new theme customization options and a photo grid feature, but the big news is of course the integration with Facebook.
You can now set your PS3 to automatically update your Facebook wall with new trophies, in-game events, and even PlayStation Network purchases. Granted, it's not the elaborate support the Xbox 360 got yesterday, but Sony's defense of that fact makes some sense. A Sony rep said that since the PS3 has a web browser, those features aren't needed in a native app. We'll admit that it's not likely that many people are going to want to manage their Facebook profiles on their PS3s instead of their laptops.
The PS3 therefore only offers features that are unique to the platform—for now. The rep said more features are in the works. Unfortunately, Sony admits it's not working on Twitter integration at the moment.
Around the web: pcworld.com
, techmeme.com (9 comments) , Electronista , Gizmodo (4 comments) , engadget.com (50 comments) , NewTeeVee Profile pages: Sony, PlayStation Network, web browser, Firmware, Facebook, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft Xbox 360 Pro, Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation 3 Slim, Sony PlayStation 3 Slim 250 GB, Microsoft Xbox 360, Social networking, Xbox LIVE
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Google Image Swirl is a sexy (but kind of superfluous) way to search
The new Labs feature uses a Wonder Wheel-like interface to display related images.
You start out by entering search terms. For example, we typed "Chicago" for the above search. When you get your search results, you can click on any image to see related images. It's automated, of course, so it's not totally perfect, but as you can see, when we clicked an image of the Chicago Theatre on State street we got a couple other results of the same landmark.
It's fun to play with, but it doesn't really add any functionality that wasn't already present in the similar images feature. It's fancy though. We'll give it that!
Around the web: googleblog.blogspot.com
, techmeme.com , Latest from Computerworld , ReadWriteWeb (1 comment) , blog.searchenginewatch.com , googlewatch.eweek.com , searchengineland.com , TheNextWeb.com -
Xbox 360 now does Facebook and Twitter, PS3 firmware 3.10 to add Facebook too
Microsoft promised social networking on the 360 way back at E3, but Sony will offer similar features any day now.
As promised, Facebook and Twitter functionality went live on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live network today.
Not to be outdone, Sony yesterday announced on its PlayStation blog that the PlayStation 3 will get Facebook integration in the upcoming firmware update 3.10. The PS3's social networking features will be a little more conservative than what we're getting on the Xbox 360—at least at first. You'll be able to automatically update your Facebook profile feed with Trophy and "game event" information.
Sony hasn't said when firmware 3.10 will go live, but it should be any time now. The company usually doesn't announce firmware updates for the PS3 until they're imminent. With the holiday rush of huge games including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Assassins Creed 2 in progress, we're not sure we'll have time to mess with these new features, but it's nice to know they're there to play with later!
Around the web: pcworld.com
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The Pirate Bay BitTorrent tracker taken offline indefinitely, replaced with newer tech
The Pirate Bay founders are talking to other tracker admins to convince the community to switch to the DHT and PEX protocols.
The Pirate Bay's founders have announced that the world's largest BitTorrent tracker is down for good. While the site has been mired in controversy and legal strife over the past several months, the team says that it's actually pulling the tracker down to replace it with different, more decentralized technologies: DHT and PEX.Both are supported by most current BitTorrent clients, and they eliminate the need for trackers and torrent files. The founders told TorrentFreak they're talking to other tracker admins to arrange a mutually agreed-upon shutdown date, at which time the entire community will shift to the new tech.
DHT uses "magnet links," which download directly into your BitTorrent client instead of using the browser as an intermediary. As a result, The Pirate Bay tagline has changed from “The world’s largest BitTorrent tracker” to “The world’s most resilient (magnetic) BitTorrent site.” Change never changes.
Around the web: TorrentFreak
, Techmeme , GigaOM , arstechnica.com , Mashable! (3 comments) , downloadsquad.com (9 comments) , neowin.net , theregister.co.uk Profile pages: BitTorrent, The Pirate Bay, piracy, web browser
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Windows Marketplace opens up shop on Windows Mobile 6, 6.1
The mobile app download service was previously only available on newer Windows Mobile 6.5 phones.
Microsoft is expanding its Windows Marketplace to as many platforms as it can. The service was originally just available for Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones, but then the company opened it up to PC users last week. Now you can access it on Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 handsets too.
Microsoft has set up a web URL (http://mp.windowsphone.com/) that you can visit with your mobile browser to download the Marketplace application. It should work on just about any phone with Windows Mobile version 6.0 or above now. Enjoy!
Around the web: The Windows Blog (5 comments)
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Sony PS3 Slim image gallery
