google Archive

Sony Internet TV Rolling Out First HDTVs Powered By Google TV

By Derangedgeek01Published: October 13, 2010Posted in: Cool GadgetsFeatured

sony-internet-hdtv-google-tv-1Cable and Satellite TV better watch out because there seems to be a new sheriff and deputy in town by the name of Sony and Google. Sony is finally rolling out details on the first HDTV sets that will support a new Google TV (internet TV) platform. The new ‘Sony Internet TV’ comes in 1080p LCD and LCD LED flavors under $1,500 and will be available later this month around October 24 at local Best Buy stores to start off.

The new Sony Internet TVs will have built in Wi-Fi and an included keypad remote with integrated mouse and keyboard for navigating the Google TV interface.

There will be a starting line of 24-inch ($599) Sony Internet TVs along with 32-inch ($799), 40-inch ($999) and 46-inch ($1,399). LED (LED backlit) models will also be included in the lineup with a slightly higher price of course. Each TV will have pre-installed apps including Netflix, Pandora, Twitter, YouTube and Sony’s Qriocity streaming-video service. The Google TV integration may be the forefront hit of these new TV sets. There will also be apps available to control your Google TV through an Android powered phone.

In the world of ‘Internet TV’, we have yet to see anything ‘sure-shot’ thing to stick and take off. Google TV may be the answer to cutting the cord but we won’t really know until we see these new Sony TVs on the market, faster and not-so-expensive ISP (Internet Service Provider) support and a large library of available TV programming and movies available.

Due to this news the question arises, would you dump your current cable or satellite subscriptions in place of Google TV/Internet TV service offered on one of these new Sony Internet TVs if the price is ‘right’? What would it take for you to leave your current cable or satellite TV? Is this the wave of the future?

Popularity: 8%

Google’s Self-Driving Car Captured on Video and Revealed

By WizzergeekPublished: October 11, 2010Posted in: Cool GadgetsFeatured

google-self-driving-car-1Google has revealed a self-driving vehicle on their blog explaining how they have been testing this type of technology for over year now. The cars, so-far, have logged over 140,000 miles where about 1,000 of them have been fully-automated runs.

Over year ago, Ben Tseitlin was able to capture a video of one of the test cars which happens to be a Toyota Prius, one of the many fleet vehicles Google is using for the self-driving test. In the videos, shown below, you will notice a big spoiler rig with a rotating device and cameras mounted on the roof of the vehicle. At the time Ben captured this video he simply thought it was another Google-Street-View car capturing the landscape. Little did he know, it was an autonomous driving vehicle manned by one of Googles technicians.

Since the spotting of the ‘test cars’ Google has notified the public of them conducting such tests and assured everyone that a human being was always present in the driver’s seat in the event that a manual override is needed.

Google Computer-Driven Prius from Ben Tseitlin on Vimeo.

Do you think we will ever have self-driving vehicles for sale on the automotive market in our lifetime? What about the next generation? How close do you think Google is to actually releasing this technology for a fully self-driving car?

Popularity: 3%

Google Instant Instantly Blocks ‘bad’ Search Terms

By WizzergeekPublished: September 29, 2010Posted in: News

google-instant-search-blacklistSo you are in a public library and you decide to Google “Paris Hilton” because your next book report you have to write about celebrities who did nothing to deserve their fame. You use Google and start typing in “Paris Hilton” and you start to get results for “Paris Hilton Sex Tap” and other obscene sites. Well, that simply isn’t going to happen because Google has blacklisted several search terms from utilizing the ‘Google Instant’ feature. Instead, for those ‘other’ blacklisted terms you will have to go through the long drawn-out process of hitting the enter key. That’s right, you must strike ENTER because Google Instant will not instantly give you results for a very long list of blacklisted terms which most are slang, vulgar language, porn related or the term “Google is evil”.

To view the full list of blacklisted terms from Google Instant go to http://www.2600.com/googleblacklist/

An interesting bit from the Inquirer says the following about Google Instant blacklisting certain terms:

A lot of the words are urban slang, so for example, camel podiatrists will find searching for information about their wards a less than Instant process, as will anyone looking for work in a factory that packs fudge. Unemployed altruists looking for a position as a missionary will also be stymied, and anyone with a rusty trombone that needs polishing will have to go through a laborious, old style Google search process.

Have you tested out Google Instant against some crazy terms that you think may be black listed? Did it meet your expectations?

Popularity: 2%

Introducing ‘Google Instant’: No Search Button Required, Google.com Now Streaming Search Results

By Derangedgeek01Published: September 8, 2010Posted in: FeaturedNews

Have you done a Google search today? If not, check it out… Google is now streaming results. That means by default, as you type in a search term on Google.com, it will start displaying or streaming the results right away. This setting can be changed by clicking the ‘Instant is on’ to the right of the search button on Google.com.

To learn more about Google Instant visit the Google Instant about page here.

Popularity: 2%

Google To Launch Music Service by Christmas

By WizzergeekPublished: September 7, 2010Posted in: News

google-music-serviceIs iTunes getting on your nerves lately due to the mounting spam found on their PING service? How about the time that you attempted to burn an MP3 CD from the music collection that you purchased via iTunes and couldn’t? Well, there may be an answer in the form of a music service offered by Google due out by Christmas of this year.

According to reports from Reuters, there have been talks between Google and record labels to have the Google Music Service up and running by Christmas which will be an iTunes challenger. The Google Music Service will be massively connected to the Android mobile OS as you can only imagine.

The Google Music Service will be a cloud-based subscription service with the ability to stream music to Android devices. Do I smell a new Android iPod replacement in the works here? Who knows?

The recent launch of iTunes 10 has put Apple into a better position for pumping new life into music offerings. The new Ping social network in iTunes so far has not been as big of hit as some speculated. This may give Google some wiggle room to enter into the market and do some serious damage, to your ears!

Do you think Google’s Music Service will be as big as iTunes one day? Will you use the Google Music Service to at least see what it is all about? Do you think Apple is at all the least bit concerned?

Popularity: 1%

How To Create Your Own Fancy Slideshow Screen Saver for Free

By Derangedgeek01Published: August 13, 2010Posted in: PC Tips & Tricks

If you are like me, then you don’t want to waste time when it comes to creating a decent slideshow screen saver for your PC. Sure there are some pricey applications out there that you can buy for displaying your favorite pictures in a slideshow as your screen saver. Did you know there are a few ways that you can do this for FREE?

screen-saver-settings

One application that I use for free is Google Photos Screensaver which is included in the Picasa program. If you install the free Picasa application, then you will have an option to setup a Google Photos Screensaver. After it is installed, you can either select your own photos from Picasa, an online Web Album, photos from public sits or your own personal photos located on your computer. The best part of this screen saver app is that it has dual monitor support meaning it will display a different image on each monitor simultaneously. Visual effects can also be changed including Pan, Zoom, Wipe, Collage, Push and others. This is by far one of the better screen saver options that you can find for free and customize to your likings.

google-photos-screensaver

Flickr also has a nice screen saver option for free. The tool is called Flickr.NET Screensaver. If you download the small application, then you will be able to configure it similar to Picasa’s Google Photos Screensaver.

There are other ways of customizing a slideshow screen saver but have proven to be much more difficult. One of those ways is using Flash via the app InstantStorm. Picasa and Flickr provide modern options that are fully compatible with all versions of Windows including Windows 7.

Popularity: 10%

Sound The Alarm: Google Is Watching Every Move You Make Online

By WizzergeekPublished: July 30, 2010Posted in: FeaturedPC Tips & Tricks

google-watching-you-sound-alarm-2Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching every move you make on the internet? I do and I found out that my measly five senses are not letting me down because someone is actually watching me and their name is Google.

Call me paranoid but I don’t think it is safe to surf the internet any longer. Maybe Prince the singer is right, we should just abandon the internet, it is no longer any good. Well, it is still good and I am still going to use it till the day that I die but in the meantime, Google is probably going to continue to watch virtually every move that I make so it is time to sound the alarm.

The Free Art and Technology (FAT) Lab is promoting a new browser plugin that gives you a visual notification and audible alarm every time it notices data being sent to Google from your computer (web browser). Alarmingly, no pun intended, just about every single website that I go to an alarm sounds because I am sending information to Google. Demonstrated in the video below is how this creative plugin for Firefox works.

Google Alarm from Jamie Dubs on Vimeo.

As you can see in the video above is that Google is getting information from your internet usage whether you like it or not. Pretty scary huh? Sure it is! I think I will join Prince and never use the internet again because Google is going to bust me for pirating his latest album which happens to suck. Okay, I really didn’t pirate it, I just downloaded a sample from a reputable MP3 site which when I navigated to, I also got the Google Alarm!

And you thought that your boss at work was the one watching what you did on the internet!

Popularity: 6%

Videos: My New iPhone 4 Drops Calls When Held With My Left Hand

By WizzergeekPublished: June 24, 2010Posted in: FeaturedNews

Okay, I am one of the suckers who decided to buy a new iPhone 4. I wanted to get the white but as you heard, the white ones won’t be out for another month or so. My iPhone 4 came in the mail via FedEx and I interestingly enough had no issues what-so-ever syncing it up with iTunes and restoring the information from my iPhone 3G. It worked like a charm.

After that I attempted to make a few phone calls and all worked great up until my 4th call to my Uncle who happens to hate Apple and all things “i”. I talked on the phone with him for about one minute and then my call dropped. I thought nothing of it and called him back while blaming the dropped call on his blackberry. Into the second call with him it was about one minute and 30 seconds into the call and the call dropped again. Okay, now I am getting a bit concerned. For one minute I thought the government may have been listening in on my conversation because we were discussing General McChrystal and the President. Silly me for thinking that way but it is happened to other people.

So, I go on to make a 3rd call and what do you know, after 50 seconds it dropped the call again! So I go onto Google and see if others had the same issue. To my surprise there are several. There are even videos of people demonstrating what exactly is happening.

iphone-4-dropped-call-issue-2

I have sweaty palms and all the while I was holding the iPhone up to my ear I had it snug in my left palm with my fingers wrapped around it trying to see if it was generating any heat (I know I am a little anal sometimes). Little did I know that I would discover how the iPhone 4 seems to have an issue with the ‘wrap-around’ antennas and cause some sort of interference when they all contact your hand at the same time. Major fail on Apples part if this is actually an issue or design over-sight.

Of course on my 4th call I used the speakerphone and finished my conversation with my Uncle all the while he was laughing at my iPhone 4 dropping calls. The iPhone 4 worked flawlessly on speakerphone but I am still a big concerned.

Below are several videos that I have found demonstrating this same issue.

Has this happened to you?? I wonder if those ‘bumper’ covers that Apple offers in different colors is their quick and easy solution to this?

Popularity: 12%

Google TV: Taking the Complicated and Boring Out of TV

By WizzergeekPublished: May 21, 2010Posted in: Cool GadgetsFeatured

google-tv-1Remember those days of changing your schedule to meet the schedule of TV so that you can actually watch something good? Sure, those days are still here but now you can bring everything you love about the web to your TV. Will it be a big hit?

Google TV searches all your channels, hubs, favorite websites… so on and brings it to your TV. Google TV will basically make your TV smarter so you do not have to waste time looking for what you want and more time watching.

Okay, now that my sales pitch is over. Check out the introduction to Google TV in the YouTube video below.

Did you know that Google has partnered with Dish Network and scored a retail partnership with Best Buy? So that means rolling out Google TV will be right in your face the next time you go shopping for that new tech gadget at your local Best Buy. Better yet, we should start seeing commercial advertising Google TV on our “boring TVs” soon.

Google is basically going to roll out a TV service that targets the 4 billion TV users worldwide. And you thought Facebook had a big following with 400 million users. That’s nothing to the world-domination that Google seeks with the new Google TV

Google TV will be open sources for both Android and Chrome source trees. Don’t even ask me about the iPhone. You know the deal there!

Google TV is expected to be released in early 2011. Until then, I guess I will turn on some Family Guy and try to enjoy my boring TV life.

So, will Google TV catch on?

Popularity: 3%

Targeting Hackers via Google Earth: Mapping Spam and Malware Hackers

By Derangedgeek01Published: March 26, 2010Posted in: FeaturedSecurity Chatter

SophosLabs, a security company that gets all types of malware and spyware information from around the world, has used Google Earth to map out where the latest spam and malware campaigns have initiated. I have to say, this is quite an unusual way of putting Google Earth to use. I can never recall a time that I actually used Google Earth for something other than my own personal enjoyment.

The map below, although it may look rather gross or like a bunch of red ants crawling over European countries, is an actual representation of locations of zombie computers according to SophosLabs.

google-earth-mapping-malware-spam
photo credit: SophosLabs click for full-size image

I thought that this was worth sharing because SophosLabs took the effort to compile all of this data from other a years’ time to actually pinpoint the areas of zombie computers or those that have been taken over as a result from a malware or spyware infection. Usually these types of parasites are used to steal information from a computer arming hackers with enough data to log into computer user’s online banking accounts or even steal their personal identities. Crazy isn’t it?

SophosLabs even went as far as to create a video and upload it on YouTube demonstrating where spam comes from, mainly home machines located in UK and Europe. They even show examples of zooming into areas on the Google Earth map of where they suspect a piece of malware has originated from and then redirected to a website.

What do they do with all of this data? Who knows! Hopefully security companies can use this type of data to actually catch the perpetrators instead of notifying the public on where these hackers are located. Unless they plan on doing some house raids to confiscate the hackers’ computers, I really do not know how we will greatly benefit from this data right now. Nonetheless, this is pretty darn interesting.

Popularity: 7%