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In-Car Technology Sharply Accelerates

Link: In-Car Technology Sharply Accelerates.

In-Car Technology Sharply Accelerates The battle for the dashboard is heating up in the automotive world, as car makers race to offer new in-car 'infotaiment' systems by Matt Vella Autos In-Car Technology Sharply Accelerates Putting Ford in the Rearview Mirror Slow Sales Start for Detroit? World's Most Practical Sportscar Toyota Dealers' $3 Billion Bet Story Tools post a comment e-mail this story print this story order a reprint digg this save to del.icio.us View Slide Show When Microsoft (MSFT) Chairman Bill Gates appeared onstage with Mark Fields, Ford Motor's president of the Americas, at last month's Consumer Electronics Show, the jokes were ready: How do you "control-alt-delete" from behind the wheel? How do you prevent popup ads at 65 mph? The last thing Ford needs is a new way to crash

TiVo's StopWatch to offer up precise viewer statistics - Engadget

Link: TiVo's StopWatch to offer up precise viewer statistics - Engadget.

TiVo's StopWatch to offer up precise viewer statistics Posted Feb 1st 2007 10:35AM by Darren Murph Filed under: Home Entertainment TiVo's transformation from a ad-skipper's best friend to an ad agency's biggest asset is nearly complete, as the firm's StopWatch system is aimed to provide "second-by-second" viewing data which Nielsen has refused to offer thus far. While the company went public about its intentions to become an ad-friendly platform awhile back, it looks like the time has come for its voyeuristic service to go live, as it begins marketing a system to carefully watch its 4.5 million or so customers whiz through commercials and schedule season recordings. This indeed marks the "first time a syndicated ratings service has detailed live and time-shifted viewing data on a second-by-second basis," which advertisers should absolutely drool over. Notably, Starcom has already signed on as TiVo's first taker, and with the amount of critical data now available to media agencies, we hardly believe it'll be the last. So the next time you crank up your TiVo and cruise on by every single costly commercial on your favorite recorded drama, take comfort in the fact that Big Brother is taking notes on a moment-by-moment basis.

Verizon passed up Apple iPhone deal - Engadget

Link: Verizon passed up Apple iPhone deal - Engadget.

Verizon passed up Apple iPhone deal Posted Jan 29th 2007 11:02AM by Paul Miller Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video While Cingular (er, AT&T, but you know what we mean) couldn't seem prouder of its iPhone exclusivity, apparently Apple's first choice was Verizon, but the two companies couldn't agree on a deal that worked for both companies. "We said no." Said Jim Gerace, a VZW VP. "We have nothing bad to say about the Apple iPhone. We just couldn't reach a deal that was mutually beneficial." Talks began as far back as two years ago, but Apple's demands were steep. They also give us an idea of what exactly is behind the Apple / Cingular agreement: Apple wanted a percentage of monthly service fees, control over distribution that would limit iPhone sales to Apple and Verizon stores, and even some control over service and support for iPhone customers. "They would have been stepping in between us and our customers to the point where we would have almost had to take a back seat ... on hardware and service support," say Gerace. Cingular doesn't quite see it that way, so perhaps Apple changed its conditions a bit when it started courting Cingy. Says Mark Siegel, a Cingular spokesman, "I don't want to leave the impression that these (iPhone) customers are not ours. [MORE]

Make Your iTunes Library Mobile

Link: Make Your iTunes Library Mobile.

Avvenu has a new product that allows you to listen to your iTunes music connection from any web browser on a Windows PC, Mac, or Windows Mobile 5 smartphone. MobileCrunch covered an early version of the product that only worked on Windows Mobile phones here.

Rumsfeld Leaves Most Recent Job Off Resumé | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Link: Rumsfeld Leaves Most Recent Job Off Resumé | The Onion - America's Finest News Source.

Rumsfeld Leaves Most Recent Job Off Resumé January 16, 2007 | Issue 43•03 ST. MICHAELS, MD—A resumé apparently written by Donald Rumsfeld that omits his position as Defense Secretary in the current Bush administration was leaked to the press Monday, approximately one month after his departure from the post.

So-Called 'Genius' Bill Belichick Stumped By Non-Football-Related Question | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Link: So-Called 'Genius' Bill Belichick Stumped By Non-Football-Related Question | The Onion - America's Finest News Source.

So-Called 'Genius' Bill Belichick Stumped By Non-Football-Related Question January 18, 2007 | | Onion Sports Cut-and-paste

FOXBOROUGH, MA—Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's reputation for possessing a keen, incisive intelligence and being able to intuitively grasp all pertinent aspects of a problem took a major hit Tuesday when, while fielding reporters' questions at his daily press conference, he stammered through his response to a Business Week reporter's routine inquiry concerning alternative economic approaches to societal trends. "Well, we, uh, I guess it's like the salary cap all teams operate under, as far as… Is commodification the word I want to use here?" said Belichick, obviously attempting to dodge the question in what onlookers called a "humiliating moment of mere mortality for the acknowledged genius." "I don't know if Keynesian theory is what I want here, but… A football game is a service, I guess, in terms of Keynesian market concepts… No, wait, I think I'm thinking of Thorstein Veblen. You know what? Any questions on how we're planning for the Colts' passing game?" Patriots players would not comment directly on their coach's public failure to live up to his reputation,  although some players were heard wondering aloud how a coach with such severely limited economic knowledge could in good faith call himself an offensive innovator.

Creators of Kazaa unveil Web TV service - Los Angeles Times

Link: Creators of Kazaa unveil Web TV service - Los Angeles Times.

Creators of Kazaa unveil Web TV service By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer January 17, 2007 Online click to enlargeThe duo behind the blockbuster Internet applications Skype and Kazaa think they have the secret to online video: Make it more like TV.

Jeff Han on TED Talks

Blue Ball Machine

I'm not even sure how I would explain this.  Just turn up your speakers, click on the link and experience it for yourself:  http://blueballfixed.ytmnd.com/

Netflix, I Was Just Kidding About Breaking Up With You

Link: Netflix, I Was Just Kidding About Breaking Up With You.

Netflix, I Was Just Kidding About Breaking Up With You Michael Arrington 66 comments »Last month I wrote a post called “Why I Am Breaking Up With Netflix” that outlined the reasons I was switching to BlockBuster’s Total Access after years as a loyal Netflix customer. BlockBuster’s new offering, which basically turns every mailed movie into a coupon for a free movie at any BlockBuster outlet, has been a huge success. BlockBuster now has 2.2 million members, adding 700,000 over the last two and a half months. In the arms race between the two companies, BlockBuster launched something Netflix has no answer to - intelligent integration between the website and BlockBuster’s thousands of retail outlets. But now Netflix has fired back with a really excellent new service that could swing momentum back in their direction. This morning, a select number of Netflix’s 6 million subscribers will have access to a new Watch Now product that will stream television shows and movies to a Windows PC. The remaining members will be given access over the next six months. About 1,000 movies and tv shows will initially be available (including some hits - NBC’s “The Office” is included, for example). [MORE]