Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts

The world is better off with Best Buy alive than dead



A Lenovo Yoga convertible ultrabook on display at a Los Angeles Best Buy. It's still the best place to comparison shop for gadgets in a physical store.

A Lenovo Yoga convertible ultrabook on display at a Los Angeles Best Buy. It's still the best place to comparison shop for gadgets in a physical store.



(Credit:
Brooke Crothers)


Despite all the flak Best Buy gets from consumers and financial analysts, the world is probably a better place with it than without it.


For those who don't follow Best Buy as a business, existential questions have been dogging it for years. The word "Titanic" often comes up.


Not all that surprising, considering brick-and-mortar electronics retail stalwarts CompUSA and Circuit City have all but disappeared.


Here's what the new CEO, Hubert Joly, said Friday during the earnings conference call, via a transcript provided by Seeking Alpha.


"In fiscal '13, we permanently closed 49 large-format stores and expected to close an additional 5 to 10 large-format stores in fiscal 2014."


That's a lot of store closings.


"People who thought we were dead have to go through the painful process of revisiting that point of view," Mr. Joly told The Wall Street Journal on Friday.


I've wondered many times if my regular weekly visit to the local Best Buy would be my last. And still do.


But I like knowing the store is there.


Best Buy is really the only electronics specialty store besides Fry's Electronics (mostly a West Coast phenomenon) that packs lots of PCs, Macs,
tablets, and phones into relatively small abutting areas, allowing you to easily comparison shop.


And Best Buy carries a good cross section of the most popular gadgets. It had Microsoft's Surface tablet pretty soon after the device came out, despite some initial display hiccups (see photo below), and it has decent stock of
Windows 8 touch-screen laptops and tablets,
Android stuff, and of course Apple products.

Of course, there's plenty to complain about. But those same gripes apply to Fry's and to just about any big box electronics retailer that's ever existed, including Circuit City and CompUSA.

What's ahead for Best Buy? Who knows? But Apple stores and now Microsoft's expanding retail presence aren't making it any easier. And during Friday's call, Best Buy executives kept talking about expanding/improving the store's online presence.

Problem is, online is often the last gasp for physical big box retailers.


Nothing to see here. Not that atypical for a Best Buy display. I went to my local Los Angeles store looking for Microsoft's Surface tablet the other day and I found this mess.

Nothing to see here. Not that atypical for a Best Buy display. I went to my local Los Angeles store looking for Microsoft's Surface tablet the other day and I found this mess.



(Credit:
Brooke Crothers)

Updated at 5:40 p.m.: corrects reference to Windows version on touch-screen tablets.
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Crave Ep. 111: Man vs. jetpack



Man vs. jetpack, Ep: 111



Subscribe to Crave:

iTunes (HD) | iTunes (SD) | iTunes (HQ)


RSS (HD) | RSS (SD) | RSS (HQ)


A German inventor has built a DIY jetpack, so we hop onboard. Also, we get a first look at "Star Wars" pinball for iOS and
Android, and "Star Trek" fans win a major space battle when they vote to name a Pluto moon "Vulcan." All that and more on this week's episode of Crave.




Crave stories:


- Google Nexus fired into space to see if screams are audible

- Myo gesture-control armband uses muscle power

- Star Wars Pinball coming tomorrow to Android, iOS (video)


- Get a ball's-eye view with camera in football

- Trekkies conquer contest to name Pluto moons


- Inventor gets off the ground with homemade jetpack


- First-person Mario video will blow your mind

- Crave giveaway: Two leather iPad cases from Kavaj


Social networking:

- Stephen on Twitter

- Stephen on Google+


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Anonymous leaks alleged data on BofA execs, surveillance




In its latest salvo against the financial industry, Anonymous claims to have leaked sensitive information related to Bank of America executives and the company's alleged effort to "spy and collect information on private citizens."


Par:AnoIA, a group that identifies itself as the Anonymous Intelligence Agency, said in a press release (PDF) yesterday that it had released 14 gigabytes of data on hundreds of thousands of executives at companies around the world, including Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, and TEKSystems, which the hackvisit collective claims was hired last year to spy on hackers and social activists.


The group says the data was not acquired during a hack but rather was retrieved from an unsecured server in Israel.


"The source of this release has confirmed that the data was not acquired by a hack but because it was stored on a misconfigured server and basically open for grabs," Par:AnoIA said. "Looking at the data it becomes clear that Bank of America, TEKSystems, and others (see origins of reports) gathered information on Anonymous and other activists' movement on various social-media platforms and public Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels."


The documents leaked by Anonymous include "intelligence" reports allegedly compiled by TEKSystems on "daily cyber threats" from around the world and Internet activity related to the Occupy Wall Street movement.




The group said the data retrieved revealed research methodology that was "sloppy, random, and valueless."


"Apparently a keyword list was used to match for items of interest on IRC, Twitter, and other social media," the press release said. "While the list has over 10,000 entries, only 1,125 keywords seem to be genuine, the rest are simply Wikipedia references."


CNET has contacted Bank of America for comment and will update this report when we learn more.


The data dump comes three weeks after the U.S. Federal Reserve confirmed that one of its internal Web sites had been hacked, a breach that appears to have occurred around the same time that Anonymous published log-in and private information from more than 4,000 U.S. bank executive accounts.


Bank of America raised the ire of Anonymous in 2010 when it announced that it would no longer process payments for WikiLeaks. Earlier moves by MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal resulted in retaliatory cyberattacks by the hacker group.


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11 must-see videos from Mobile World Congress

The 2013 Mobile World Congress is just a day away from closing in Barcelona, Spain. Housed in a brand-new venue and bigger than ever, the show burst at the seams with everything wireless. Sure, there was a ton of new phones and tablets, but those headline devices only scratched the surface. CNET's team of reporters scoured the show floor to find everything from a GPS-enabled cane to a touchless touch screen.



So if you can't be in Barcelona, join CNET for a video tour of some of the hottest devices and most fascinating finds of the show.


 
































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The promo image for The biggest smartphone party of the year

The annual event in Barcelona, Spain, produces some of 2013's most exciting smartphone news. CNET covers the show, inside and out.





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Tech companies: gay marriage ban is bad for business



Apple is one of the companies signing up to support gay marriage.



(Credit:
Apple)



Some big name tech companies are adding their support for same-sex marriage and making the case that banning these unions deters employee recruitment efforts.


Dozens of companies, including Apple, Facebook, eBay and Intel, will file an amicus brief -- a court document field by an interested, group that is not actually a party to the case -- on Thursday to delcare their support, Fortune reported today.


The companies will file the brief for the Hollingsworth v. Perry case, which will decide whether or not the Fourteenth amendment prohibits California from defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from denying any person equal protection of the law.



The companies argue that a ban would make it harder for companies in California to hire potential employees if those employees think they will receive better treatment and benefits in another state, or another country, according to the draft brief obtained by Fortune.


The tech companies join dozens of others, as well as top Republicans, including HP's Meg Whitman, who think the state should not ban gay marriage.

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'Copyright Alert System' rolls out to catch illegal downloaders



The "Copyright Alert System," aka "six strikes," kicked off today with the cooperation of five major Internet service providers. The goal of the new campaign is to curb copyright infringement by going after consumers rather than pirates.

While the CAS seems like something that would raise the hackles of privacy and civil liberty groups, the plan isn't to arrest, sue, or fine people downloading illegal movies, games, or music. Instead, the group managing the program -- the Center for Copyright Information -- says its objective is to "educate" such downloaders that they are infringing on protected intellectual copyrights.

"Implementation marks the culmination of many months of work on this groundbreaking and collaborative effort to curb online piracy and promote the lawful use of digital music, movies and TV shows," executive director for the Center for Copyright Information Jill Lesser wrote in a blog post today. "The CAS marks a new way to reach consumers who may be engaging in peer-to-peer (P2P) piracy."

The Center for Copyright Information is a joint venture between Hollywood copyright holders and ISPs -- it is also backed by the White House. AT&T, Cablevision, Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Comcast are the participating ISP members in the venture.

The CAS has been in the works since 2011 and was scheduled to go into effect last November. But after a series of delays, including reluctance from ISPs and effects of Hurricane Sandy, the Center for Copyright Information postponed its launch until this year.

Under graduated response, or six strikes, entertainment companies will notify a participating ISP that a customer has allegedly been pirating movies or TV shows illegally. The bandwidth provider will then send a notice intended to educate the customer about the consequences of downloading unauthorized content.

The ISP is then supposed to gradually ratcheting up the pressure on customers who ignore the warnings. Eventually, after six warnings, ISPs can choose to suspend service. Graduated response, however, does not include the termination of service. Customers wrongly accused can appeal to their company and take their case to an arbitration group for review. The plan doesn't protect Internet consumers from being sued by copyright owners, however.

Some ways that pirated material is shared on the Internet, such as cyberlockers, e-mail attachments, and Dropbox folders, are not included under six strikes.

Here's more on the CAS from Lesser's blog post:


We hope this cooperative, multi-stakeholder approach will serve as a model for addressing important issues facing all who participate in the digital entertainment ecosystem. From content creators and owners to distributors to consumers, we all benefit from a better understanding of the choices available and the rights and responsibilities that come with using digital content, thereby helping to drive investment in content creation and innovative services that offer exciting ways to enjoy music, video and all digital content.

Over the course of the next several days our participating ISPs will begin rolling out the system. Practically speaking, this means our content partners will begin sending notices of alleged P2P copyright infringement to ISPs, and the ISPs will begin forwarding those notices in the form of Copyright Alerts to consumers. Most consumers will never receive Alerts under the program. Consumers whose accounts have been used to share copyrighted content over P2P networks illegally (or without authority) will receive Alerts that are meant to educate rather than punish, and direct them to legal alternatives. And for those consumers who believe they received Alerts in error, an easy to use process will be in place for them to seek independent review of the Alerts they received.


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YouTube code refers to paid channel subscriptions




Paid channel subscriptions on YouTube may be closer than previously thought.


After reports last month that YouTube was considering offering channels that would require a fee to access, code has now appeared that suggests Google is already laying the software foundation for subscription channels.


According to Android Police, the latest version of YouTube for
Android includes two lines of code that refer to paid channel subscriptions. The code, apparently intended to generate messages on users' screens, say:


You can only subscribe to this paid channel on your computer.

You can only unsubscribe from this paid channel on your computer.



YouTube had approached a handful of producers about developing content for a subscription platform that might the Google-owned video-sharing site hoped to launch this year, according to an AdAge report in January. YouTube was also mulling a plan to charge for other items, such as entire libraries of videos, live events, and even self-help or financial advice shows, AdAge reported.


A paid content platform would offer viewers an alternative to traditional TV, as well as deliver new revenue streams through subscriptions and ads placed in the channels.




YouTube has floated the idea of launching subscription services in the past but has so far balked at the idea. YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar said in February 2012 that his company was considering allowing content providers to create their own, unique subscription-based video service on the site.


CNET has contacted YouTube for comment on the code and will update this report when we learn more.


(Via The Verge)


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The Facebook mistakes people make after a date



February can make people excitable.


A new year is barely old. Hope springs eternal. And then there's Valentine's Day to add a little piquancy to their emotional state.


Sometimes, though, lovers suffer from a certain lack of self-control. This can manifest itself on society's everyday manifest: Facebook.


I was moved, therefore, that someone had taken the time to list the major faux pas that occur when social contact accelerates beyond decent norms.


I am lovingly grateful to Ranker, which has taken it upon itself to reduce the rancor that might be caused by Facebooked overenthusiasm -- the site has listed behavior to avoid.



Apparently the worst thing you can do after meeting someone in whose charm and personality you might be interested is to immediately send them a Facebook friend request.


This might seem obvious to some.


You don't necessarily have any idea what the other person might really think of you. You know, inside their heads.


And, as Ranker wisely offers: "Now you've just given yourself something else to obsess over: 'Why hasn't my friend request been accepted? Why is it taking so long? Did they even see it?!'


And from one small click, a whole new series of sessions with your shrink is created.


It seems, though, that the human imagination has found many more ways of ruining the course of true love on Facebook.


People apparently pore over their new date's Facebook page, seeking secrets to their true friends, thoughts, and, who knows, other objects of affection.


Some devolve into what seems utterly psychotic behavior, such as liking old photos of their new potential paramour. Who does that? Twisted humans, that's who.


But Facebook offers so many more opportunities for self-destruction.


There's revealing too much in your status update. Sample: "I just went on the best date ever with Marie Dupree and her sexy knees."



More Technically Incorrect



Some people, though, go even further and attempt to insert themselves into comments on their love-object's Facebook page, should they already be Facebook friends. Sample: "You look so WONDERFUL when you're saluting the sun, Shoshanna. Can't wait until we do some saluting together!!"


No, it doesn't end there.


The Facebook gauche end up stalking every second of their new friend's Timeline. ("She dated a clown in 2008? Why would she DO that?")


Worse, there are apparently instances of enthusiasts who get so carried away that they start friending the families of their new objects of affection. ("Hi, Mrs. Aziel, you don't know me, but your daughter and I...." Oh, you finish the sentence.)


Facebook offers so many avenues of potential despair that there is only one way that you can use it to avoid complication, pain, sorrow, heartbreak, sleepless nights, and that bottomless feeling of lost opportunity: Don't go anywhere near it.



Top 10 Facebook Mistakes to Avoid After 1st Dates
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Apple yanks proxy proposal after judge backs Einhorn



In response to a court ruling today in favor of hedge fund manager David Einhorn, Apple has yanked a proxy proposal that would eliminate its ability to issue "blank check" preferred stock without investor approval.


Apple issued a statement concerning the ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan, who granted Einhorn's bid to block next week's shareholder vote on the proposal:


"We are disappointed with the court's ruling. Proposal #2 is part of our efforts to further enhance corporate governance and serve our shareholders' best interests. Unfortunately, due to today's decision, shareholders will not be able to vote on Proposal #2 at our annual meeting next week."



Greenlight Capital, a hedge fund run by the famed short seller Einhorn, sued Apple on February 7, asserting that the company needed to distribute preferred stock to current shareholders and that Apple had balked at the idea when it was first discussed. Einhorn argues that issuing high-yielding preferred shares to existing shareholders would allow Apple to share the value on the balance sheet but still hold a large amount of cash.


Apple's latest proxy statement, which details items up for a vote at its February 27 shareholder meeting, had included a proposal that would eliminate such preferred stock. Einhorn's suit sought an injunction to prevent Apple from bundling that provision with several other items. Rather, he wanted each item to be voted on separately.


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Social media aggregator Memolane to shut down



Memolane's timeline service.



(Credit:
Eddie Echo/CNET)



Memolane, a social media aggregator that promised trips down memory lane, announced today it is shutting down immediately and will delete users' account content tomorrow.


Launched in 2010, the Web app extracted each moment users shared on popular social-networking services such as Facebook, Last.fm, Twitter, Foursquare, and others and combined them into one visual timeline. Posts/comments/tweets/etc. were organized by their respective dates and posted as memos under each date.


The San Francisco-based company had raised $2.5 million in venture capital but announced today in a company blog post that it is joining another company that it did not identify that would "utilize the Memolane features in an expanded way, adding more value to all the great memories captured on social media."


Our goal was to make it exciting to relive great adventures with friends. We are proud that we could bring joy to people's lives by sending out daily emails with fun memories from the past. As well, it has been a thrill to share in the excitement when one of our fans rediscovers a precious moment that was once lost.


It wasn't immediately clear if Memolane had been acquired by another company, and if so, who that company might be. But Memolane said the "merger" means that all accounts and their contents would be deleted Friday but noted that the content would still be available at users' original social media sources.


The company also suggested users try formerly competing services offered by Timehop and Jolicloud.


CNET has contacted Memolane for more information and will update this report when we learn more.


(Via TNW)


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Sony mum on PlayStation Vita price drops for U.S., Europe



Sony breathed new life into its PlayStation Vita portable alongside the introduction of the PlayStation 4 today.


The gist of the news: The Vita can be used as a full screen and controller for your PS4, similar to what Nintendo's done with the
Wii U. The idea is that you can continue to play a game on the PS4 through your Vita, even if someone needs to use the TV for something else. The only catch for now is that the two devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.


That should make the handheld gaming device more attractive to would-be buyers who are looking for more utility from the $249 or $299 entry price, and who plan on buying Sony's upcoming console.


But smart buyers know a price drop is coming, something that could stall already tepid sales. Earlier this week Sony announced plans to cut the price of the Vita in Japan, bringing both the Wi-Fi and 3G models down to the same price in an effort to boost sales. In the past, those types of price cuts have trickled down to other markets, and such an announcement was anticipated by some today.



Since its launch in in early 2012, sales of the Vita have proven to be lackluster compared to Sony's predecessor, the PSP. In a recent interview with Famitsu magazine, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan president Hiroshi Kawano admitted that the portable gaming system still has "a ways to go," and that it was "a little behind the numbers we originally pictured," adding that the price cut was intended to make the device more accessible.


While much of the attention during today's press conference was on the PlayStation 4 -- which was not shown on stage, or given a price or release date beyond "Holiday 2013" -- the Vita got some attention. To show off the new remote play feature, the company demoed Knack, an upcoming title for the PS4 that uses streaming technology Sony acquired from Gaikai.


Sony Computer Entertainment president and group CEO Andrew House today also stressed the company's "unwavering commitment to phenomenal play experience," that would "continue to unlock the PlayStation Vita's potential." That would come in additional features arriving later this year, House teased, but he did not provide specifics.



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6 tech features that should be standard in every new car

Air bags, anti-lock brakes, and stability control. CD players, power locks and windows, and air conditioning. These are all features that at some point or other were optional (and sometimes costly) vehicle features, but over time we've come to expect them in every new
car on the road -- whether that's due to legislation or changing buyer tastes. As cars continue to evolve, so grow our expectations of what should be included in the sticker price. I've rounded up a few optional car tech features that I'd like to see become make the jump to standard equipment.


Bluetooth hands-free calling in the 2012 Acura TSX Sport Wagon.

Early Bluetooth hands-free systems were often included in expensive, optional tech packages.



(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)



Bluetooth connectivity


Let's start with the most obvious answer: Bluetooth. The best way to keep phone-toting drivers from plowing into things is by keeping their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road by making use of the ubiquitous Bluetooth connection that nearly every phone has. Unfortunately, early Bluetooth connectivity was pretty clunky and had traditionally been bundled as part of expensive technology packages. Drivers and lawmakers complained loudly and, by and large, automakers have started to make Bluetooth standard on their 2012 and 2013 model year vehicles. There are still a few stragglers who haven't jumped on the standard hands-free connectivity train, but I guess that within a year or two nearly every new car will be hands-free ready down to the most spartan models.


But this is a wish list of sorts, so why stop there? I want the
hands-free calling to be as easy and safe to interact with as possible, so good voice command is a must. If an automaker doesn't want to develop a good voice dialer, the option to allow the phone to handle its own spoken commands with Siri and Google Voice Search would be welcome additions. I also want Bluetooth audio streaming to be standard since the hardware will already be in place.





USB port in the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec

Hyundai has been making USB connectivity standard across its line, but the new Apple Lightning connector has caused issues with its iPod connectivity.



(Credit:
Antuan Goodwin/CNET)



USB/iPod connectivity


Just like the mighty 8-track and compact cassette tapes that came before it, the CD player is on its way out of the dashboard. Chevrolet has already ditched the disc with the Spark subcompact and I doubt that they'll be the last to do so.


Any automaker that doesn't offer USB connectivity for digital media as a standard feature across its line is already behind the tech curve. Why? It's because no one buys physical media anymore. The success of digital music stores, such as
iTunes and Amazon, and the availability of cheap flash media and digital media players means that the USB port is the new CD slot. Who wants to carry around a binder full of compact discs when you can shove an entire music library into your pocket on a USB key or iPod device?

While we're at it, put two USB ports on the dashboard and give them 1-amp or better, high-powered outputs to double their functionality as a fast-chargers for today's power thirsty smartphones, eliminating the need to purchase 12-volt car chargers.




2013 Nissan Altima camera

Rear view cameras increase both safety and convenience when reversing.



(Credit:
Nissan)

Rear view camera

This is another obvious choice, because the U.S. government has been saying that it is going to make rearview cameras a required safety featuure since about 2008. However, the deadline keeps getting pushed back and currently sits sometime beyond 2014. The simple acts of checking mirrors and turning your head shouldn't be downplayed, but automakers have continued to build cars with ever decreasing rear visibility thanks to high belt-lines and thick rear pillars. Nearly everyone can benefit from the increased visibility afforded by a rear camera.

Suburban families with young children or outdoor pets gain the additional safety of not backing over someone or something important to them. Urbanites who often park parallel on the street gain an edge when squeezing into a tight spot thanks to the camera's unique bumper-level view. (Maybe these standard cameras will stop San Franciscans from marring their and others' cars by using their bumpers to gauge parking distance.)




2013 Audi S5

Most Blind Spot Monitoring systems manifest as lights located on the side mirrors that illuminate to indicate an obstruction.



(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)

Blind-spot monitoring

Blind-spot monitoring makes the list largely for the same reasons that rear view cameras do: automakers are building cars with fairly poor visibility, making it difficult for even a good driver to do a simple over-the-shoulder check when changing lanes. On the other hand, those not-so-good drivers who don't even bother with the over-the-shoulder check could definitely use a flashing light or audible alert to let them know that they're about to merge into me on the freeway. Either way, all of us could benefit from an extra set of electronic eyes watching our tails.

Nissan's latest generation of blind spot monitoring technology is very interesting. The 2013 Altima doesn't use side sonar sensors like most systems do. Rather, it makes use of the ultra-wide angle rearview camera to provide optical monitoring of the vehicle's rear corners. Since we're already making the rear camera standard, this tech would hit two driver safety birds with one stone.




Ford's Sync App Link gives users access to their favorite apps with good voice command.

Ford's Sync App Link gives users access to their favorite apps with good voice command.



(Credit:
Antuan Goodwin/CNET)

Car-centric app integration

I'm sure that this is the feature that the "zero-tolerance for phones" contingency of CNET readers and commenters will take the most issue with, but bear with me.

A large number of drivers are already using apps in the car, sometimes illegally, for simple functions such as listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks, navigating to their destination, getting around traffic, and letting loved ones know where they are. Third-party technologies, such the Car Connectivity Consortium's MirrorLink and Livio Connect are already making strides to make interacting with these apps as easy as tuning a radio station. Automakers are also making similar strides with their own technologies -- Toyota's Entune and Ford Sync AppLink, for example.

Since we can't put the smartphone apps cat back into the mobile technology bag, let's instead focus on trying to the current situation safer. A good app integration system should allow me to quickly access my favorite streaming radio app, give me the fasted directions home using my favorite navigation app, and share my ETA with my friends using my favorite location sharing app, using the large dashboard or touchscreen buttons (good), steering wheel controls (better), or voice commands (best), all while my phone remains tucked away in my pocket.

We see again here that these technologies are already making their way into cars, but as parts of expensive tech bundles that include overpriced navigation systems and premium audio rigs that could discourage many drivers from bothering. Since, I'm already using my own phone and data plan, app integration should be cheap or free.



MyFord Touch

The MyFord Touch system features a Do Not Disturb feature, but its elective nature limits its usefulness.



(Credit:
Ford)

Do Not Disturb mode

Sometimes, even with today's best app integration systems, the temptation to check that incoming text message on the phone can be just too much for some drivers. So, it's not enough that app integration systems simply not support non-car apps; they'll have to actively suppress those other apps and their notifications with a Do Not Disturb mode.

Some infotainment systems, such as MyFord Touch, already offer a Do Not Disturb feature that silences calls and texts, automatically responding via SMS that you're driving. However, this system is totally optional and defeatable, which limits its usefulness to the very type of distracted driver it attempts to protect. I propose that, in order to access the easy-to-use app integration that I asked for in the previous section, the phone should be required to enter a Do Not Disturb mode of sorts, silencing notifications for text messages, twitter tweets, facebook posts, and other apps you should probably not be fooling with until the car is parked. This could be as simple as putting the phone into a silent, no-vibration mode, only funneling car-relevant information through the vehicle's own interface, or as complex as totally locking down the phone at the OS level.

Since we're speculating, I'd like to see my amazing Do Not Disturb feature used as a parental lock for young and inexperienced drivers, requiring that teenager's smartphone be paired to the car's hands-free system for emergency phone calls, but locked-out for apps and texts when the vehicle is in motion.

I may be asking for a lot here and no doubt the truly foolhardy will still find a way to circumvent my proposed Do Not Disturb feature, but I think that by incentivising drivers to give up their texts and tweets for a while to gain easy app integration access to the music and navigation apps that they love can go a long way toward improving vehicle safety -- certainly much further than simply finger-wagging about what people shouldn't be doing behind the wheel. Make both systems standard and you've got a one-two punch for managing driver distraction.


So, what did we miss? What favorite car tech feature would you like to see made standard on tomorrow's cars? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
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Microsoft quietly raises price of Office for Mac by 17 percent



Office 2013



(Credit:
Microsoft)



Microsoft has quietly increased the prices of its Office for Mac 2011 by as much as 17 percent, putting it on price par with Office 2013 for Windows.


The software giant has also quit selling multi-license packages, which allowed customers to purchase multiple copies of the application suite at a discounted rate.


The single-license Office for
Mac Home & Student now costs $140, an increase of about 17 percent from the previous price of $120. Meanwhile, Microsoft raised the price of Office for Mac Home & Business, which includes Outlook, to $220, a 10 percent price hike over the previous $200 price.




Microsoft doesn't seem to have publicized the price increase, so it's not clear when the price increase took effect. However, Computerworld, which first reported the increase, estimates it occurred around January 29, the same day that
Microsoft Office 2013 and Office 365 was launched.


CNET has contacted Microsoft for more information on the price increase and will update this report when we learn more.


In addition to the price increase, Microsoft ceased sales of multi-license editions. The multi-user packs are still for sale on Amazon (while supplies last) at a significant discount, but the listing notes that the software is an older edition.


The moves are apparently intended to redirect customers toward Office 365, which costs $100 for an annual subscription. The new offering is part of effort by Microsoft to bring its suite of Office server tools and collaboration work flows onto the cloud.

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Why Google's stores shouldn't look so much like Apple stores



Is this really different enough?



(Credit:
Crave CNET UK)


Some engineers have never dated a real person.


They've tried to, but it's hard for them to appreciate that real people don't necessarily use data to make decisions -- especially when it comes to love.


Perhaps their most embarrassing moments come when they try to mimic what non-engineers do in order to make themselves more attractive.


This mirrors some of the little issues that the Google brand has had over the years in becoming, well, human.


When you've spent you life believing that facts are everything, it's hard to imagine that people might prefer, oh, rounded corners or that ephemeral thing sometimes known as taste.


Google has made progress through some of its advertising. The "Jess Time" ad for Chrome was one of the very best tech ads of the 2012.


Yet when Google has wandered into retail, it has either believed that all you need is online or that an offline store ought to look rather like Apple's.


This is something against which Microsoft also struggles. It was almost comical when one Microsoft employee explained to me that its store looked -- at first glance -- a lot like the Apple store because the company used the same design firm.


This week, rumors surfaced that Google wants to make the next step in coming toward humanity by having its own shopping-mall retail presence.


The evidence so far from its pop-up stores -- as the picture above shows -- is that Google isn't thinking different. Or, at least, different enough.


If it fully intends to come out to the people -- to be itself-- then instead of having nice, clean retail staff in blue T-shirts (what brand does that remind you of?), it should embrace its true heart.


It should have real house-trained nerds, replete with bedhead and bad taste clothing, there for all to see. Yes, you could have nice, normal members of staff there to translate for them.


But the purpose of a retail store isn't merely to sell. It's to create street theater. Apple has its own version. Google must find its own too.


Instead of the now almost cliched clean lines and permanent white, it should make its stores look like excitable, sophisticated college playrooms, where books about dragons and vast Hulk hands are lying about and episodes of "Star Trek" and "Game of Thrones" are playing on huge screens.



More Technically Incorrect



It should expose itself fully as a brand that came out of nerdomania by parading its nerdomanic tendencies for all to see and making it lovable.


You might think this marginally insane. You might think that I am suffering from delusions of brandy.


Yet "The Big Bang Theory" has proved to be one of the most popular TV shows, not because the nerds are hidden away, but because they are in full view, with a beautiful counterpoint in a real person called Penny.


Imagine taking your kids, your lover, or your granny into a Google store and having them actually enjoy learning something about, say, comic books or Hermann von Helmholtz.


Imagine walking in and one of the Google nerds has dressed as The Flash, Batman, or Wonder Woman for the day, yet still finds a way to sell you a fascinating
Nexus 7.


In fact, wouldn't it be an excellent human resources idea, as well as a stimulus to make more uplifting products, if every Google engineer had to spend a certain period working in a Google retail store?


Mountain View should surely mine the more lofty, fantastic elements of its reality in order to create something unique and dramatic.


Otherwise, its stores might simply be accused of being Apple rip-offs.


And you know where that will ultimately end up. Yes, in front of Judge Lucy Koh.


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Russian meteorite: The conspiracy theories



A strange time for a military attack?



(Credit:
CNN; screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)


A good hearty conspiracy theory can shine a sharp light on two of humanity's most enduring traits.


One, of course, is humanity's boundless imagination. The other is humanity's essential suspicion of humanity.


So while you might be deeply immersed in Bill Nye's explanation of the Russian meteorite, those with darker sensibilities have filled the Web with their fears and hauntings about the phenomenon.


There are few nations with greater awareness of dark sensibilities than Russia. The fact that there seems to be little evidence of meteorite fragments on the ground has encouraged some Russians to offer their own suspicions.




As the Toronto Globe and Mail reports, nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky hasn't been slow to offer something of a Hot War perspective.

"It's not meteors falling. It's a new weapon being tested by the Americans," he was quoted as saying.


We know from our recent experience of North Korea that weapons testing is an imprecise science.


But if you were an American in the mood to test a weapon, would Chelyabinsk, Russia, be your very first choice of place for the experiment?


Perhaps Tallahassee; Area 51; and Bialystok, Poland, were all unavailable due to prior commitments. Or perhaps it wasn't the Americans, but, say, the North Koreans, who mistook Chelyabinsk for, say, Chelsea.


Zhirinovsky's rather emotionally manipulative offering was countered by Russia's Emergency Ministry, which dedicated itself to an extensive rebuttal of his belief (and that of others) that this was some sort of military thing. The rebuttal? "Rubbish."


But that wasn't going to put off the local media, was it? Not only do they have papers to sell, they also have theories to expound to a troubled nation and world.


So, as The Atlantic reports, the local Znak newspaper accepted that this was a meteorite but insisted the explosion was caused by military defense blowing it up.



More Technically Incorrect



Yes, of course it has a source in the military. You thought it didn't?


Though I've watched a few movies in which exciting things happen, I don't find it easy to imagine that some sort of terrestrially created missile-laden aircraft could really explode a meteorite in such a manner.


It is easier to imagine, though, that politicians like Zhirinovsky might take the opportunity to foment a little rage.


Indeed, Alex Jones' infamously well-guarded Infowars site offered that Zhirinovsky insisted that America -- in the person of Secretary of State John Kerry -- had tried to give Russia advance notice of its "attack."


The Drudge Report led me to a piece at Foreign Policy that explained that Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, simply hadn't called Kerry back.


Which all suggests that Russia isn't, after all, living in fear of an attack from the U.S. Especially one over Chelyabinsk.


On balance, I prefer to currently believe Nye. He is the science guy, after all. And science guys know scientific events when they see them.


I hope.


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Crave Ep. 109: The greatest drinking game ever



The greatest drinking game ever, Ep: 109



Subscribe to Crave:

iTunes (HD) | iTunes (SD) | iTunes (HQ)


RSS (HD) | RSS (SD) | RSS (HQ)

This week on Crave, William Shatner has some choice words for J.J. Abrams, and we toss one back in the greatest drinking game ever invented. Cheers! Plus, we dodge a bullet the size of a football field as an asteroid nearly collides with Earth. Phew.




Crave stories:


- Shatner: J.J. Abrams a 'pig' for taking on 'Star Wars'

- Another close asteroid encounter for Earth coming Friday


- Injury count rises for Russian meteorite

- Sonic Wallets scream, moo, hurl insults when opened


- $11 million sought to build X-wing, counter Kickstarter Death Star

- Beercade: Fighting-game winner gets a frosty brew

- Crave giveaway: Aperion Audio Verus Forte speakers

Social networking:

- Stephen on Twitter

- Stephen on Google+


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Helping American designers make it in America (video)




As a graduate of the Pratt Institute with experience working for big names in the apparel and accessory industries, Matthew Bennett was ready to work independently to create his own watch label. While he might have had great ideas and a fabulous sense of design, he just couldn't seem to tackle the logistics of running such an operation. He found a manufacturer in Hong Kong that could produce his designs, but it wasn't always seamless. After OKing one production sample, Bennett later received a shipment of 1,000 pieces of defective goods -- goods he couldn't sell or return to the factory. "Manufacturing overseas is such a gamble," says Bennett. "I figured getting a sample would be something that would give me some sort of security to sleep well at night, but I had no way of holding anyone responsible for that as a small business."


After that experience, Bennett knew he had to try to manufacture his watches stateside. But finding an American factory proved to be much more difficult than performing a simple Google search. And if he was having this problem for his watch business, surely designers around the country were struggling with similar issues? "As of right now, it's much easier to find manufacturers on the other side of the globe than it is to find them in your own backyard," he says.



New Web portal links U.S. factories with U.S. designers






Soon after, Bennett teamed up with Tanya Menendez, and the two started flushing out the idea for Maker's Row, a Web site that would serve as an online portal or directory to connect American designers with American factories. "You don't want to divorce the creatives from the creators. The designers -- they want to see this whole manufacturing process, because that's where the innovation comes from. For us to be the catalyst for that is an amazing opportunity," Bennett says.


Two years after the original idea was hatched and eight months after going live, the site has already partnered with more than 1,400 American factories and made tens of thousands of connections between them and designers. Right now it's free for both parties to use the site, but the Maker's Row team has plans to make money from its service in the near future.


Setting Maker's Row apart from an ordinary directory is the education and guidance the site provides entrepreneurial designers. It breaks down the steps to get into production and can steer someone toward the right type of facilities to help with different stages of the manufacturing process. As someone who recently tried to navigate all the twists and turns of a supply chain, Bennett wants to be as transparent as possible to the designers who come after him: "We're concerned about the next generation of small businesses. So reaching out to the designers who are in design school is paramount to us. We want them to become accustomed to our site, using our site as a resource, and we're telling them exactly how to create their own goods."


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Judge tosses some shareholder suits over Facebook's IPO flop



Things may be looking up for Facebook in the dozens of lawsuits it's facing from peeved shareholders over its botched initial public offering.

U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet ruled in favor of Facebook today and dismissed a group of these cases, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The social network became embroiled in this extensive legal battle shortly after its $16 billion IPO last May. The company's stock opened on the Nasdaq priced at $38 a share and, aside from a slight uptick right at the start, proceeded to plummet in the days and weeks following. Defendants in the lawsuits, many of whom are investors, claim Facebook failed to disclose in the critical days leading up to the IPO that there was "a severe and pronounced reduction" in forecasts for Facebook's revenue growth.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Judge Sweet ruled today that Facebook had no obligation to release its revenue growth forecasts in four of the shareholder lawsuits. The company had already "made express and extensive warnings" regarding obstacles to its mobile business, the judge said.

Originally, Sweet was assigned 42 cases filed against the social network, but he consolidated them in October. In December, he picked a handful of plaintiffs to head the class action suits, which include several state pension funds.

The majority of these lawsuits rely on the argument that Facebook failed to disclose its revenue growth forecasts in the days before its IPO. However, it's unclear if Sweet will rule the same for all of these cases. Throughout the process, Facebook has maintained that it's innocent of any wrongdoing.

When contacted by CNET, a Facebook representative said, "We are pleased with the court's ruling."


Update, 5:40 p.m. PT:
Adds comment from Facebook representative.


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Tip: Use OS X services to reveal or open file paths



Apple's Spotlight offers a quick way to find user files and resources like applications or system preferences. However, it does not locate items in the system folder or in hidden folders, though at times you might need to access them. This limitation may be especially cumbersome to deal with if you are troubleshooting a problem in OS X or helping someone do so, meaning you may need to ask them to locate a specific hidden file and remove it or modify its contents.


For some system resources you can simply navigate through the Finder; however, in its default view the Finder does not show a number of hidden files and folders such as the user library. So, for example, if you tell someone to access his or her user library to locate the Fonts folder, since the user library is hidden he or she might instead erroneously access the global library at the root of the hard drive.




Reveal and Open contextual menu services

Right-clicking a selected text path will show an option in the Services menu to open or reveal the path in the Finder.



(Credit:
Screenshot by Topher Kessler/CNET)



Even if you are familiar with standard Unix file path notation and direct someone to open the ~/Library folder, if that person doesn't know what the tilde character means then he or she might go to the wrong directory in the Finder.



To get around these potential areas of confusion both for yourself and when instructing others, you can make use of some services and features in OS X that make possible quick access to any file or folder based on a typed path you provide, which can help avoid confusion and make it straightforward for anyone to open a specified Unix-compliant path.


The first option is to use the system's contextual services: if you have a full Unix-compliant path typed out, then you can simply highlight it, right-click the selected text, and then choose either Open or Reveal from the Services contextual menu, and the system will then display the item in the Finder or try to open it with its default handling application.


For example, you can triple-click the following folder path examples or otherwise select each in its entirety, and try opening the items in the Finder (note that if you use the Open service the system may ask for confirmation before opening the path):




Open and Reveal service warning in OS X

This warning may show up if you use the Open service.



(Credit:
Screenshot by Topher Kessler/CNET)


~/Library/Fonts

/System/Library/CoreServices

/var/db/dslocal/nodes

/Volumes


If you come across a file path as part of an instruction for tweaking your system or troubleshooting it, you can use these services to access it by selecting the file path and right-clicking in this way. Additionally, if you are attempting to help others access parts of their systems and you know the exact file or folder path they should use, then you can likewise send it to them and have them perform this procedure to quickly open it.




Open and Reveal services in OS X

These services can be enabled or disabled in the Keyboard system preferences. You can also assign them custom hot keys if desired.



(Credit:
Screenshot by Topher Kessler/CNET)


These contextual services are built into OS X and should be enabled by default, but if they aren't then they can be enabled in the Services section of the Keyboard system preferences, under the Keyboard Shortcuts tab.


While useful for opening a full file path from a text document or Web page, these options are also convenient in other areas. If you are a power user and access the Terminal regularly, then you probably have a number of file paths listed in your command history that you previously acted upon. If you need to open one of these paths in the Finder, you can use these services to quickly select and open it.


A last and related way to navigate through a full file path is to use the OS X Go to Folder feature that is available in the Finder's Go menu (and can also be invoked by pressing Shift-Command-G). With this option, you can copy a full file path or even a partial one with respect to the directory of the current Finder window, and then paste it in the Go to Folder field instead of using the Open or Reveal services, which should open it for you in the Finder. For example, select and copy any of the file paths listed above, and then paste it in the Go to Folder field to have the system open it in the Finder.




Questions? Comments? Have a fix? Post them below or !
Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.


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Tesla's Elon Musk lambasts New York Times article



Tesla's Model S.



(Credit:
Tesla)


Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has become incensed over a critical news article about the all-electric car that was published in The New York Times last week.

"I do not think this is a he said, she said situation," Musk told Bloomberg West in an interview today. "It is really black and white. The facts are the facts."

The tussle got started after New York Times reporter John Broder wrote an article about taking the Tesla Model S out on a test drive in the East Coast's freezing weather. He claimed that the
car couldn't keep a charge and ultimately died before reaching its intended destination. Before leaving on his trip, Broder said he charged the car until the display read "charge complete;" and then, working to conserve the battery while driving, he said he turned off the car's heat and drove on cruise control at 54 mph.

Musk alleges that none of this is true and he has the car logs to prove it.

"We will publish the actual logs on the car and it is crystal clear," Musk told Bloomberg West.

According to Musk, the logs show that Brody did not charge the car to full capacity before taking off on his trip. Also, the reporter allegedly took an unplanned detour through Manhattan and drove well above the speed limit. Musk claims it was these actions that drove the battery down, rather than the cold or some default of the car.

"If you do all those three things, which we were clear should not be done and obviously common sense suggests should not be done, then you will not be able to go as far," Musk told Bloomberg West. "If you did not fill a gasoline car's gas tank far enough, then went on a detour and ran out of gas, you should not be surprised if that occurs."

The New York Times is standing by its reporter, however. According to The Verge, the newspaper said, "The Times's February 10th article recounting a reporter's test drive in a Tesla Model S was completely factual, describing the trip in detail exactly as it occurred. Any suggestion that the account was "fake" is, of course, flatly untrue."

CNET contacted Tesla and The New York Times for comment. We'll update the story when we get more information.

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