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Man Tries To Steal iPod With Homebrew Bar Code
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Portable Audio / Video,
You know, you have just go to chuckle at criminals that are so obvious that they essentially get themselves caught red-handed. Case in point: Jonathan Baldino. This guy created a bar code on his home computer which would ring up as a pair of $4.99 headphones, and went to Target. He attached it to a $150 iPod shuffle, went to the register, and paid $4.99 for the MP3 player. Target Security apprehended him before he was able to exit. Why? Well, last month he used a similar scheme to pay $24.99 for a $249.99 iPod - and got away with it. Since then, Target knew to watch out for him. His plea to the police is the best part:
“I will NEVER EVER DO THIS EVER AGAIN and I am once more terribly sorry,” Baldino wrote in a statement for police. “Please let me go for I am terribly sorry!!! I’m only a kid! Help me out. I just want to go home. I did this not knowing of the serious penalty that lies behind it. Please! Please! Please!”
That is just too bad, isn’t it?
Read More 
| Denver Post
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TiVo HME To Add Yahoo! Services, Podcast Client, and More
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Internet,
Looks like TiVo is set to make another go of this whole DVR thing, as they are readying a bunch of new services that will be integrated into the TiVo HME client. As can be seen in the image above, not only will Yahoo! Photos (read, Flickr,) Yahoo! Weather, and Yahoo! Traffic be available, but so will Internet radio, a podcasting client, and even a Fandango interface for browsing and buying movie tickets. If and when they ever get their non-DirecTV HD TiVo out the door, along with these value added features, they may be in the race again. Of course, the whole Comcast deal could turn out to be their saving grace as well.
Read More | Zatz Not Funny
AOL Pictures Launches Offering 100 Free Prints
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Hot Deals, Internet,
AOL has just launched AOL Pictures, a digital photo solution for consumers who want an easy way to view, share, store, print and protect all of their favorite images. The free photo sharing website offers consumers unlimited online digital photo storage in original resolution, tools that make it easier to create photo albums, and all the other standard photo sharing fare. According to a new AOL survey, Americans expect to take more than 137,000 photos in their lifetime with three-quarters sending photos to friends and family over the holidays. That being said, AOL Pictures is offering consumers 100 free 4x6 glossy or matte prints.
Read More | AOL Pictures
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What in the…? Is AOL seriously doing things so horribly wrong that t heir subscribers are turning away in droves? Or is this a case of customers finally having an easy way to get out of their AOL membership since AOL’s recent revamp of their cancellation procedures?
As of September 30, the AOL service totaled 20.1 million U.S. members, a decline of 678,000 from the prior quarter and 2.6 million from the year-ago quarter. In Europe, the AOL service had 6.1 million members, a decrease of 98,000 from the previous quarter and a decline of 170,000 from last year’s quarter.
Now, average that out, and you find that AOL lost 300 members every hour in that three month period. Wow.
Read More | Light Reading
Some of you may have heard about Microsoft Office Live accepting Beta registrants. It is no wonder that, considering the recent buzz about Google and OpenOffice.org, screenshots of Office Live have leaked. Does anyone else feel like Microsoft is scrambling, in a way, to get these “Live” products out in the open? There doesn’t seem to be much driving force, other than a preemptive strike against their most feared adversary, Google. Strap in folks, we’re in for some quality entertainment.
Read More | Flickr
Apple Sells Over One Million Videos
Posted by Mark Harrison Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Internet, Portable Audio / Video,
Yesterday, Apple announced that they have sold more than one million videos via the iTunes music store in the brief time since they began selling them. For the moment, Apple has proven the doubters wrong once again. This is interesting news, but it begs further discussion. Will Apple begin selling higher quality content for a broader audience?
We believe that they will. Apple helped legitimize legal music downloading and they seem poised to do the same for television and movies. With more and more people going to broadband and tapping into things like BitTorrent, content providers have to start think about solutions that will continue to generate revenue. Apple has mindshare right now and they also have a successful infrastructure in place. They have already shown that even with a small video library that they have a viable business model.
One thing is clear though. To continue being a trailblazer in this area, Apple has to greatly increase the size of its offerings; both in quantity and in quality. What remains unclear is whether or not the industry will follow Apple’s lead. With the the way the music executives are chomping at the bit, it is far from certain if their counterparts will be so eager to get into bed with Apple. What do you think?
Read More | Apple
Help Us Out: The TechBlog Blog-X Awards
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Internet,
As you may have noticed, we at Gear Live can use all the help we can get. That being the case, if you want to help us out, you can do so in a big way by nominating us for a Blog-X TechBlog award. Now, this award is specifically for independent blogs - those run by one person or a couple of people with no major company or machine behind them. It sure would be cool to see our flagship site in the running - plus, November is my birthday month, so how could you not?
Do you read tech blogs? We’re looking for you to tell us which are the best of the best. Right now, it’s your chance to nominate your favorite independent tech blogs.
What kinds of tech blogs are eligible?
All blogs that cover technology and are published independently of a major publishing company are eligible.
Read More | Nominate Us
If you are on a Mac, check Software Update for the latest OS upgrade, 10.4.3:
The 10.4.3 Update delivers overall improved reliability and compatibility for Mac OS X v10.4 and is recommended for all users.
It includes fixes for:
- AFP, SMB/CIFS, NFS and FTP network file services
- AirPort and Bluetooth wireless access
- Core Graphics, Core Audio, Core Image, and RAW camera support
- disc recording when creating and burning media
- .Mac sync services
- Spotlight indexing and searching
- Dashboard widgets: Dictionary, Flight Tracker, Stickies, and Unit Converter
- Address Book, AppleScript, Automator, Dictionary, Font Book, iCal, iSync, Mail, and Safari applications
- Disk Utility, Keychain Access, Migration Assistant, and Software Update
- compatibility with third party applications and devices
- previous standalone security updatesFor detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n301984
The update weighs in at 97.0 MB.
TiVo, trying to maintain their self-professed hip image, has jumped on the blog bandwagon with the launch of “TiVo Blog.” The blogger’s name is Nova, and she went from TiVo user to official TiVo blogger at their corporate headquarters. They did put in RSS, RSS 2.0, and Atom feeds despite the fact that nowadays having all three is not necessary, and they also stick in a huge disclaimer which will be on seemingly every post regarding commenting:
Guidelines for Posting on TiVo Blog:
By submitting my comments and by participating in the TiVo Blog, I agree to allow TiVo Inc. to use my name and comments in whole or in part for publicity purposes on the TiVo Website or other promotional materials without further permission or compensation. I understand that my submitted comments becomes property of TiVo Inc. and will not be returned, and that I release all rights and claims to the content submitted for the TiVo Blog. I also state that the content submitted is of my own original creation and style and acknowledge that my comments will be subject to review by TiVo and edited in whole or in part by TiVo prior to publication.
Sheez - that doesn’t look too welcoming.
Read More | TiVo Blog
Google Base = Goodbye eBay and Craigslist?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet,
Click image for larger view
Okay, it looks like Google is set to unleash yet another viral service on us. Google Base seems to be a database where anyone can add any type of content, but I bet people are going to be all over this thing as if it was the new, national Craigslist. Think about this for a moment, with Google Base being a free service, and with Google set to launch the Google Wallet online payment service, we might have a free version of eBay/Paypal with Craigslist functionality on our hands - completely ad-supported. In fact, Google even states:
...based on the relevance of your items, they may also be included in the main Google search index and other Google products like Froogle and Google Local.
So I can put up an item for sale, and have it potentially show up when someone searches for that item under Google Local? Sign us up.
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