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Hundreds of thousands of citizens protested against the Marxist Farcs in Colombia yesterday. What is most remarkable about this is the fact that it was started on Facebook by 33 year-old Oscar Morales Guevara from his home in Barranquilla, Colombia. Over 250,00 Facebook users joined the application to support the message and soon other media joined in. Protesting also occurred in other countries. Many organizations, such as the Wisconsin-based Columbia Support Network, have been protesting for decades in an effort to reach a negotiated solution and fear that it may backfire on the captives that still remain with them, but we think that the best way to fight injustice is any way you can these days.
(Thanks, Cecilia)
Read More 
| BBC
Gallery: Protest Originates on Facebook
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TiVo Literally Counts Top Ten Super Bowl Spots
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Editorial, Home Entertainment, Misc. Tech, Videos,
While there are plenty of top ten lists on the Net reporting the popularity of Super Bowl commercials, TiVo has an actual way of gauging which of the exact spots are literally watched the most by viewers. We chatted with Todd Juenger, Vice President of Audience Research and Measurement, who gave us his top 10 list in terms of the most viewed during the event. That list and our interview with Todd, including all you ever wanted to know about TiVo accumulating data and what it means, after the jump.
Click to continue reading TiVo Literally Counts Top Ten Super Bowl Spots
Read More | TiVo
Gallery: TiVo Literally Counts Top Ten Super Bowl Spots
If you live in the environs of Detroit, Michigan, then you already know that we are in the midst of political controversy. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had a more than business relationship with his now former chief of staff Christine Beatty. We wouldn’t presume to know or care what the politician does with his personal life as he is always up to some shenanigans, but one of the things mentioned during the uncovering of the scandal was text messages between the two. Apparently there were over 40,000 of them recovered.
We guess we assume that everyone text messages, so we found it somewhat amusing when they showed some of them and had interpreted them with differing versions of “LOL.” Local news anchors either literally said “L - O - L” or “hehehe.” Go figure.
While there is more to the story (including a public apology tonight after getting caught) that you can read if you are curious or simply want a giggle, we wondered about two things. Can a cell phone hold that many messages at a time? And even weirder, if you were supposedly in charge of an entire city, married, and having an affair, would you keep those messages around for just anybody to read? Hmmm. Like we said, we just wondered. Blogs are great for initiating discussions about topics like that.
Gallery: Kwame’s Last LOL?
Our Verizon FiOS customer service nightmare: Why won’t they protect my private customer information?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Editorial, Features, Internet,
Seeing as we’ve been experiencing a ton of customer service issues with our Verizon FiOS service for the past 8 months, we figured it was time to put out a warning to you guys. After all, we typically hear that the FiOS Internet service is remarkably amazing, and people have been dumping cable in droves when FiOS becomes available in their area. Hey, there is good reason to. Where we are at, right outside Seattle, our choices are slow DSL, Comcast at 8.0 down and 768k up, or FiOS with a max speed of 30.0 down and 15.0 up (which is the plan we are on.)
Now let’s be clear here, we love the FiOS service. It works fantastically, it has never gone down in the 8 months we’ve been using it, and it’s, well, fast.
So what is the problem? To put it bluntly, Verizon has shown that they don’t care - at all - about protecting their users private, confidential information. Now, why would we make a statement like that? Check it.
Gallery: Our Verizon FiOS customer service nightmare: Why won’t they protect my private customer information?
To Clone or Not to Clone
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Editorial, Misc. Tech, Science,
We understand assembly lines pumping out electronic gadgets at unholy speeds so that the masses can have their toys. But when the FDA announced that cloned beef is acceptable to eat once the USDA has determined that we are “used to the idea,” we just had to wonder. Whatever happened to natural foods? We are still getting accustomed to the hormones injected into our meat that causes puberty in children a few years earlier than seems natural. Genetically altered grain runs rampant. But do we really want to eat a poor animal who has been created solely through scientific means? Should that be considered organic? What do you guys think?
Read More | Washington Post
Gallery: To Clone or Not to Clone
Tribute to the Little Frogs in the Big CES Pond
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: CES, CES 2008, Editorial, Video Games,
It’s been a long week. Imagine being one of the vendors at the CES, overwhelmed by all the electronic sights and sounds, not to mention being in Vegas in the first place. After all the hoopla, it’s time to pack up and move on to Macworld, unless you are like Innex, who features small items like this tiny Mario Kart Style Stylus Pen for Nintendo DS. Do you suppose that companies like this get overlooked in the 150-inch screens and lost in the latest in iTech? Our kudos to the little guys, the tireless sales reps that probably would just rather be home playing Mario Kart.
Read More | CES Planner
Gallery: Tribute to the Little Frogs in the Big CES Pond
CES 2008: Titan Supreme Creates Discs En Masse
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: CES, CES 2008, Editorial, Misc. Tech, Movies, Music,
We can’t outdo the CES description on this duplicator:
“Do you need an autoloader that can hold up to the pressures of your high volume 24/7 work environment? When your business requires the added edge in overnight continuous duplication with the highest degree of reliability and functionality, the Titan Supreme is the answer.” Vinpower then goes on to extol its virtues under the “most grueling of continuous duplication conditions.”
We all know what that means if we pay attention to the news occasionally, but we would prefer to think that it is studios or legitimate video outfits that are actually buying the product that has a 1000 disc capacity and configuration of 4, 6, or 8 drives for Blu-Ray/CD/DVD. Contact Vinpower for details.
Read More | CES Planner
Gallery: CES 2008: Titan Supreme Creates Discs En Masse
CES 2008: Celebs Make Token Appearances
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: CES, CES 2008, Editorial, Music,
So we are checking out the celeb appearances at the CES this year and we were wondering. Do true geeks watch football and want to catch an appearance by Daryl Johnston or Howie Long? Could they sit through an hour of Yoko Ono? Do they want to find out if Kevin Costner can actually sing? Do they dig that Mary J. Blige is more of a poet than an entertainer? And finally, will they respond to Peter Frampton now that he has no hair? We don’t know for sure, but their managers sure seemed to think so when they booked them.
Read More | CES 2008 Special Events
Gallery: CES 2008: Celebs Make Token Appearances
Presidential Debate Influenced by Internet
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Editorial, Internet,
Okay, so we didn’t all get to go to the CES, but somebody had to hold down the fort in case the Gear Live crew has too much fun. I mean, at least we get to see the power of the Internet in other ways. If you caught the debate on ABC last night, you surely noticed the candidates plying their wares outright on National TV.
Fred Thompson was the first to mention that he loves the contributions he is receiving online, and his site posts how much money he has accrued. Mike Huckabee also said that part of his success in Iowa was due to his website which has created quite a following. Both men were quick to give their specific addys. And, by the way, let’s not forget that one of the sponsors was Facebook, where you could follow online the sometime hostile action between Hillary, Barack, and John. The Internet is a glorious place and we should be thankful that so much information is available.
Gallery: Presidential Debate Influenced by Internet
Say Bu-Bye to Netscape
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Editorial, Internet, PC / Laptop,
We bear tidings of great sadness for many of us who are about to see our first browser laid to rest. After February 1, there will be no more support, security, or software updates for Netscape Navigator. During the mid-90’s, it was used by more than 90% of Netters, but that has dropped to .06%. After being bought by AOL, many of the original staff working on new versions were let go and moved on to Mozilla and Firefox. Of course, the explosion from IE didn’t help. Without being bitter or too sappy, we will just say a simple “Thank you, Netscape.”
Read More | BBC
