Daily Bits

noemi

Want the White iPhone? Don’t Hold Your Breath

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It used to be that the Apple brand was associated with the color white (even though an apple is not white – don’t ask me why), but with the iPhone, black became the norm rather than the exception. Most iPhones you’ll see around town are black, although there are white ones. With the recent release of the iPhone 4, fanboys (and girls) have been awaiting the white version. If you’re one of them – there is bad news: the release of the white iPhone 4 has been delayed yet again.

Upon the release of the iPhone 4 several months ago, Apple announced that the white version would follow a month or so later. Afterward, they said that it would be released at the end of this year. Now, another announcement has been made – it will not be released till spring of next year.

If your blood pressure is going up, do understand that Apple is not out to get your goat. (It’s not all about you!) Trudy Muller, the spokeswoman for Apple, says they are “sorry to disappoint” those who have been waiting for the white iPhone. (I am not counting on that to make you feel better, though.) As for the reason for all these delays, nothing conclusive has been said, except for the fact that they are finding it “more challenging to manufacture” the white iPhone – more than they expected.

How is the white iPhone 4 different from the black one aside from the color? Darned if I know. (This is coming from someone who has been called color blind on more than one occasion; although how can anyone ever confuse black and white?) In any case, nothing can be done about it but to wait. Sucks to be you, if you’re one of them.

Adios, Limewire!

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Remember that green round slice of lime? There was once a time when I saw it every day when I turned my computer on, but if I remember correctly, those days were short-lived. For some users, Limewire probably played a larger part in their lives.

Yesterday, the longstanding battle between Limewire and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) came to a halt. After four long years of battling it out in the courts, the two parties now face the end to their squabbling – to the detriment of the file sharing site. A judge from the US district court in New York has issued an injunction that forces Limewire’s features to be shut down. These are searching, downloading, uploading, and file sharing. For sure, those who still use Limewire are going to feel a sense of sadness and loss if they go to the site right now.  Try visiting the site (Limewire),  and you will be greeted by this image.

The RIAA has been the object of many a file sharer’s ire in the recent years as the group has been actively seeking out copyright violators.  This injunction is indeed a victory for them.

Limewire is not going to totally disappear from the scene, though.  While the “free stuff” cannot be accessed anymore, the people behind Limewire do have plans to come up with a system that will adhere to the law while they continue with their operations.  The question is this: will this new system make it as attractive as it was when file sharing (as we used to know it) was the main selling point?

You guys who already miss the old Limewire, I feel for you.

e-Lending on Kindle Soon Available

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Well, it is not really called e-Lending – I just made that up.  Think about it this way, though – when you buy “real” books, you may end up lending them to your friends.  If you are the kind of person who does not let other people touch their precious books, then forget about it.  However, if you are like me, and you have borrowed or lost many a book along the way, then you’ll get the implications of this development.

Last week, Amazon made two announcements:

  1. Kindle newspapers and magazines can be read on Kindle apps.  This means that even if you do not own a Kindle, you can read these materials on your device that has a Kindle app (which can be acquired for free).
  2. Kindle e-books can be lent to others who have a Kindle or who have access to Kindle apps.

Here is a snippet of that announcement:

“…we will be introducing lending for Kindle, a new feature that lets you loan your Kindle books to other Kindle device or Kindle app users. Each book can be lent once for a loan period of 14-days and the lender cannot read the book during the loan period. Additionally, not all e-books will be lendable – this is solely up to the publisher or rights holder, who determines which titles are enabled for lending.”

Interesting concept, isn’t it?  I know that there are individuals who freely share their e-books (which are acquired via other means), and this development probably does not concern them.  For those who take copyright seriously, though, the lending feature will certainly be welcome.  I don’t know what to think about the idea of not having access to your e-book while it is on loan, though.  True, if we’re talking about physical books then there is no question about it, but why does this have to apply to e-books?  Another thing – we already know that many publishers just might provide lending rights.

Nothing is set in stone, though.  Amazon says they will let us know more when the features are available.  Till then, we just have to wait.

My Facebook Groups Experience: Head’s a-Spinning

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A week or so ago, we heard about Facebook Groups, one of the new features rolled out by the social network.  Some people were excited, some were skeptical, while others simply didn’t care.  To be honest, I read a bit about it and then totally threw the idea out of the window. I just couldn’t be bothered.

Over the weekend, I received two notifications that caught my eye – I was added to groups by friends.  I didn’t really pay any attention until this morning, and I what I experienced made my head spin.  Seriously.

This is one of the groups I was added to:

So what’s up with the “Secret Group” tag?  When someone creates a Group, he or she can set it to secret so as to hide it from everyone else. Duh. Seriously, though, this setting is perfect for those who are really careful about their privacy.  People who are not in the group cannot “see” it anywhere, and they have to be invited by someone else who is already in that group.  This brings up an interesting flaw: if anyone can add friends to the group, doesn’t this defeat the purpose of keeping security tight?  I think that to make this more efficient, only administrators/creators should be able to “approve” membership.

Another thing that made me go “wut?” was the way people in groups can interact.  The Group’s page is pretty much like any other page or wall on Facebook, but when posting comments, there does not seem to be a button to click – just hit ENTER.  More so, there isn’t a way to delete your comment.  What if you made a grammar mistake??? Seriously, what if you want to change what you just posted?  You can, however, unsubscribe to a specific post if you don’t want to receive notifications regarding it anymore.

Last thing I tried was the chat.  It’s basically a group chat, with all the online members receiving the messages.  I think it is still buggy (when is Facebook Chat not buggy anyway) as it does not show the members who are online.  When I sent a message, though, they received it and a chat session was begun. (Bear with me with all those black boxes, please.)

So why is my head spinning?  I guess because no one in the Group really understood what it was for.  We do have a binding factor, but as of the moment, no one can figure out what we can use the Group for.  We will figure this out somehow, but I don’t see the need for it right now.

Anyone care to share their Facebook Groups experience?  Is it working out for you guys?

Domain Sells for $13M: Guess the Name?

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We all know how some people go around buying up domain names like crazy in the hopes of selling them one day for big bucks.  Of course, not every domain that you buy will make you money, but every now and then someone gets lucky.  And, when that happens, we definitely hear about it.

So going on to this domain name that recently sold for big big bucks…It was originally owned by Gary Kremen, founder of well known site Match.com.  He registered it way back in 1994, but then “lost” the domain to Stephen Cohen, a conman, two years later.  The domain eventually changed hands and ended up belonging to a group called Escom LLC, which, in turn, went bankrupt.  The bankruptcy is the reason the domain was put up for auction mid-way through this year in July.

The highest bid has been revealed at $13 million, and the entity that put in that bid is known as Clover Holdings.  Unsurprisingly, not much is known about the company except that it is registered in the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent.  The sale isn’t final as of yet – the bankruptcy court will have to give its nod of approval first (October 27 is the date for the decision).

As astronomical as $13 million may seem, this is NOT the highest amount someone has paid for a domain name.  The highest recorded price for a domain name sale is $16 million – though you have to admit, at this range, $3 million is not much.  This domain is insure.com.

Saving the best for last…what is this domain that just got sold?

sex.com

What can we say? Sex indeed sells.

Palm Pre 2 Smartphone Coming Soon!

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Apple’s iPhone pretty much has gotten all the attention in the world of smartphones.  Even people who are not exactly convinced of the iPhone’s “greatness” as a mobile phone cannot deny the attention that it has received.  Of course, every now and then, we hear of the new phone that can match – or outdo – the iPhone.  And, yes, there are “better” phones out there – especially if you take into consideration that different people will always have different perspectives when it comes to technology.

So, anyhow, do you remember some time back when Palm announced the Palm Pre and touted it as the iPhone killer?  While the Pre got a lot of attention prior to its release, it didn’t really take much away from the iPhone, did it?  It’s not over yet, though.  HP has bought Palm and they are launching the Palm Pre 2 very soon!

This new phone has a host of new features that are supposed to beat every other phone out there, but one of the main things that they are promoting is the fact that you can do virtually anything on the Pre 2 by typing.  Doesn’t make sense?  Read how to “rediscover amazing”:

Amazing is just typing to begin virtually any activity. Amazing is multitasking without having to learn new rules. Amazing is hauling in all the information you can handle, and managing it without breaking a sweat. Amazing is making the impossible seem effortless. With HP webOS 2.0, you’ll experience the next generation of amazing.

Pretty good copywriter they have, I have to say!  😉

Of course, I am sure you want the dish on the tech specs.  Here’s a little teaser:

  • Display: 3.1-inch multitouch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color, 320×480 resolution HVGA display
  • 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, extended depth of field, geotagging, and video capture
  • GPS
  • Wireless:  Wi-Fi 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, WEP, 802.1X authentication; Bluetooth® wireless technology 2.1+ EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support; Wi-Fi router functionality for up to five devices using Palm mobile hotspot.
  • Weight: 145 grams (5.1 ounces)

So, is that enough to make you want the Pre 2 instead of the iPhone 4?  Meh.