Daily Bits

Media

Apple iPad to Hit Stores on March 10, Not for Sale Yet Though

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Rumor has is that Apple stores will start getting iPad units on the 10th of March.  According to the Examiner.com, an Apple Store manager in Southern California confirmed this. The said date was of course earlier than what was previously announced during the iPad launch which was supposed to be on March 29.

Now, before you get all too excited and starts preparing to camp out of your nearest Apple Store on March 9, sorry to disappoint you folks but those iPads were being shipped in preparation for Apple Store employees’  training.

So, when is the iPad going to be available for sale really? Actually, there is still no definite date yet, but the report said that March 26 is the most likely date. Of course, we all know that the iPad units that will be available that day are the Wi-Fi enabled ones only. The iPad 3G versions won’t be coming out until April or May.

Now, for those who are anticipating the usual Apple commercials for new products, expect the iPad commercials to start airing on March 15.

And finally if your camping out on the eve of the iPad release, if in case the actual date is already announced, well Apple is giving you a special gift as a token of appreciation for your enthusiasm in getting the iPad on release date.

Hopefully, all things go according to Apple’s plan, and that production will go on smoothly without further delay.

So, are you excited about the release of the iPad? Are you lining up outside Apple Stores? Are you getting the iPad or will you wait for the next version?

Scribd Rolls Out “Send to Device” Feature

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Mobile devices are really the new norm in cloud storage services. Aside from SugarSync’s latest feature that lets you send files via email attachment, Scribd, also a file management service in the cloud is rolling out almost the same feature. Scribd just launch its “send to device” service that will allow you to make your documents stored on Scribd accessible via smartphones and e-readers.

It’s a pretty clever idea really and very timely especially since both smartphones and e-readers are getting the massive usage lately. So, if you’re a Scribd account holder you can now practically send any Scribd document be it your own or those readily available on the Scribd site to your mobile devices with a click of a button. What’s good about this feature is that you can send practically any file, from MS Word to PDFs and access them on your e-reader or smartphones. The service works for free and for-purchase books and chapters from major publishers.

To use this feature for your own documents, make sure to set these documents to DRM-free status and allow downloads. And if the documents that you are sending out are not supported by your smartphones or e-reader, don’t fret out because Scribd is also planning to roll out a series of new mobile applications for Android and iPhone that will let you read files that you transferred from Scribd.

Sounds good? Actually yes, saves you some bucks if you get the Amazon Kindle or other e-reader just to get your book reading fix  via a mobile and portable device.

Profiling Americans Who Are Least Likely to Go Online

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Hot on the heels of carrying out its plans of providing high-speed Internet access to Americans, the FCC has just released an interesting report providing the profile of users who are least likely to adopt broadband subscriptions.

The report categorizes these users as either digitally distant, digital hopefuls, digitally uncomfortable and new converts. According to the report 20% of Americans are digitally distant and digitally uncomfortable.

Digitally distant users are described as those who are retired and say that they don’t subscribe to broadband either because they don’t know how to use a PC or don’t see a need to use the Internet at home or anywhere else. Around 10% of the American population falls into this category, and include those whose ages ranges from 63 and older.

Digitally uncomfortable Americans on the other hand are those who can afford high-speed Internet service but would rather not subscribe to because they lack the skills to use it. Around 7% of  Americans fall into this category.

The other two categories of U.S. population are the so called digital hopefuls and the Near Converts. Digital hopefuls are those who like to subscribe to broadband Internet but don’t have the money to pay for fees. They make up around 8% of the American population.

And then you have the Near Converts comprised of Americans  who are mostly dial-up users who are still thinking whether they would pay $40 for broadband Internet access. They make up 10% of the American population.

So, to which category do you see yourself belonging to? Are you currently subscribe to a broadband Internet access or if not, are you planning to subscribe to in the near future?

You can check out the full FCC report here.

Apple Starts Counting Down iTunes’ 1 Billionth Song Download

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One billion downloaded songs, wow! This is definitely one big event that Apple needs to mark down.  True enough they are marking this, just like what they’ve been doing with the milestones achieved by the Apps Store.

Apple iTunes is holding a contest where you can win a whooping $10,000 iTunes Gift Card.  Of course you can only  use that card to purchase more songs from iTunes.  To qualify for the draw, all you need to do is to purchase a song from iTunes between now and hopefully before the 1 billionth song is downloaded and you will be automatically entered into contest.  The winner will be drawn right after the milestone is achieved.

And take note, the official rules and regulations say that:

“NO PURCHASE OR DOWNLOAD NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR DOWNLOAD OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.”

But then again, to be entered in the final draw, you need to download a song from iTunes. Like as if you don’t have to pay for it, eh?

Anyway, another way by which you can join the contest is by filling up an online entry form. Well, there goes the part that you says you don’t need to download anything. Good enough then.

So, ready to take a crack at this $10,000 gig? Fill up this form or download a song from iTunes. Good luck and hurry up as the iTunes Music download counter is winding up to 1 billion.

Five Coolest Super Bowl XLIV Commercials

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So did you enjoy the Super Bowl game last night? Were you disappointed by the final game result?  Well, now that the game is over, how about checking out the other side of this year’s shindig – the SuperBowl ads? It is also the most anticipated highlight of this year’s Super Bowl, right?

There are actually two types of Super Bowl ads that were shown last night. Those which are general in nature and those that are technology related. We’ve selected five of these tech-related Super Bowl Ads as our favorites.

Google’s Parisian Love Super Bowl Ad

Google surprised everyone when their Parisian Love search-related commercial rolled out.  For one thing, it’s very simple and did not have all the fanfare that other commercials have.  Google’s Super Bowl commercial highlighted how useful its localized search engine is when it comes to everyone’s everyday life. [Read more…] about Five Coolest Super Bowl XLIV Commercials

YouTube Intros HTML5 Video Player, What Does it Do Again?

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It’s been pretty busy on the YouTube side lately. Awhile ago, YouTube announced a redesigned video home page. But before that, YouTube also announced something about its current testing of a new video player – this time it’s an HTML5-based video player.

HTML5 is a new web standard which is becoming popular recently, well simply because it offers new features to everyone’s web experience. And as a basis for its new video player, the YouTube HTML5-based player will support video and audio playback seamlessly without the need for additional browser plug-in. For as along as you an HTML5 compatible browser and support for the right audio and video codec, the YouTube HTML5-based video player will give you almost the same experience when watching YouTube video using its default Flash player.

While the YouTube HTML5-based video player seemed a fully functioning player, it however has several limitations. Well, that’s understandable because it is still at an early stage of development. Specifically the video player does not support video with ads, captions or annotations. It will also require a browser that supports video tagging and h.264 encoded video. Known browsers to support HTML5 are Chrome, Safari, Chrome Frame and Internet Explorer.  Firefox is not yet supported, but YouTube promises to include it and other browsers as well, in the future.

You can try using the HTML5-based video player by visiting the YouTube TestTube site and selecting HTML5 or simply go straight to this page to opt-in for the new video player. But honestly, if you don’t have a problem viewing YouTube videos with your browsers current setting, there’s really no point in trying it out. It’s basically the same thing minus the Flash component.

But still worth a try.