Tech Tuesday! Totes, Candy, Worms and Coinage!

Welcome to another edition of Tech Tuesday! Here is your recap of all the tech stories of the last week that could be affecting you now, or tomorrow, or soon. Yes, we try to keep you as informed as we can!

Amazon is Doing What?

Are you just sick and tired of the constant running back and forth to the grocery store? Well, Amazon hopes you are!

Called “AmazonTote”, which is currently only available for internal testing in the Seattle area, Amazon is about to roll out it’s own grocery delivery service. As of now, the service offers fresh produce, meats, dry goods, pet supplies, beauty products, and Amazon products delivered weekly to your home in re-usable tote bags, all shipping free of charge.

Yes, the convenience is a bit pricey, like $2.50 for one piece of fruit, but who knows, for many, the time and energy saved may be worth it.

Amazon has been known to put pressure on other companies, such as Barnes and Noble, so what will this do to our local markets and big grocery stores? Well, maybe we will see more home delivery available from our stores, including Walmart and Target. Maybe prices will lower. All in all, it seems like a win-win for us consumers.

Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me, Think I’ll Eat Some…

Twitter Worms!  Yep, apparantely there is another Twitter Worm on the loose! Actually, this is the same worm that plagued Twitter Users early last month, but has been unleashed yet again. Basically, if you click on a shortened URL “Goo.Gl” (similar to Google) you will be taken to a malicious site that will download a virus (malware) and then ask you for money to remove it. Aren’t they original?

Twitter recommends if you see the goo.Gl link to change your password immediately, although I can’t imagine just seeing the link in your feed would be cause for alarm. It’s if you click on it, or you see that YOU have been sending out messages. If either of those are the case, then yes, you have some cleaning up to do.

Sean Parker Calls ‘The Social Network’ a work of “Fiction”

Sean Parker apparently did not think the way he was portrayed in the movie, by actor Justin Timberlake, accurate.

He said that “the part of the movie that frustrated me is actually the scene at the end where the character basically writes a check to Eduardo, and throws it in his face and has security escort him out of the building. And I mean, that’s just rude. This guy in the movie is a morally reprehensible human being.”

He also states that there are no “Victoria Secret” models in Silicon Valley, calling that another inaccuracy.

Well, I’m not too sure I believe him… I think he may be trying to save his image a bit here. I mean come on, THE guy who developed Napster, young kid from Los Angeles, throwing money around, can’t get a hot girl? I think he’s pushing it.

Here is the video: (To hear him speak about the movie, you have to move up to about the 5:00 minute mark.)

Wanna Port Your Number to Google Voice?

Another hit to phone industry, Google Voice now has number portability. For a mere $20 (with no phone fees thereafter) you can port your number over to Google.

For current Google Voice users, this means you’ll no longer have to remember and use two separate numbers. It will still include all of GV features, such as visual voicemail, conference calling, call screening and more.

Last week, number porting was announced as “coming soon” and it was giving only a limited number away in beta. This week, it is available to all current Google Voice users. Will you port over? Maybe this will help curb the rising costs in the phone industry.

The process of porting is kind of a pain in the behind, which takes 3 days and you may miss a few texts or messages, but the money saved could be worth it. Port your home number that you rarely use anymore, and have it ring to your cell, if you want that is.

I have included a quick video from Google on how the porting process will work. Check it out!

‘Daily Candy for Indie Music’

That is what new start-up MySpoonful is aiming for. They will send you a newsletter, 3 times a week, with a highlighted new artist or band, a bio, and a free MP3 to download.

Sounds like a great way to stay up on new and upcoming artists! Definitely a place to check out.

Facebook to Roll Out Yet MORE Ads

Now, you too can purchase that ‘what.ever.it.is’ your friend was interested in! Called “Sponsored Stories” Facebook will turn your friends actions on the site into promoted content streaming down the right side of your News Feed.

Facebook is really turning into something it wasn’t supposed to be, and eventually, users will get fed up. Today doesn’t appear to be that day however. Privacy concerns, Ads… What’s next?

Facebook Makes Credits Mandatory for all Games

That’s what’s next. Facebook ‘virtual currency’, Facebook Credits, will become the official coinage beginning July 1, 2011. All Social game developers, starting on that day, will be required to process all payments through Facebook Credits. Basically, in order to purchase anything in any of the games you play, you will now have to go through Facebook.

Mind you, many of the games have already made the switch. In fact, 22 of the top 25 games played on Facebook already have converted.

Financially, this is a great decision for FB. The company already takes a 30% cut from all revenue. Basically, if you wanted to buy that special item in Farmville for $2.00, Facebook gets $.60 of your money. Credits are already on sale at the big box stores, like Target, Walmart and Best Buy, who I’m sure also gets a cut.

So you ask, what happened to the old days of free games? What happened to old days of a free social network? Oh that’s right… it’s still here, at YakkityYaks! *evil grin*

DO NOT TRACK ME!

Google and Mozilla (Chrome and Firefox) have announced that they will add the ability to opt out of having users activities tracked online, partially in response to the “Do Not Track” lists proposed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Both companies plan to tackle this feat in two very different ways.

With Firefox, it was announced that it will be added in future versions of the browser. There will be an icon or “tool” to turn on the feature located in the header of webpage. They believe this is the better way to do this, because it is a cleaner and more universal approach, rather than cookies or blacklists.

Chrome on the other hand has already released a new extension called “Keep My Opt-Outs.” The extension describes itself as a way to “permanently opt your browser out of online ad personalization via cookies. The extension works with ads from companies that have signed up with AboutAds, and with Google served ads.

The Internet is Running Out of Space!

Oh no! What will we do! Run to the market (or AmazonTote) and stock up on those canned goods! Ok… not really. Basically on February 2nd, around 4am or so, the internet will run out of it’s current version of IP addresses, at least that is the prediction by one internet provider, basing it on a rate of about 1 million addresses every 4 hours.

Fortunately for us, there were some awesome geeks out there that saw this coming. They invented what is called IPv6 which is basically a system that uses letters and numbers. This new system will be able to handle 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 addresses. Got that number?

The doomsday campaign, launched by Hurricane Electric (and even has Twitter and Facebook accounts the count down to what they call the “IPcalypse” encourage other ISPs to transition into the new system.

Twitter Trends!

Last but certainly not least, for our Twitter Fans, a recap of the top Twitter trends in the last week. What were the most tweeted about this last week?

1. Golden Globe Awards. Top mentions, Johnny Depp and Jim Parsons. Ricky Gervais, who received a lot of press, really wasn’t tweeted about too much.

2. Martin Luther King Jr. – It was his birthday last week after all.

3. NFL – Well duh. Top mentions were Bart Scott and Joe Buck.

4. Justin Bieber. Apparently, fans of the Jonas Brothers renamed him to Justina Bieber, and fans of his retaliated by calling the Jonas Brothers the Jonas Sisters. Wow… such drama online!

5. Soccer/Football. Top mentions were Darren Brent, Jamie Carragher and Eric Cantona.

6. LMAOTwitpics. Tons of retweets scattered the Twitter landscape. Top honors went to photos of a Justin Bieber tattoo and a shirtless Lil’ Wayne.

7. Astrology. Yep, that 13th zodiac sign really had Twitter users up in arms.

8. Jonas Brothers. See number 4.

9. Justin Bieber Hoax. Yep, another death hoax. Tweeted, retweeted, and retweeted some more. Sigh.

10. Batman: Dark Night Rises. With the addition of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Batman was tweeted a lot.

And there you have it, another edition of Tech Tuesday in the can. What do you think about these stories? Will you buy from Amazon Tote? Will you sign on to get some new Indie Music? Is Facebook the evil overlord, or is Justin Bieber going to take over the world? Let us know below or in the FORUM! We have been waiting for you forever! Ok well, maybe not forever, but you know what I mean. Join us today! It’s free, and we promise not to take over anything, at least for the next two weeks.

It’s Webtastic Wednesday!


We are half-way through the work week now, here we present some time wasters to get you over the hump!

Featured Videos of the Week:

If you haven’t seen any of this girl’s videos yet, they are a must watch! True geeks will definitely appreciate!

Drummer at the Wrong Gig?

If you haven’t seen this one yet, (where have you been) take a look!

Crazy Websites You Waste Time On:

Alright, we all know Facebook is #1 in that department, but there are certainly many others!

We’ll start with Uneven Google. ’nuff said.

This next site had my laughing hysteraclly, but I must warn that there is bad language… so if you don’t like that type of thing, don’t go.
Don’t Even Reply – E-mails from an A**hole

Is the customer always right? I think not. Visit Not Always Right to see some of the best.

Sand. Addicting. Falling Sand Game. (Note, this site didn’t work in Chrome for me… maybe it’s me though.)

Featured Site of the Week!

Here we like to feature the little guy… or the site that definitely deserves more audience. Today’s site is no exception!

So here you go, Dude Food – Because shock food is the new indie rock… This dude features some real tasty, probably not so healthy, food. As a bonus, you can read up on the McDonalds Mega Tamago Burger, and what to do with those party leftovers.

If you know a site that you think deserves more attention, please let us know!

So there you have it folks, something to get you over the hump. If you have any suggestions for Videos, Pics, Sites etc. that should be highlighted, please feel free to let us know!

Also, for more funnies, go check out our “Feel Good Moment – Joke of the Day” thread in the forum, or come tell us the mundane life stuff that you hate in our I HATEthread!

Tech Tuesday! This Weeks Stories in Tech

Well, it’s been another week, and stories just don’t stop in the tech world. Here are the chosen topics today:

Steve Jobs Goes on Medical Leave

Apple Inc. co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs sent a note Monday to employees saying he’s taking a second medical leave of absence (he had taken a medical leave previously less than two years ago) so he can focus on his health.

There was no information provided about his current condition, and Apple Spokesman Steve Dowling would not directle answer any questions relating to Jobs’ health or whereabouts. Jobs did say, however, that he will continue as CEO and be involved in the major decisions, but has put Steve Cook (COO) in charge of day-to-day operations. Jobs said “I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can”.

Jobs has had health troubles in the past, but those issues were never disclosed until after the fact. Back in 2004, he recovered from a rare form of pancreatic cancer called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, but the surgery and recovery were not revealed until afterward. In 2009, on another 6 month medical leave, he had a liver transplant, which wasn’t public until two months later.

COO Steve Cook was put in charge on every medical leave to date. In 2004, it was his performance in the day-to-day operations that won him the COO position. Many consider Cook as the Jobs’ logical successor.

Shares of Apple dropped 5% since the announcement.

White iPhone 4 Could Finally be a Reality

Speaking of Apple the mythical white iPhone 4  could finally be ready for retail.

According to reports from Engadget and MacRumors, white iPhone 4 units are showing up in inventory systems at Vodafone Germany and Best Buy. Leaked screenshots of the Best Buy inventory system indicate a projected in-stock date of February 27, 2011.

Apple was supposed to release the white iPhone at the end of June last year, but the launch just never happened. The company attributed the delays to “manufacturing problems.”

I think if I were to grab myself an iPhone, I would probably choose white if given the choice.

Facebook Stops it’s Phone & Address Sharing (Momentarily)

Following major outrage from FB users over it’s recent decision to allow applications to request access to a user’s address and mobile phone number, Facebook has decided to temporarily disable this feature until it implements changes that will help users make better informed decisions about their privacy.

Just like our recent post about Spokeo that puts all your info in one place, I think this is a good decision by Facebook. However, I still don’t trust Facebook with my information, and have since removed a lot of my more personal details.

Matter of fact, and I know this isn’t a very popular opinion, but I’m not a fan of Facebook. If there were a “like” button for Facebook, I wouldn’t push it, how about that! I’m such a rebel. I would imagine that this opinion may end up getting me deleted as a friend from many, but I an in complete agreement with Andy Ostroy over yonder at Hufffington Post who wrote an article on just this topic back in 2009. Read his article HERE, and you will get my sentiments exactly.

Facebook Arranged Date Ends in Murder

…And another reason to dislike Facebook:

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuanian police say a 14-year-old boy has admitted killing a 13-year-old girl he met through Facebook.

Police spokeswoman Dalia Petrauskiene says the girl from the town Alytus was murdered after arranging on Facebook to meet the boy, who lives in the capital, Vilnius. Her half-naked body was found at a bus stop outside Vilnius on Sunday.

The spokeswoman said Monday that the boy confessed to the killing. If found guilty of murder he faces a maximum 10-year sentence.

Lithuania is one of Facebook’s fastest growing markets, with some 710,000 users in the country of 3.4 million.

Be careful out there Yaksters, and keep an eye on the kids when online.

HP Launches New Comedy Improv Show on YouTube

HP is bringing a new kind of comedy show to YouTube. Actors from the ‘Upright Citizens Brigade Theater’ will take skit ideas from viewers and perform them live on Google’s video-sharing site.

The two-hour show, called HP ePrint Live, will be hosted by comedian Rob Riggle (The Daily Show) and simultaneously broadcast on the HP for Home Facebook Page. HP will allow viewers to send in their ideas for the different skits by sending an e-mail to one of the internet-connected ePrint printers on the stage. Viewer submissions that get chosen will be performed live on the stage.

The premier of the show will be on Jan 21, starting at 3:00 p.m. ET and will contunue for 6 days (January 21 through 26) with more comedy shorts based on new selected ePrint submissions. According to HP, viewers can submit their ideas using photos, poems, single words and drawings to ideas@hpeprintlive.com throughout the week; if chosen, a link to a video of the participant’s skit will be e-mailed back to the viewer.

The skits will be performed live, but they will also be made into short videos later so a viewer doesn’t have to be there at any specific time.

It’s an interesting advertiseing concept, but will it work? I guess that depends on the talent and whether the HP promotion will be subtle rather than in your face annoying.

That’s all for today folks! Share your thoughts below!

Webtastic Wednesday! Our Faves for the Week.

With hump day being almost through, at least on the other side of the hump of hump day, what else is there to do but look at the wonderful, amazing, stupid and wacky web. Here’s what we came up with for the week in web:

Video of the week:

Facebook Groups: Really? There is a group for that?

The Guy Who Discovered Milk… What Was He Doing With The Cow ?? 🙂 – Well this is an important group to join!

Dear Rose, Jack TOTALLY could have fit on that damn door with you! – I have to admit it, but even I thought this while watching!

An Arbitrary Number of People Demanding That Some Sort Of Action Be Taken – YEAH! You tell ’em!

Concerned Students against Backpacks With Wheels – Are you concerned?

50 Things to Do While At a McDonald’s Drive-Through – Alright now this one has some good ideas!

English Whirled Wide – I am actually a member of this one!

A Lion would never cheat on his wife.. but a Tiger wood. – Bazinga!

When life gives you lemons, ask for salt and tequila – Now this is a group I can get behind!

I Wish I Were Your Derivative So I Could Lie Tangent To Your Curves! – Yeah I know, I’m a geek.

I was gonna post a status, then I remembered I have family on Facebook. – This one rings true for a lot of people.

Site Spotlight:

‘Two Dudes, a Truck and a Megaphone: The Story of Grill Em All’ is the lead in to their ‘about’ page. Everyone that has had the pleasure to run into one of their trucks has NOT been disappointed. If you find yourself out in L.A. with no place to eat, and want a terrific meal for a great price, check them out! Truly an experience, and these guys are just awesome.

Here is their main site: Grill Em All.
CLICK HERE for their Facebook Page.
CLICK HERE for their Twitter Page. 

You can find truck location info, which changes everyday, so you can plan your Grill Em All truck experience! Tell them YakkityYaks sent ya!

That’ll about wrap it up this week, mainly cause I gotta run. To submit ideas, links or sites for consideration in Webtastic Wednesday’s, please send via e-mail to TheKdd@yakkityyaks.com, or by joining us HERE in the forum!

Tech Tuesday! This week’s top stories in the world of Geek

I admit it, I am a total geek. I would imagine I am not alone in this, so I thought I would write an article aimed at those like me. Cool geek is how I refer to myself. I am a proud member of “Geeks are Sexy” (yes, they are) over at Facebook, and keep up to date with the Mashable App on my iPad.

I am, however, not a rich geek, and a pretty thrifty one as well. The iPad was a gift, and wifi, not 3g. I do not own an iPhone. In fact, I recently downgraded all the phones on my current “family plan” to newer flip phones (with qwertys of course) and got rid of all internet plans on them. Do I miss it? A little admittedly. However, I would much rather view the web on my larger iPad screen, then on this itty bitty phone screen, and, for free. My family plan bill dropped a whopping $80 dollars by doing it. I just couldn’t justify the $80 for our phones to have internet, and the additional $50 or so that goes to my cable company for home access.

I own a MAC. Yes, I put out a good sum to get it a couple of years ago, but the headaches and cost it has saved me in the long run is well worth every penny. Now I know that statement may have irritated a few PC users, and I’m sorry for that. I was a PC user for years, fearing the switch, but I jumped over anyway, and am so glad I did. I was a PC Technician for years, and the one thing a PC Tech will never tell the customer? “Get a Mac.” It would put us out of business!

I also own a Tivo Box and Wii, and am becoming a Netflix and Hulu streaming extraordinaire. Now, one might say that I am putting all this money out on those services (Tivo, Netflix) how can that make me a thrifty geek? Well, I cut my cable bill WAY down, only receiving, at the moment, cable’s basic service. I’m sure the cable company can’t be that happy with me. Eventually, I plan on going strictly antenna, and cutting the cable TV service all together. It’s just a matter of finding the time to re-wire the house. It’s on the agenda for 2011 however. Now if MagicJack would get number portability…. (prod prod poke poke)…

I just got so tired of every bill I get costing me around $200 a month. When did $200 a month become the norm?

Anyway, I digress. Let’s take a look at this week’s tech headlines:

iPhone coming to Verizon: I heard about this a few days ago, and the Verizon announcement has been made. The iPhone 4 will be exclusively offered for pre-order to current Verizon customers on Feb 3rd and Feb 10th for everyone else.

Now I have to say, if you are interested in getting the iPhone and paying the monthly price, it is well worth it to make the switch. One, it’s an iPhone, and they are, well, awesome. Second, it’s the Verizon Network. You will actually be able to use the “phone” part without dropping calls or losing signal. Nice huh?

Apple Launches the Mac App Store: Yep, now there is one for your Mac. It doesn’t sound like such a big deal since there are already app stores for all other Apple products it seems, but it actually is a big deal. Having an app store (for free and paid apps) will allow for more development, and more business opportunity for developers. Matter of fact, hopefully there will be a YakkityYaks app out there soon! Now, if they can get it together to offer it up to us old Leopard users…. As of now, it’s currently available to Snow Leopard users.  I’m hoping they will remember we are out here soon.

Facebook NOT shutting down on March 15th. I repeat, Facebook is not shutting down on March 15th. I have heard the rumors, seen them spread like wildfire, especially on Facebook itself, and it’s just not true. Just days before, as a matter of fact, Facebook raised $500 Million in funding, so yeah, not shutting down.

Those are the big stories this week! I’m sure there are plenty more, but I have kept you long enough for now. Come check out our FORUMS and talk about the latest in all things tech!

FCU: FACT CHECKERS UNIT

[singlepic id=302 w=320 h=240 float=left]Just out!  “FCU: Fact Checker’s Unit,” a new web series from NBC Universal Digital Studio. This seven-episode series stars: Luke Perry, Alex Trebek, Dave Navarro, Karolina Kurkova, Donald Faison, Jon Heder and Zach Gilford.

On this show, no celebrity is too big, no fact is too obscure for FCU: Fact Checkers Unit. This very funny series is about the adventures of two overzealous fact-checkers; Russell and Dylan, who work for “Dictum,” an entertainment magazine.

Russell and Dylan stop at nothing to check each and every fact printed in the magazine, even the most absurd celebrity facts do not get by these guys. They might not be respected around the office, but in the fact-checking world, these guys know how to get it done… Fact Checked!

For full info on the show click here

Episode 1: Paranormal Factivity