Tech Tuesday: Google, Hulu and Twits!

Welcome to another edition of Tech Tuesday! Here are the top stories in the tech world you may have missed!

Google Logo: Diver Down!

Honoring Jules Verne, the French author who pioneered the Science Fiction genre, Google has an interactive logo today that allows you to explore the depths of the sea.

Jules, best known for his classic novels ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’, ‘A Journey to the Center of the Earth’, and ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ was born on this day in 1828.

Check out the interactive logo HERE.

TwitPic Launches Video for Twitter

Twitpic is bringing support for video to Twitter today, allowing users to timely share their clips. Now, instead of posting your links to YouTube to spread your awesome vid, you can upload it over to Twitpic and share it immediately.

So be sure to tweet @yakkityyaks so we don’t somehow miss your video! Hey, if it’s a good one, it may just get notice on Webtastic Wednesday!

“The Social Break-Up” Study

A study that surveyed 1500 consumers on why they unsubscribe, unlike, or unfollow brands in the social media world was conducted, and the results are in! I would think this shouldn’t be surprising…

More than 90% say they they do it because of too frequent, irrelevant or boring communications. Of the 1500, 91% have opted out of e-mails, 81% have “unliked” on Facebook to remove the company from their News Feed, and 77% say they are just more cautious about who they share their information and e-mail with.

So, now that you have that shocking information (sarcasm), why don’t you go follow the Yak on Facebook and Twitter! We promise not to bore you, too much anyway, and we promise to NEVER share ANY of your information, including your e-mail address!

T-Mobile – All Phones FREE!

As part of a special Valentine’s Day promotion, T-Mobile will offer all of the phones in it’s inventory for free with a new 2 yr. contract this Friday and Saturday. (February 11th and 12th.)

This includes their high-end Smartphones, like the HTC HD7, the T-Mobile G2 and the Samsung Vibrant. You can see a list of all the offers on T-Mobiles website HERE.

These are huge savings, but just like all other companies, I’m sure you will still need to pay the sales tax based on the original price. To take advantage of their offer, you must go to a T-Mobile store. However, there will be some offerings online if you wish to order from the comfort of your home.

Care to guess if this is really just for Valentines Day, or could it be because the Verizon iPhone comes out this weekend? Hmmmm.

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report Returns to Hulu

Fans of Jon Stewart, Colbert and Hulu unite! Both shows are returning to a computer near you. Hulu closed a major deal with Viacom last week, and as part of the deal, a “selection of great current programming from MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, TV Land, BET, and other Viacom channel brands will also be added to Hili Plus.

What does this mean for us? Well, previously the two above shows were on Hulu (free) and have now moved to Hulu Plus. Hulu Plus is a subscription based service that currently costs $7.99 a month. It’s a nice add if you are thinking about cutting the cable cord and accessing HULU through other platforms attached to your TV.

Well there you have it, all caught up. So, what do you think? Will you subscribe to Hulu? Will you run out this weekend for a new T-Mobile phone? Will you @yakkityyaks your Twitpic video? Let us know below!

Tech Tuesday: Teacher’s Pets, Nintendo Disguises and Lobbyists!

Welcome to another ‘digest’ edition of Tech Tuesday, where you can read what went down in the world of technology for the week that you may have missed all in one short read! We have been told it’s even bathroom friendly!

Facebook Launching New Commenting System

Facebook is set to launch a new comment platform to rival the likes of Disqus and other third party platforms. What does this mean for you? Well, you already have the ability to comment on a page, such as YakkityYaks.com using your Facebook account, but this would allow so much more. For example, one would only have to log in once to the platform so as to not have to keep doing so site to site. It will also show all comments in a threaded format and be voted up (liked). Comments can also then be synced to the sites Facebook page (like ours) meaning that a comment made here, will also show up on our Facebook page and vice versa.

It’s interesting, and can eventually take Facebook from just a destination to total domination of your online experience, following you from site to site as you surf. Along with it, it will be able to track your online presence I would imagine. Facebook confirms it is working on a new commenting system, but says that it is an update to the existing plugin and not a new product. We shall see.

CSI Facebook Game Offers a Bonus

Thursday night’s episode of CSI will have a little extra for fans this week: clues to unlock in-game bonuses. Prior to the airing of the show, the Facebook Page for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Crime City will pose a question to fans that can only be answered by watching the episode. This new feature will run through sweeps, so basically, through February.

Grey’s Anatomy getting Interactive Viewing on iPad

Today, ABC released “Grey’s Anatomy Sync” for iPad, a free app the promises a more interactive TV viewing experience. The app is designed to be a companion to the show itself, and the first episode to utilize it will be run this Thursday, February 3rd. It will show interactive content in real time, based on what is happening on the show.

Called Grey’s Anatomy Sync, the App is powered by Nielsen’s Media-Sync Platform and will showcase interactive content using the microphone on the iPad to keep the app in sync with the show.

Using the audio allows the app to figure out where the user is in the program and offer up corresponding content. This also let’s those of us that record the show to still get the same interactive experience as if we were watching it live. Interesting concept that I think could grow into big time uses.

Google Dishes Out for Lobbyists

It has been learned that Google dished out an astounding $5.16 million dollars on lobbyists in 2010, a 29% increase over the $4 million they spent in the previous year.

What are they lobbying for? Well, issues like net neutrality, online privacy and online tracking. The money they spent in 2010 was more than Yahoo, Facebook and Apple spent combined.

The amount of money has some people worried, since the issues above are about YOUR privacy and online choices, and you can bet they aren’t on your side. The huge increase most definitely shows how Google is becoming more lofty in Washington, peddling their influence in policy decisions amongst the other oversized corporate big boys that don’t have your interest at heart.

Today’s Lesson: Be the Teacher’s Pet, even on Facebook

A High School student in California has been suspended from school after calling his teacher a “fat ass who should stop eating fast food, and is a douche bag.” The teacher did give him too much Biology homework apparently, so I guess it was called for?

Anyway, most believe that common sense dictates you just shouldn’t be doing that, however, a court ruling from last November had a federal agency declare that Facebook updates are protected speech, when a worker got fired for making derogatory remarks about their supervisor online. So, ACLU is taking a closer look.

Now, I agree that it should be protected speech, as long as it’s not threatening. However, the parent in me wants to smack the kid over the head and take away all things tech in his life for awhile, until he learns respect, manners, and to just stop being a (as “Red” would have called him on ‘That 70’s Show’)… a dumbass.

Cool Geek Gadget of the Week

Alright, I want one of these REAL bad. Yeah, it’s pretty geeky, but oh so cool. Is it an old NES Cartridge? No, it’s just a disguise! These are external 500gb or 1tb hard drives designed to look like the games of yore offered by 8BitMemory. They are nostalgic, they are useful, and they are geek to the maximum. For the younger crowd, they have Game Boy Advance 4gb Flash Drives. They even have gift packs, complete with a 500gb USB hard drive, mouse pad, cartridge sleeve and case. Perfect for the geek in all of us!

That’s it for this week’s Tech Tuesday! Anything I missed that you have seen? Are you already gone, buying an NES Hard Drive? Will Facebook take over the world? Will Google stop them with their lobbyists? Do you want to smack that kid over the head or do you want to post something about your boss/teacher/mother online? Did I ask enough questions? Sound off below!

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.