Category: News

This 21×9, 2:35:1, 58-inch Vizio Cinema Display looks really, really, really wide in person. But don’t worry, when you bring it home, it’ll just have black bars on each side 95% of the time. More info here.

America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11. As Colt McCoy stood waiting in hopes of winning his fourth bowl game.

The Longhorns took the field carrying the American and Texas flags. Alabama followed reminded of the 1980 US hockey team.

Groban took the field with the excitment only a championship game could provide. Amazing anthem complete wth guitar, drums, and an amazing vocal performance. Fireworks didn’t provide the excitement of the eagle but it was great. Loved that green guitar and the riff it played. It was completed by the flyover.
Texas, meanwhile, has a quarterback named Colt. I mean, how great is that? It would be like having a USC quarterback named Palm Tree or Tinsel.

I like Texas’ Mack Brown, all the way back to his days as the boy wonder coach at Tulane. Back then, he still had the same moppish Paul McCartney hair, except it was brown, not laced with ivory. He was the next big thing back then. Believe me, if you can take Tulane to a bowl game, as he did, you can do almost anything.

His counterpart at Alabama is this Nick Saban, who seems to leave hurt feelings behind everywhere he goes. Such is the legacy of the modern coach, I suppose, yet few inspire such vitriol as Saban. Baby, were you born to run?

Both programs are more similar than different. For instance, I’ve spent a couple of days braving the mean streets of Old Pasadena, trying to engage fans of these schools in a decent conversation.
America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11. As Colt McCoy stood waiting in hopes of winning his fourth bowl game.

The Longhorns took the field carrying the American and Texas flags. Alabama followed reminded of the 1980 US hockey team.

Groban took the field with the excitment only a championship game could provide. Amazing anthem complete wth guitar, drums, and an amazing vocal performance. Fireworks didn’t provide the excitement of the eagle but it was great. Loved that green guitar and the riff it played. It was completed by the flyover.
Texas, meanwhile, has a quarterback named Colt. I mean, how great is that? It would be like having a USC quarterback named Palm Tree or Tinsel.

Related posts:

1. Josh Groban National Anthem 2010 Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11….
2. Josh Groban National Anthem 2010 Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since…
3. Josh Groban National Anthem 2010 Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11….

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Yoga pants are my favorite around-the-house attire.

If you’re one of those people who is sitting around thinking, “I need to lose weight” or “I want to tone up,” the Chicago Park District wants to help you out. I just found out yesterday that they are having free workout days at 66 Chicago Park District Fitness Centers. The last day to sign up for in-person registration is Sunday, Jan. 10.

I can’t even count the number of hip hop and aerobics class I’ve been in–including hip hop, Video Vixen, lap dancing, belly dancing, pole dancing, hardcore hip hop, boxing, pilates, yoga, breaking (aka breakdancing) and weight training. I’m one of those folks who finds joy in working out, but considering I’m a freelance reporter, blogger, reviewer and transcription editor, it’s hard to even get in the time to work out these days.

My idea of working out now is running from my car to my interviewee’s location and trying to dodge Chicago cold sucker-punching me in the face. This fall and winter, I managed to not lose (or gain) any weight eating one or two meals a day even though I cut out fast food tremendously and never keep junk food in my home. (I’m not purposely avoiding meals, but I wake up around 3 p.m., and go to sleep around 6 a.m., so my eating clock is way off.) If you think being a vegetarian means you automatically lose weight, not likely. Exercise is still mandatory to stay in shape.

But working out should be a part of any writer (or any other person’s) schedule. We blow off exercising a lot in the winter months when no one wants to go outside, but when opportunities like what the Chicago Park District is introducing come about, I say we sign up. I’ve spent $50 to $75 on five classes for 30 minutes during summer months when I could’ve just taken a free walk to the lakefront so why not take advantage of these courses? Paying $75 for three-months for one session sounds like a deal to me.

If you’re one of those people who works yourself to death but sits in a chair all day, chances are you’re probably munching on junk food and not really getting any exercise in. The online registration date for Chicago Park District fitness courses passed, but maybe you (and I) can make it for the three-month session until March 21 if you can handle the single-digit cold weather this weekend. If you’re interested in the program but miss the deadline date, there will be a spring session next month.

Click here for details.

Click the slideshow above for ideas to work out at home if you’re anything like me and hibernate in the winter as much as possible.

A quick note on three upcoming events at which I’ll be speaking:

• Tuesday, January 12th, I’m on a panel at the first ever World Fair Use Day in Washington, DC. The event is being put on by the folks at Public Knowledge and should be a lot of fun. For those attending or in the area, you should also check out the Fair Use Film Screening the night before, where they’ll be showing clips from Brett Gaylor’s RIP: A Remix Manifesto and Kembrew McLeod’s Copyright Criminals
• Friday, January 15th, I’ll be on a Churchill Club panel on Journalism After Print. That’s in Palo Alto, California.
• Sunday, January 24th, I’ll be running a special brainstorming workshop on new music business models at Midem in Cannes, France, which is where I did the big Trent Reznor case study last year.

If you’ll be attending any of these events, please let me know!

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

“You vote Obamacare, we’re going to vote you out of there. We the People have awakened to your tricks. You vote to let this pass, you’re going to be out on your (sound of foghorn).”
Like other anti-Obama teapartiers who mumble incoherently about believing in the constitution, while they remained silent when Bush/Cheney trampled upon it and spit on it, Stevens says he believes in freedom and the constitution:

“…I believe in freedom, and I believe in the Constitution and I believe in the things that made America great.”

Well the “awake” Stevens decided to produce an anti-health care reform song, called “We the People,” that apparently is becoming a tea party anthem, according to CNSNews.

Stevens believes that President Obama wants to control us with health care reform and climate change legislation:

“Anybody with half a brain can figure out this is about control. So is cap-and-trade or this so-called ‘green’ crap that they’re talking about,” he told CNSNews.com. “It’s not about climate change. It’s not about health-care. It’s about control. They want control, and I don’t want to give it to them.”

Stevens figures we are doing just fine with nearly 50,000 people dying every year from lack of health insurance:

“To me, it’s pretty obvious that the government is doing a bunch of crap that we don’t need and we don’t want, and they don’t care what we want – they’re going to do it anyway. I think I’ve heard it called ‘progressive.’ I don’t know what’s progressive about it – it seems like to me it’s stupid,” saidStevens.
And so it is that Ray Stevens has released a new song taking on Healthcare Rationing and the Utopia the “Gang of 60 Jokers” is ramming through the Senate before Christmas. We thoughtStevens , who used to sell records on late night TV, had been dead for years…so happy to see he’s not, and that he’s still got a way with driving home a point through catchy song and on-point cross-dressing.
In Stevens’ song he sings about voting politicians out of office who vote for “ObamaCare,” as he changes from a revolutionary patriot, a construction worker and a rural backwoodsman:

Related posts:

1. Ray Stevens Obama Care Song Live 2010 Like other anti-Obama teapartiers who mumble incoherently about believing in…
2. Ray Stevens Songs, Ray Stevens Songs Download Like other anti-Obama teapartiers who mumble incoherently about believing in…
3. Ray Stevens Songs, Ray Stevens Songs Obama Like other anti-Obama teapartiers who mumble incoherently about believing in…

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

We were pretty intrigued by the Yogen manual charger concept we saw earlier. While the production unit we saw today is markedly different—it doesn’t disappoint. Instead of charging gadgets with a pedal, users now pull a chord.

Charging devices while pulling the string takes just as long as charging them via wall outlet so it won’t replace plugging in, but in a pinch the compact device could be a life saver. There is super-low resistance in the chord so continuously pulling the string to charge isn’t much of a chore (just tedious). The device is available now directly from Yogen for $39.99.

In case you having sleepless nights fretting about content partners for Spring Design‘s Alex e-reader, they’ve linked up with Borders, and will feature the Kobo eBook store on their dual-screened device. That’s something Barnes and Noble likely won’t be accused of copying.

Spring Design and Borders Announce eBook Agreement
Borders to be eBook Seller for Alex eReader

FREMONT, Calif – January 7, 2010 – Spring Design and Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) today announced an agreement in principle to feature the upcoming Borders eBook store powered by Kobo on the new dual display Alex™ eReader later this year. The agreement in principle follows a recent announcement that Borders will launch a new eBook store on Borders.com as well as Borders-branded mobile eBook applications, powered by Kobo. The new Borders-branded eBook store will offer more than two million titles.

“The combination of Borders’ leadership in the book industry and Spring Design’s innovation and experience in consumer electronics will create a world class service for eBook readers,” said Dr. Priscilla Lu, chief executive officer of Spring Design. “This partnership delivers one of the critical foundations of our business growth going forward,” Lu added.

“Our agreement with Spring Design represents another step in our digital strategy, which continues to focus on offering book lovers-including our more than 35 million Borders Rewards loyalty program members-high quality content on the device of their choosing,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. “We look forward to bringing a world class eBook experience to Alex users.”

The Alex eReader will initially be available February 22, 2010 for $359 in the online store at www.springdesign.com.

Like other anti-Obama teapartiers who mumble incoherently about believing in the constitution, while they remained silent when Bush/Cheney trampled upon it and spit on it, Stevens says he believes in freedom and the constitution:

“…I believe in freedom, and I believe in the Constitution and I believe in the things that made America great.”

Well the “awake” Stevens decided to produce an anti-health care reform song, called “We the People,” that apparently is becoming a tea party anthem, according to CNSNews.

Stevens believes that President Obama wants to control us with health care reform and climate change legislation:

“Anybody with half a brain can figure out this is about control. So is cap-and-trade or this so-called ‘green’ crap that they’re talking about,” he told CNSNews.com. “It’s not about climate change. It’s not about health-care. It’s about control. They want control, and I don’t want to give it to them.”

Stevens figures we are doing just fine with nearly 50,000 people dying every year from lack of health insurance:

“To me, it’s pretty obvious that the government is doing a bunch of crap that we don’t need and we don’t want, and they don’t care what we want – they’re going to do it anyway. I think I’ve heard it called ‘progressive.’ I don’t know what’s progressive about it – it seems like to me it’s stupid,” said Stevens.
And so it is that Ray Stevens has released a new song taking on Healthcare Rationing and the Utopia the “Gang of 60 Jokers” is ramming through the Senate before Christmas. We thought Stevens, who used to sell records on late night TV, had been dead for years…so happy to see he’s not, and that he’s still got a way with driving home a point through catchy song and on-point cross-dressing.
In Stevens’ song he sings about voting politicians out of office who vote for “ObamaCare,” as he changes from a revolutionary patriot, a construction worker and a rural backwoodsman:

“You vote Obamacare, we’re going to vote you out of there. We the People have awakened to your tricks. You vote to let this pass, you’re going to be out on your (sound of foghorn).”

Related posts:

1. Ray Stevens Obamacare, Ray Stevens Obamacare Care Songs “You vote Obamacare, we’re going to vote you out of…
2. Ray Stevens Songs, Ray Stevens Songs Obama Like other anti-Obama teapartiers who mumble incoherently about believing in…
3. Ray Stevens Obama Care Song Live 2010 Like other anti-Obama teapartiers who mumble incoherently about believing in…

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11. As Colt McCoy stood waiting in hopes of winning his fourth bowl game.

The Longhorns took the field carrying the American and Texas flags. Alabama followed reminded of the 1980 US hockey team.

Groban took the field with the excitment only a championship game could provide. Amazing anthem complete wth guitar, drums, and an amazing vocal performance. Fireworks didn’t provide the excitement of the eagle but it was great. Loved that green guitar and the riff it played. It was completed by the flyover.
Texas, meanwhile, has a quarterback named Colt. I mean, how great is that? It would be like having a USC quarterback named Palm Tree or Tinsel.

I like Texas’ Mack Brown, all the way back to his days as the boy wonder coach at Tulane. Back then, he still had the same moppish Paul McCartney hair, except it was brown, not laced with ivory. He was the next big thing back then. Believe me, if you can take Tulane to abowl game, as he did, you can do almost anything.

His counterpart at Alabama is this Nick Saban, who seems to leave hurt feelings behind everywhere he goes. Such is the legacy of the modern coach, I suppose, yet few inspire such vitriol as Saban. Baby, were you born to run?

Both programs are more similar than different. For instance, I’ve spent a couple of days braving the mean streets of Old Pasadena, trying to engage fans of these schools in a decent conversation.
America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11. As Colt McCoy stood waiting in hopes of winning his fourth bowl game.

The Longhorns took the field carrying the American and Texas flags. Alabama followed reminded of the 1980 US hockey team.

Groban took the field with the excitment only a championship game could provide. Amazing anthem complete wth guitar, drums, and an amazing vocal performance. Fireworks didn’t provide the excitement of the eagle but it was great. Loved that green guitar and the riff it played. It was completed by the flyover.
Texas, meanwhile, has a quarterback named Colt. I mean, how great is that? It would be like having a USC quarterback named Palm Tree or Tinsel.

Related posts:

1. Josh Groban National Anthem 2010 Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11….
2. Bcs Championship 2010 National Anthem Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11….
3. Josh Groban National Anthem 2010 Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since…

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It has been a busy few days for the folks at Slacker, Inc. Today they announced the next version of their Slacker Radio 2.0 application for Android phones. This isn’t your typical bug fix and minor update.  For the first time ever, Android users in the US will be able to cache their Slacker stations right to their phones and listen anywhere, regardless of a connection to WiFi or data.   

With the new Slacker Radio 2.0 and a Radio Plus account, music fans can cache stations with the touch of a button.  The station gets stored for access later in places like subways, planes, and hospitals.  Another benefit of having a Radio Plus subscription is that your music is played sans advertising and you get unlimited song requests and skipping capability.  If you’re a casual listener with a free Slacker Basic Radio service, you’ll still be able to cache stations for up to 14 days as well!

The millions who listen to the free Slacker Basic Radio service will continue to enjoy the same unparalleled music experience that now includes a free trial of the complete station caching solution. With access to a song library that is nearly four times the size of the leading competitor, Android owners can use Slacker Basic Radio or Slacker Radio Plus to create their own Personal Radio stations or listen to and personalize over 120 expert-programmed genre stations.

Features found in Slacker Radio 2.0 for Android:

• Music library featuring millions of songs
• High-quality stereo playback
• Over 120 professionally programmed genre stations
• Create custom stations based on artists or songs
• Fine tune stations on-the-fly to play more of the music you like
• View artist biographies and photos
• View album art and reviews
• “Peek Ahead” artist and album preview
• Pause and skip songs
• Rate songs as favorites
• Ban the songs and artists you don’t like

Added benefits of Slacker Radio 2.0 with Slacker Radio Plus:

• Cache stations – enjoy Slacker Radio even without a Wi-Fi or cellular network
• Greatly improved battery life on cached station playback
• Auto Station Refresh – Allows automatic overnight station syncing
• Unlimited song skipping
• Ad-free listening
• Complete song lyrics
• Unlimited song requests for creating stations

Look for the updated Slacker Radio app later this month!

Right in the middle of Samsung’s CES front garden were these gorgeous ultra-slim LED LCD TVs, which were the same 3.9mm goodies announced back in October. Even with a pencil stuck to the side it’s hard to appreciate how thin it really is, so we’ve got you lovely peeps a video (including a pan scan of the booth front) and a couple more photos after the break. You’re welcome.

Continue reading Eyes-on with Samsung’s ultra-thin LED LCD TV (video)

Eyes-on with Samsung’s ultra-thin LED LCD TV (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Article

We just grabbed a Sprint Overdrive 3G / 4G mobile hotspot and put it through some quick tests. If you’re used a MiFi, you know the drill here — you boot it up, it connects to either WiMAX or EVDO, and broadcasts a WiFi signal for up to five devices. Two things make it far more awesome than a MiFi, however: first, the LCD, which displays the numeric wireless password and data throughput; and second, the bandwidth, which peaked at around 4mbps down over WiMAX here in Vegas. (Uploads were slower at around .8mbps, though.) Yes, we’re in love — we’ve been testing Clear WiMAX here in Vegas and finding it pretty spotty, so the ability to seamlessly drop down to EVDO on the fly is much appreciated. We’re going to throw the Overdrive right into the fire and use it as a part of our mobile CES workflow tomorrow, we’ll let you know how it goes.

Sprint Overdrive 4G mobile hotspot unboxing and hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Article

While some would ask “why put a transparent panel and lamp in your Blu-ray player to show the disk spinning,” Samsung asks why not. Check out a few slick press pics and shots at Samsung’s CES booth of the 3D BD-C6900 player busily playing a The Incredibles demo reel and ponder what this means for the theory of Schrodinger’s Disc.

Samsung BD-C6900 Blu-ray player eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Article

You’ll know this device as the 4.8-inch revolutionary intent on making us fall madly in love with MIDs all over again (or should that be for the first time?). Good thing then that we now know it as the device that bears a thousand Engadget fingerprints. The Moorestown-powered GW990 from LG has finally become official and we have to say it is exactly the huge slab you might imagine it to be. In terms of specs, it comes with 16GB of built in flash memory and 512MB RAM, and 720p output is possible if the 1020 x 480 screen resolution isn’t enough for you. Chunky, sturdy and curved in all the right places, it’s an appealing device even if it suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. Powered by Moblin and primarily marketed as a 3G device, we were told by LG that — behind the 1,850mAh battery and alongside the MicroSD expansion slot — your SIM can make a home, and some such AT&T appendages have already been spotted inside this… smartphone? The UI at present is just a standard S-class layered on top of Moblin, giving us no cause for excitement, but we were reassured that LG will be offering many other OS options when the device shows up in the second half of this year. Anyhow, enough blabbering from us, check out the gallery below and don’t forget the vid after the break.

Continue reading LG GW990 hands-on video

LG GW990 hands-on video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Article

America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11. As Colt McCoy stood waiting in hopes of winning his fourth bowl game.

The Longhorns took the field carrying the American and Texas flags. Alabama followed reminded of the 1980 US hockey team.

Groban took the field with the excitment only a championship game could provide. Amazing anthem complete wth guitar, drums, and an amazing vocal performance. Fireworks didn’t provide the excitement of the eagle but it was great. Loved that green guitar and the riff it played. It was completed by the flyover.
Texas, meanwhile, has a quarterback named Colt. I mean, how great is that? It would be like having a USC quarterback named Palm Tree or Tinsel.

I like Texas’ Mack Brown, all the way back to his days as the boy wonder coach at Tulane. Back then, he still had the same moppish Paul McCartney hair, except it was brown, not laced with ivory. He was the next big thing back then. Believe me, if you can take Tulane to a bowl game, as he did, you can do almost anything.

His counterpart at Alabama is this Nick Saban, who seems to leave hurt feelings behind everywhere he goes. Such is the legacy of the modern coach, I suppose, yet few inspire such vitriol as Saban. Baby, were you born to run?

Both programs are more similar than different. For instance, I’ve spent a couple of days braving the mean streets of Old Pasadena, trying to engage fans of these schools in a decent conversation.
America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11. As Colt McCoy stood waiting in hopes of winning his fourth bowl game.

The Longhorns took the field carrying the American and Texas flags. Alabama followed reminded of the 1980 US hockey team.

Groban took the field with the excitment only a championship game could provide. Amazing anthem complete wth guitar, drums, and an amazing vocal performance. Fireworks didn’t provide the excitement of the eagle but it was great. Loved that green guitar and the riff it played. It was completed by the flyover.
Texas, meanwhile, has a quarterback named Colt. I mean, how great is that? It would be like having a USC quarterback named Palm Tree or Tinsel.

Related posts:

1. Josh Groban National Anthem 2010 Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since…
2. Josh Groban National Anthem 2010 Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11….
3. Josh Groban Flea, Josh Groban Flea National Anthem 2010 America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11….

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11. As Colt McCoy stood waiting in hopes of winning his fourth bowl game.

The Longhorns took the field carrying the American and Texas flags. Alabama followed reminded of the 1980 US hockey team.

Groban took the field with the excitment only a championship game could provide. Amazing anthem complete wth guitar, drums, and an amazing vocal performance. Fireworks didn’t provide the excitement of the eagle but it was great. Loved that green guitar and the riff it played. It was completed by the flyover.
Texas, meanwhile, has a quarterback named Colt. I mean, how great is that? It would be like having a USC quarterback named Palm Tree or Tinsel.

I like Texas’ Mack Brown, all the way back to his days as the boy wonder coach at Tulane. Back then, he still had the same moppish Paul McCartney hair, except it was brown, not laced with ivory. He was the next big thing back then. Believe me, if you can take Tulane to a bowl game, as he did, you can do almost anything.

His counterpart at Alabama is this Nick Saban, who seems to leave hurt feelings behind everywhere he goes. Such is the legacy of the modern coach, I suppose, yet few inspire such vitriol as Saban. Baby, were you born to run?

Both programs are more similar than different. For instance, I’ve spent a couple of days braving the mean streets of Old Pasadena, trying to engage fans of these schools in a decent conversation.
America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11. As Colt McCoy stood waiting in hopes of winning his fourth bowl game.

The Longhorns took the field carrying the American and Texas flags. Alabama followed reminded of the 1980 US hockey team.

Groban took the field with the excitment only a championship game could provide. Amazing anthem complete wth guitar, drums, and an amazing vocal performance. Fireworks didn’t provide the excitement of the eagle but it was great. Loved that green guitar and the riff it played. It was completed by the flyover.
Texas, meanwhile, has a quarterback named Colt. I mean, how great is that? It would be like having a USC quarterback named Palm Tree or Tinsel.

Related posts:

1. Bcs Championship 2010 National Anthem Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11….
2. Josh Groban National Anthem 2010 Live America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11….
3. Josh Groban Flea, Josh Groban Flea National Anthem 2010 America the Beautiful was sun first, a tradition since 9/11….

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.