May 19
Mitsubishi Electric has built five giant elevators, each with a carrying capacity of 80 people, in an office building in Osaka.
May 19
This article was written on September 15, 2008 by CyberNet.
Back around 1999 and 2000 when Napster was the place to go when you wanted to get your hands on music, we certainly wouldn’t have expected that almost 10 years later, they’d have gone through so much yet still able to survive. Not only that, we wouldn’t have expected that out of anybody that could have acquired the service, that it would be Best Buy.
Today Best Buy announced that it intended to buy Napster for about $121 million. Included in the acquisition are the subscribers (about 700,000 of them) and other aspects of the business like the web-based customer service and mobile capabilities. Best Buy will also take on Napster’s 40 employees which seems like a small team, doesn’t it?
Now that iTunes has become the number one music retailer, perhaps Best Buy is hoping that their purchase of Napster will give them the boost that they need to compete with Apple? To us this seems like a decent buy for Best Buy. In the announcement, the company said, ” Best Buy believes that Napster has one of the most comprehensive and easy-to-use music offerings in the industry, including streaming music, music subscriptions, the ability to purchase individual tracks, albums and mobile offers.”
So, what do you think? Is this a good buy for Best Buy?
Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox
Related Posts:
- The Revival of Napster…Again? 6 Million Song DRM-Free LibraryNapster Failed, Will Limewire’s Store Fail Too?CyberNotes: Blogmusik.net – Free Internet Virtual iPodApple, Google, & Napster Sued by Intertainer1,000 Pixels From The Million Dollar Homepage On eBay
May 19
The Chevrolet Volt arrives later this year to challenge the Toyota Prius for green car superiority. However, GM doesn’t like to call the Volt a hybrid, choosing to classify it as an extended range electric vehicle (EREV). pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20005412-48.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Car Tech blog/a/p
May 19
Cubic’s COMBATREDI combat simulator takes augmented reality to new, awesome levels
Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, military, OLED, Today's Chili, wargadget
Cubic Corporation is a defense contractor that’s been kicking around in some form or another since the early days of the Cold War, although you’re more likely to know them as the operator of the New York City MetroCard system. What brings ’em to our space, you ask? Another cutting edge wargadget, of course! Indeed, the company has just been contracted to supply 27 of its COMBATREDI training systems to the Florida Army National Guard (to the tune of $4.8 million). The combat simulator features a hi-def, helmet mounted OLED video display for a 60 x 45-degree field of view, an integrated 3D stereo headset for sound, and a wireless “surrogate” rifle that performs like a real one, right down to the need for fresh magazines and various firing modes. The user’s movements are tracked by way of a REDITAC tactical computer worn on the back, with a suite of sensors that can also determine where he’s looking, and whether he’s standing, kneeling, or lying on the ground. Of course, the company is selling this as the most realistic way to train our troops yet, although we can see it for what it really is: possibly the most bad-ass first-person shooter ever. PR after the break.
Continue reading Cubic’s COMBATREDI combat simulator takes augmented reality to new, awesome levels
Cubic’s COMBATREDI combat simulator takes augmented reality to new, awesome levels originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
Wired | | Email this | Comments
May 19
Gateway updates its ZX One all-in-one desktop family with new CPUs and Blu-ray.
May 19
iPhone OS 4.0 beta 4 hints at LED flash, camera for iPad, iPod, iPhone
Posted in: Apple, apple ipad, AppleIpad, AppleIphone, camera, flash, ipad, iPhone, ipod, Today's Chili
We’ve yet to see concrete proof that Apple’s portable media players will ship with a camera, but the new iPhone OS 4.0 beta shows Cupertino’s at least considering the notion for the iPod touch and even the iPad. It seems AT&T tethering wasn’t the only thing hidden in iPhone OS 4.0 beta 4 — 9to5Mac found a variety of telltale references to an a flash when pouring through the update’s source code. Does that mean that the iDevices will actually get cameras, let alone supporting light fixtures? It’s too early to tell… but we did spot an LED flash on that early iPhone HD, and a recent Vietnamese leak proves that Apple at least prototyped an iPod touch with a camera — though no flash, sadly — as well. Is Apple simply updating their error messages, or is there something to this? You make the call.
iPhone OS 4.0 beta 4 hints at LED flash, camera for iPad, iPod, iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
9to5Mac | Email this | Comments
May 19
ATT Sees No Threat in a Verizon iPhone
Posted in: Apple, att, iPhone, Phones, Today's Chili, verizon
AT&T says it’s unfazed by persistent rumors of a Verizon iPhone debuting this year.
The telecom company’s CEO Ralph de la Vega said this morning during the JP Morgan investors conference that discounted plans would retain customers.
70 percent of AT&T’s subscribers are on family plans, and it would be difficult to transition multiple devices, he explained. Additionally, 40 percent of subscribers are part of corporate plans, and employers are unlikely to switch company-owned devices for a new carrier. (There is some overlap between the two types of plans.) The CEO added that “churn” rates (i.e., a measure of customers leaving) for AT&T are staying at record-low rates, so he expects that iPhone customers will remain loyal.
Verizon iPhone rumors gained heat in March when The Wall Street Journal published a story citing sources who claimed Apple was preparing to produce a CDMA-compatible iPhone in September. CDMA is the standard used on Verizon phones.
Many tech observers have wondered whether a Verizon iPhone would compel a large number of AT&T customers to switch to the rival carrier. AT&T has been the exclusive carrier for the iPhone since its release in 2007, and the touchscreen handset has been a major source of revenue for the carrier. Incidentally, many dissatisfied iPhone customers have complained about the performance of AT&T’s 3G network since the release of the iPhone 3G in 2008.
Though AT&T is likely talking tough to impress investors, I’d lean toward agreeing that a hypothetical Verizon iPhone probably wouldn’t pose great threats to AT&T for the reasons cited by de la Vega. Some peeved customers will probably switch over, while others cling on to see if the network improves as a result of people leaving. The parties who should feel nervous about a Verizon iPhone are those already offering smartphones through Verizon: HTC and Google.
Via Business Insider
See Also:
- Analyst Predicts Verizon iPhone Announcement Next Week
- WSJ: Apple to Produce Verizon iPhone in September
- Verizon to Apple: We Want the iPhone
- Verizon Attacks the iPhone, Hints at Upcoming Droid
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
May 19
Undercover Chinese reporter exposes Foxconn working conditions (update: full English translation)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Some time in April, Chinese news site Southern Weekend sent its intern, Liu Zhiyi, on a 28-day undercover mission at Foxconn’s Shenzhen factory, as part of an investigation on what could’ve led to this year’s numerous suicides in one of China’s largest factories. While the report doesn’t comment on the company’s management and support networks (or the lack of) for front-line workers, it appears that the real problem lies in Chinese workers’ definition of a “good factory” — one that pays more by means of offering overtime hours. It’s clear what’s causing this perception — there’s the sub-standard minimum wage in Shenzhen, and then there are the companies abusing this fact to lure workers with overtime hours above the legal limit.
Update: Thanks to Southern Weekend’s exclusive permission, we’ve now published the full human translation of the Chinese report.
Undercover Chinese reporter exposes Foxconn working conditions (update: full English translation) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 15:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Southern Weekend (1), (2) | Email this | Comments
May 19
Aaxa’s L1 laser projector uses cutting-edge projection technology and has some excellent features, but its picture quality isn’t any better than that of cheaper pico projectors.
May 19
Google’s Larry Page says there’s ‘something wrong’ if your Android phone’s battery doesn’t last all day
Posted in: Android, Google, phone, Today's Chili
Cellphones and batteries. It’s an eternal struggle, but one that Google’s Larry Page says should at least be manageable. That topic arose at the recent Google Zeitgeist forum, where Page responded to a question about battery life on Android phones by saying that he actually found it to be “pretty good,” and that “if you are not getting a day, there is something wrong.” That prompted Google CEO Eric Schmidt to chime in and explain that the main culprit for excessive battery use on the phones is the transmit / receive circuit, which he says some apps are “not particularly smart about” using.
Google’s Larry Page says there’s ‘something wrong’ if your Android phone’s battery doesn’t last all day originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | TechRadar | Email this | Comments
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.