Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on May 21, 2007 by CyberNet.

There’s more bad news for AllofMP3.com today after an announcement was made that a man out of London who was selling vouchers that users could purchase to buy music from AllofMP3.com was arrested.  Thus far, the largest legal action that the RIAA has pursued was the filing of a 1.64 trillion dollar lawsuit (here and here).

While that lawsuit is a major move to try and shut the site down, it appears as though they’re taking smaller steps, like the arrest just mentioned, to win the battle. The way the vouchers work is that people would purchase them from auction sites like eBay, and then the money would be transferred to off-shore accounts that are operated by the site’s owners.

All of MP3.com is certainly the biggest site of its kind, but it’s definitely not the only one.  If they take AllofMP3.com down, the RIAA will still have others to worry about. Those who were once loyal to AllofMP3 will just move on to the next service like the one I recently came across, MP3Search.RU.

As it stands, AllofMP3 is running out of ways that they are able to accept payment.  The voucher system that resulted in the arrest was one of the biggest ways in which AllofMP3.com was able to accept payment. With PayPal, Visa and Mastercard stepping away from the scene and not accepting payments anymore, eventually there won’t be many ways in which AllofMP3 will be able to operate.

Of course, AllofMP3.com is maintaining that they are operating legally in Russia and complying with Russian laws, but the RIAA says that they’re not, and that it’s illegal because artists and music labels receive no royalties for the music that is sold.

And so, the saga continues as the RIAA plans their next move…

Source: PC World (Thanks for the tip Cory!)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Continue reading Visualized: classic biplane gets a glass cockpit

Visualized: classic biplane gets a glass cockpit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on July 17, 2006 by CyberNet.

Many companies have tried to give Windows users the same style of widgets that Mac owners get. Widgets have become very popular because it gives you quick access to some of your most important items, and not to mention it adds a little eye candy.

Google’s newest version of Google Desktop Search (GDS) has the ability to not only put gadgets (their term for widgets) on a sidebar but you can also place them on your desktop. To push people to create more gadgets for GDS Google started offering a contest that has a $5,000 reward.

In December 2005 Yahoo purchased a “widget engine” called Konfabulator. Soon after the software was renamed to the Yahoo Widget Engine which quickly became popular because of the thousands of widgets they had available. It could do just about anything for you including checking your email Inbox for new mail by simply downloading a widget.

So where was Microsoft during all of this? Sure they could have been working on their own solution for widgets but with their release of Windows Vista in January 2007 they decided to be a little sneaky. They created a sidebar, just like Google, that can hold gadgets but they too can also be placed on the desktop. Microsoft’s sidebar is also a little more classy because it has a transparent effect to it which matches Vista’s sleek interface. For those people already running Vista Beta 2 the Microsoft Gadgets gallery is your one-stop shop for all of your widget needs.

So Mac has always had the perfect style of widgets and Windows has had a lot of widget alternatives, but what about Linux? aDesklets is the best Linux alternative that I have seen to this day. The screenshot above shows it in action and demonstrates the smooth graphics that we have all come to know and love (more screenshots available here). You can get weather forecasts, calendars, and even system monitors. Those people who are using Ubuntu may find this guide helpful because it walks you through the steps needed to install it.

In the future most operating systems will probably start shipping with built-in widget functionality because of the ever increasing popularity to put information at our fingertips. The real question is who will be able to become the most popular on the Windows distribution? Will it be Microsoft once they release Windows Vista with the Microsoft Gadgets pre-installed? This could be a tough call.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

Related Posts:

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Netflix and Redbox have been the new hotness in rentals for the last few years but both have significant drawbacks. With Redbox, it’s the box and the morons who are constantly standing in front of it paging through every single movie in the thing and for Netflix’s Watch Instantly it’s a lack of new releases available for instant viewing. Now there’s a new startup, Zediva, that takes on both of those issues by sticking with DVDs, but instead of shipping them to customers or placing them in kiosks, just streams them on demand from one player, to one viewer (unlike Netflix, sometimes movies are “rented out” if there are no copies available at the moment — renting a flick gives you control of the DVD player, with fast forward and reverse, for four hours) for $1.99 a rental or 10 for $10.

Apparently it’s been in beta for a year but is now available to all and is currently offering new release DVDs the same day they go on sale by simply purchasing them at retail. There’s no HD content yet but it claims Blu-ray titles will be offered soon. The Associated Press talked to a copyright lawyer who points out the case of a hotel that implemented a similar system but was sued into oblivion before calling Zediva “cute, but illegal” so if you decide to check it out, we’d recommend getting through that 10-pack of rentals with haste.

Update: We did recommend haste, didn’t we? Zediva’s registration is now listed as “temporarily full” and prospective users are being asked to join a waiting list. Thanks, Ialo!

Zediva mashes up Netflix and Redbox for $1.99, four hour-window DVD streaming rentals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may not have known this, but besides missing a 3G radio, the WiFi-only iPad also lacks the A-GPS chip that enables exact GPS positioning versus less-accurate WiFi triangulation. Well, according to Tablet Monsters, if you’ve got an iPhone with iOS 4.3 and are subscribed to Personal Hotspot, your shiny slate should be able to tap into the GPS chip of it’s smaller-screened family member. Reports in the MacRumors forums confirm that people are indeed seeing this added functionality on both iPad 2 and the original. Though the native Maps app is reportedly working perfectly there’s talk of unfriendliness in turn-by-turn GPS apps — though this could have to do with the refresh rate of the transmission. If you’re already shelling out for the Personal Hotspot plan this is a nice added bonus, and makes the choice between the 3G iPad and the WiFi one just a little bit easier — assuming you’ve got an iPhone of course. Still skeptical? Check out a video of it in action after the break.

Continue reading iPhone Personal Hotspot transmitting GPS information to tethered iPads?

iPhone Personal Hotspot transmitting GPS information to tethered iPads? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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