Thursday Jan. 21, 2010
Today in Techland: Steve chats about the bad ass factor of fallen angels with Legion director Scott Stewart, tech guru Doug shares his tips for keeping gunk out of your gadgets and Mike gives us the best panels of this week’s comics. We also spent the morning giggling over Avatar sex. It was good day, really.
Here’s what else going on in nerd news around the Web:
Threadless For Haiti. The latest geeks to stand up for Haitian earthquake victims? T-shirt masters Threadless. All proceeds from the sale of this $10 tee will go straight to the Red Cross.
Streaming Site That’s Working? According the Telegraph and to Universal Music Group, yes. Spotify requires a monthly subscription fee and allows users access to music without downloading. And artists record labels are being paid. Word is that it’s gaining on iTunes, but I wouldn’t expect a coup just yet. For now, it’s still only available in Europe.
“Free” Turns To “Fee.” Hulu might begin charging its users a subscription fee of $4.99 per month for older episodes of favorite shows. Currently, Hulu only hosts the five most recent episodes of most current TV shows, but with the subscription, users could finally watch those first episodes to find out just what-the-Edward-Cullen those damn CW Vampires are after, anyway.
Friday Night TV Changes. FOX’s Dollhouse and the CW’s Smallville won’t be airing this Friday as stations are donating their prime time to the Haiti telethon.
New From Planet Hulk: This clip, a sneak peak before the DVD release on Feb. 2.
[brightcove vid=229524316&exp3=16681868001&surl=http://c.brightcove.com/services&pubid=184253309&w=300&h=225]
HAHAHAHAHA Microsoft confirms a bug that’s been around for 17 years. YEARS. Apparently the whole thing is due to a weakness in all 32-bit versions of Windows, which could allow hackers to invade your PC. (Oh, it gets better.) They still haven’t fixed the problem.
This Could Be Shocking. A team at Stanford has created what is basically battery fabric out of your run-of-the-mill cotton and polyester. Dubbed “wearable electronics” the fabric is infused with tiny tubes of carbon. Says the BBC: “the interwoven fibres of fabrics, like those of paper, are particularly suited to absorbing the nanotube ink, maintaining an electrical connection across the whole area of a garment.”
Nokia Doles Out Directions. For all of its smartphones, Nokia announced that it will provide a new version of Ovi Maps free of charge. Available for download here, it’ll include navigation for drivers and pedestrians. Sweet.
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