Four U.S. senators are asking Apple, Google, Research in Motion and BlackBerry App World to stop selling apps that the senators believe encourage drunk driving. Though no apps were named specifically, U.S. Senators Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) wrote that they were …
Apps & Web
GPS-Enabled Shopping: Never Get Lost at Home Depot Again!
Imagine the scenario. You’re at a football game, post- bathroom break or beer run, and you suddenly realize that you don’t remember how to find your way back to your seat.
Not to worry. A new app for your iPhone (and, shortly, your Android device) may be able to help. In fact it might even help you find your way to the nearest …
High School Hacker Pleads Guilty to Spyware Hijinks
If nothing else, Omar Khan deserves an A for ingenuity, even though he’d probably flunk any morals class he attended. The 21-year old-Californian has pleaded guilty to breaking into his high school during his senior year to install spyware on several computers, allowing him to steal tests and change his (and others’) grades from Cs and …
Want to Play a Real-Life Crush the Castle?
If you’ve ever played a successful Flash game called Crush the Castle, you’ll know how much fun it is to hurl virtual rocks at evil royal enemies with your trusty medieval trebuchet.
In fact, hurling rocks turns out to be so much fun that doing it on screen just isn’t enough. People want to hurl something real. People want …
Apple Bullies Adult “App Store” Over Trademark
Amazon isn’t the only target of Apple’s “App Store” trademark assault. MiKandi, a purveyor of porn apps for Android phones, has changed its slogan after receiving a cease and desist from Apple.
MiKandi, whose storefront is completely separate from the Android Market, once called itself “the world’s first app store for adults.” Now, …
Explaining the Google Books Case Saga
A federal court yesterday rejected a settlement between Google, authors and publishers, throwing into doubt the search company’s plans to make every book ever published searchable online.
Acknowledging in his opinion that “the creation of a universal digital library would benefit many,” federal district court judge Denny Chin …
Nielsen Sues ComScore For Patent Infringement
Who watches the men that watch the world wide web? Apparently, the answer is “each other.” The Nielsen Company has filed a lawsuit against ComScore over five patents connected to the tracking, reporting and analysis of web traffic and computer activity, which Nielsen claims are being violated by ComScore. Interestingly enough, one of the …
App Review: GarageBand for iPad
One of Apple’s selling points for the iPad 2 was the introduction of a five-dollar app version of their music-creation-and-editing software GarageBand. The short version: It’s not the Perfect Instrument; it’s not as powerful as the full-featured desktop version of GarageBand. It’s a toy, and it’s not worth buying an iPad solely to have …
Take A Self-Portrait Every Day. Every Day. Every Day
Remember this guy?
If you’ve spent any time at all on the internet in the last few years, you’re probably responsible for one of the 18 million (now approaching 19 million) views of his video, mashing together years’ worth of self-portraits into a few minutes of thrashing hair and regular shaving.
His name is Noah Kalina, he’s a
…
Apple Sues Amazon Over “App Store” Trademark
Just a day after leaked shots of Amazon’s app store surfaced online, Apple filed a complaint in court that their trademark “App Store” was being used. Looks like Amazon may have accidentally ruffled some feathers.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Apple lawsuit states “Amazon has begun improperly using Apple’s App Store …
(BONUS) Joint Venture 203: The Venture Bros. from the Very Beginning
Here at Techland, only one television program manages to tie into so many of our geeky obsessions all at once. Superheroes, mythical creatures, action figures and barely believeable sci-fi all flop onto each other on the glorious cavalcade that is The Venture Bros. Cartoon Network’s just started airing the series from the start and …
Joint Venture 202: The Venture Bros. from the Very Beginning
Here at Techland, only one television program manages to tie into so many of our geeky obsessions all at once. Superheroes, mythical creatures, action figures and barely believeable sci-fi all flop onto each other on the glorious cavalcade that is The Venture Bros. Cartoon Network’s just started airing the series from the start and …