To paraphrase Sufjan Stevens, it’s almost Christmas! Don’t feel sad! But it has to be said: Netflix Instant is really lacking when it comes to seasonal fare to enjoy over the next couple of days when the Yule Log gets a little too repetitive. Sure, they’ve got clips of the movies you’d really want to be watching and everyone’s favorite …
Apps & Web
Apple, Canon, TiVo Sued For Patent Infringment
Alcatel-Lucent has declared war on Apple, Canon, LG and TiVo with a new lawsuit alleging that each of the companies is knowingly using Alcatel-Lucent patented technology without appropriate royalty payment. The lawsuit, filed earlier this week through Multimedia Patent Trust, a holding company set up by Alcatel-Lucent, says that …
Program To Track Your Missing Mac Laptop Free Until 2011
There’s a free application to track your missing iPhone, so why shouldn’t there be a free program to track your missing laptop?
In an act of Christmas spirit, Hidden is offering a free download of their laptop tracking application, good for iMacs or Mac Books. The program only activates when you go to Hidden’s official website and ask …
YouTube Plays Santa To 500 Filmmakers
Google is putting $500,000 where its mouth is, giving YouTube content partners early Christmas presents to enable them to buy new video equipment. The company is offering 500 of its favorite content providers $1000 each in credit to B&H Photo – the favorite camera equipment store of Google co-founder Sergey Brin – as a thank you for …
Viacom Sells Rock Band Studio To Bankers
It may have failed to bring in any profit and resulted in two lawsuits against the company, but at least Viacom can go into 2011 safe in the knowledge that Rock Band isn’t its problem anymore. It was announced today that the company has sold Harmonix, the studio responsible for the series of videogames, to Columbus Nova, a New York-based …
The Comic Book Club: Archie Meets Obama and Palin
This is what happens when Techland goes to the comic book store: we end up talking about what we picked up. This week, Evan Narcisse, Graeme McMillan and Douglas Wolk discuss Archie #616–the Obama/Palin milkshake special.
EVAN: I haven’t picked up an Archie comic in probably close to a decade, so my response to this one has been as …
Facebook Blocks j.mp Links Over Spam Concerns
Due to a tidal wave of spam-filled links from Bit.ly’s j.mp URL shortener, Facebook has temporarily blocked the links from the site. “As part of our effort to keep Facebook and the people who use our service secure, we closely monitor the content shared on the site for spam and malicious content,” Facebook said of the blockage. …
The ISS Crew Wishes You A Merry Christmas
They may be as far away from all the celebrations as possible, but the crew of the International Space Station wishes us peace on Earth and a Merry Christmas. Expedition 26 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA and Flight Engineers Cady Coleman of NASA and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency took some time out to beam a message down to …
Two Minute Video: Google’s Web-only Notebook, the Cr-48
Google’s web-only Chrome OS (operating system) will hit the consumer market next year, with several major manufacturers selling inexpensive notebooks that boot directly into a web browser–no desktop, no “Start Menu,” no “Dock,” just the web.
Until consumer products become available, Google has loaded Chrome OS onto a prototype …
Viacom Sued Twice By Former Rock Band Owners
Viacom just can’t catch a break legally. Not only are they embroiled in an ongoing legal battle over whether YouTube is infringing on their copyright, but now they’re being sued themselves by the former owners of Rock Band over hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of royalties – twice. Even as a lawsuit over money owed to former …
The Ten Best Comic Books of 2010
On Tuesday, we posted our list of the ten best graphic novels of 2010. But what about comic books–serials published one slim issue at a time, from the superhero mainstream to the outer limits? That’s what this list covers. For a series to qualify, there had to have been at least two issues published this calendar year.
On to the …
The Three Songs You Need To Download This Week
December 22, 2010 –
There’s a lot of music online–more than most people have time to keep up with. That’s why you’ve got us. Every week, we’ll point you toward three excellent new songs from chart-topping stars, cult favorites and unknown geniuses, and show you where you can find them as free downloads or videos.
1. The ingenious …