RUMOR: APPLE TV TO STREAM NETFLIX MOVIES

Bloomberg is reporting that the upcoming Apple TV will stream Netflix movies.  Bloomberg cites three people familiar with the plans and states "The streaming service would be available on revamped version of Apple TV....users would pay a subscription fee to Netflix for the service." [Bloomberg Business Week]

T-MOBILE LAUNCHING HSPA+ IN 9 MORE MARKETS

T-Mobile has announced they have expanded their HSPA+ network into 9 additional markets.  If you live in Boston, MA; Erie, PA; Fresno, CA; Palm Springs, CA; San Diego, CA; Miami, FL; Richmond, VA; Spokane, WA or Topeka, KS you can now enjoy all the goodness of HSPA+, unfortunately there currently aren't any phones with HSPA+.

AMAZON LAUNCHING SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO SERVICE

The New York Times is reporting that Amazon is working on a subscription-based streaming TV and movie video service. The service will focus on older content which is easier to obtain and license from the media companies. The service is expected to launch by Christmas.

This is not the first time Amazon has stepped into the streaming video services arena. A number o years ago they launched Unbox, which morphed into Video On Demand, with over 40,000 programs so they have some experience running a streaming service. [NY Times]

LIVESTREAM THE APPLE EVENT TOMORROW

Apple will be livestreaming their media event tomorrow.  Head on over to apple.com tomorrow at 10am PT to watch all the announcements live.  Of course this is limited to those on Macs, running Safari on Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard, an iPhone, iPod Touch running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad.

WEBSITE FOR "THE SOCIAL NETWORK" GOES LIVE

The offiicial website for the movie "The Social Network" has launched.  The movie hits theaters October 1st.

"The Social Network" takes a look at the youngest billionaire in history, Jeff Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook and the personal and legal complications his success has brought him.  It stars Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara, Brenda Song, Max Minghella and Justin Timberlake.

RUMOR: NEW iPHONE 4 COMING

A Mexican cellphone carrier Telcel executive is claiming that Apple will be releasing a redesigned iPhone 4 in late September to alleviate the antenna problem that has plagued the phone since it's launch in June.  This goes along with what we have bee hearing behind the scenes at Apple, that a software fix won't work and they are working on a hardware solution to the problem.

There could be an announcement as early as tomorrow at the Apple event. [Canal-MX via Gizmodo]

NEW XBOX 360 CONTROLLER NO LONGER A RUMOR

The rumored new Microsoft Xbox 360 controller has made an appearance.  Major Nelson has a video up of the controller and we have a picture.  As reported the D-pad turns into a four way directional pad with a twist and more comfortable grips. Oh, and it's silver.

That's the good news...the bad news is it will only be part of a $65 bundle that comes out November 9th. [Major Nelson]

RUMOR: NEW XBOX CONTROLLER COMING

There is a new rumor hitting the game sites that Microsoft will be releasing a new and improved Xbox 360 game controller.  Specifically, the D-pad when rotated ninety degrees will raise up about a quarter of an inch.  This is apparently targeted towards fighting game fans.

There are a lot of questions still to be answered and Microsoft is remaining mum about the whole thing. [Joystiq]

GMAIL GETS PRIORITY INBOX FEATURE

Over the next week or so, Google will roll out Priority Inbox to all Gmail users.  Priority Inbox will evaluate how often you read email from the sender, respond to the email, etc. to help organize your inbox.  In theory this should keep your most emails up top and the lower priority emails to the bottom.

Google blog has a nice 2 minute video describing this new service.

RUMOR: CISCO TO BUY SKYPE

Cisco has made an initial offer to buy Skype according to a source at TechCrunch.  Cisco is trying to get the deal done before the IPO process is complete for Skype, who has filed with SEC.  Skype is hoping for a valuation of around $5 billion and Cisco would have to make an offer in that range to make it of interest.

Google has also been rumored to be interested in Skype, however anti-trust concerns may have persuaded them not to pursue the acquisition.

HP TO PAY $55 MILLION TO US GOVERNMENT

HP will pay $55 million to settle claims it defrauded the US government.  The company is accused of offering kickbacks to ensure its products were purchased by the US government agencies. [Gizmodo]

GOOGLE BUYS SOCIALDECK

Game developer SocialDeck was acquired by Google today.  SocialDeck though relatively new has created a platform that allow for play "anywhere, anytime, anyone" which is it's vision.  The company has launched several titles for the iPhone, Facebook and Blackberry using its social networking platform technology, which enables simultaneous play across multiple mobile devices and social networks.

Wendy Rozeluk of Google Canada as quoted in the Canadian Press "SocialDeck's team and technology is a perfect addition to our current team of engineers in Waterloo (Ont.), to continue to innovate in the social and mobile web." [TechCrunch]

MICROSOFT: BEWARE THE HIDDEN ANDROID COSTS

Any good marketing campaign will tout the benefits of your product while showing you the deficiencies of the competition.  Some companies do this very well, others not so well.  Microsoft has released a set of statements that tout the upcoming Windows Phone 7 OS (WP7) over that of rival Android.

Some of the statements and "facts" Microsoft uses are valid, others are questionable and some are just out right false.  Gizmodo has a breakdown of the good, not-so-good and bad statements Microsoft has made.

Good:

• WP7 manufacturers are protected against IP lawsuits, unlike Android licensees.
• WP7 architecture allows for easy customization, using a plug-in architechture independent of underlying OS.  Microsoft claims this reduces the cost for the OEM as they don't have to re-tinker the whole thing every time Microsoft releases an update.
• WP7 supports automated testing.  Microsoft claims Android does not, so the quality assurance phase is more expensive on Android.

Not-So-Good:

• Android manufacturers have to tailor the OS to their devices, creating drivers for various components, incurring additional development cost.  WP7 is plug and play according to Microsoft.  Google can argue that manufacturers need to differentiate from each other and customization will always be needed.
• Android manufacturers must be licenses for must-have features standard in WP7.  That argument is not so strong because you can argue that Windows Office integration is not a must-have feature.  Audio and video codecs, or location services are must-have features that Microsoft argues that Android manufacturers need to license.

Bad:

• Android manufacturers need to spend extra money to create "user experiences" comparable to Microsoft's own Metro UI, Zune or Xbox Live.  While it is true WP7 has a nice user interface, Android manufacturers don't need to re-create this.  They can happily use Google's own stock Android or ignore some features, which are not required for a phone to be successful.

[Business Insider via Gizmodo]

iPHONE 4 PROXIMITY GLITCH NOT FIXED IN iOS 4.1

When Steve Jobs took to the stage for an unprecedented media event (we won't call it a press conference because it wasn't) to talk about the antenna issue that was swirling everywhere at the time, he also promised the proximity sensor glitch would be fixed with the next major iOS 4 update.  According to sources close to the final beta test of iOS 4.1, the glitch is not fixed by the update. [theNextWeb]

RUMOR: APPLE HINTS AT iTUNES STREAMING SERVICE

Apple likes to create surveys for users of it's products to help determine what they would like in future services and devices.  Sometimes those surveys can give us a hint of what Apple is working on, such as the most recent one.  The question asks "What are the primary reasons for your satisfaction with video content you've purchased or rented from iTunes and watched on the iPad?".  The choices included the obvious convience, ease of use, great selection of titles, etc.  But  one gives us a clue as to a potential new offering, "Titles are available to watch instantly."  While the iPad requires the entire file to be downloaded before playing and the current Apple TV requires a bit of buffering this could be big hint at a future service for both devices.

XBOX LIVE PRICE INCREASE COMING IN NOVEMBER

Just in time for the holidays Microsoft brings Xbox Live members a price increase.  Starting in November prices will increase for membership in the US, Canada, Mexico and the UK according to Major Nelson's blog. .  According to the blog, the prices will increase as shown in the grid below.   Now might be a good time to renew that membership while the prices are lower

NINTENDO DROPPING PRICE OF DSi, DSi XL BY $20

Probably due to sales of the Nintendo portable gaming system have dropped for the first time and the introduction of a new version of their system in the very near future, Nintendo will be dropping the prices of their systems.

According to the press release "Effective Sept. 12, the new suggested retail price of the Nintendo DSi system will be $149.99, while the new suggested retail price for the Nintendo DSi XL system will be $169.99."  Pricing for the Nintendo DS Lite will remain at $129.99. [Ars Technica]

NEW CHATROULETTE IS UP

Chatroulette has been down to prep for the launch of a redesigned site.  After being down for a week the new site is up and running.  Reviews have panned it as half-broken with awful looks, no new censor options and crashes frequently.  The good news is that it now shows your cam in a small window in the upper left corner.

RUMOR: YOUTUBE TO OFFER PAY-PER-VIEW MOVIES

The Financial Times (regsistration required) is reporting that YouTube's parent Google has been in talks with major movie studios recently.  The rumor going around is Google wants to offer pay-per-view movies via their YouTube web property.  Each movie would cost around $5 and be available at the same time as the DVD release.

YouTube has been testing a pay-per-view option, using indie titles, since early this year.  If Google reaches agreements with the studios they expect to launch by end of this year.

LEAKED: HONDA FIT HYBRID

The 2012 Honda Fit Hybrid is set to make it's debut at the Paris Auto Show in September.  Car and Driver magazine has some photos and specs of this new vehicle.

It will wear the Jazz name in Europe and Fit Hybrid in Japan.  Unfortunately, there are no plans to bring it to the US at this time.  The hybrid will have the usual powerplant of electric and gas engines sandwiched together that Honda uses in most of its hybrid vehicles.  [Photo Gallery]

BACK TO SCHOOL COMPUTER BUYING TIPS

Your child is headed back to school, but you don't know what kind of computer to get to help them through their academic endeavors?  Check out this top 10 list to help make that decision.   From deciding on desktop, laptop or tablet to hard drives and OSes this list will help you make a smart decision for your little Johnny and Jannie.

50 WAYS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF WINDOWS 7

PC Magazine has a great set of 50 tips for getting the most out of our Windows 7 OS computer.  These tips and tricks will help boost the speed, make it more secure, improve its looks, customize it and much more.  Some of the tips are obvious and others aren't.

LEAKED: SAMSUNG GALAXY TABLET AGAIN

The Samsung Galaxy tablet has popped up again over at Engadget, along with a few more pics.  According to the source the Galaxy came with CDMA label on the side.  The source also praised the device for strong speakers, call quality and ability to run Flash.  The Galaxy is allegedly running Android 2.2.

AMAZING PHOTOS OF CREEPY CRAWLIES

The Telegraph has an amazing slideshow of creepy crawlies.  Each insect and spider was photographed using a scanning electron microscope to get these up close photos.  Each photo is accompanied by an explanation of the creature.

0 VIEWS BRINGS THE BEST OF THE WORST OF YOUTUBE

YouTube has a bunch of successful contributors so most people think all they have to do is put up a video and become an overnight sensation.  Most of the time this doesn't happen.  So, what happens to those videos?  A new website is scouring the bottom of the barrel for YouTube videos.  Zeroviews.biz has taken to trying to find those rare gems that are so bad they are good, but don't get any play on YouTube.

CLEARWIRE TO OFFER PAY-AS-YOU-GO

In a SEC filing WiMax provider Clearwire states they will be offering a pay-as-you-go service.  The companies filing states it "plans to serve a new pay-as-you-go customer segment".  No other details were offered so it is unclear what Clearwire has planned.  Some analysts have speculated this new offering is in response to MetroPCS's impending entry into the prepaid 4G market.  

Clearwire's network is also resold thru Best Buy, Comcast, Sprint and Time Warner.  There is no word on how this move by Clearwire will affect the services offered by these resellers. [Fierce Wireless]

MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER SUES 11 COMPANIES

Ars Technica has a great article up concerning the recent lawsuit Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has filed against 11 companies.  The companies including, Google, Apple, Facebook, NetFlix, YouTube and Yahoo are named as defendants for violating four patents owned by Paul Allen's company Interval Licensing LLC.

According to the article the patents revolve around three main concepts.  The first is the use of a browser for navigating through information.  Second, managing a users peripheral attention while using a device and third alerting users to items of current interest.  These collectively address the concept of  presenting searched-for information to a user along with related articles, media, status updates, or data. [Ars Technica]

LEAKED: NEW TRON LEGACY TRAILER

A new Tron Legacy trailer has hit the interwebs.  While it doesn't show a whole lot of things we haven't seen before it is still worth a look.

Tron Legacy is a movie about 27 year old Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) still haunted by his father's, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), disappearance.  Kevin was once known as the world's leading video game developer.  When Sam tracks down the source of a mysterious signal sent from Sam's old arcade he finds himself pulled into a digital world, where he and his father embark on a life or death journey across a cyber universe.

Tron Legacy hits theaters and IMAX 3D on December 17th. [Latino Review]

MYSTERY HTC DEVICE HEADED TO VERIZON

Boy Genius Reports has some pictures of a mysterious HTC device reportedly headed to Verizon.  Sources describe the device as very EVO, but in a larger, more polished Nexus One body of brushed aluminum giving it a higher end feel.

From the pictures it appears to be sporting an 8MP camera with dual-LED flash, kickstand, 4.3 inch screen 3.5mm headphone jack and a front facing camera.

No name or release date has been announced. [Boy Genius Report]

LEAKED: NEW iPOD NANO

Apple is getting ready to introduce a new redesigned iPod Nano at their event next week.   The new iPod will resemble the Shuffle in size. The Nano will have a 3cm x 3cm display packed in a case only slightly larger and have buttons the side.  Unlike the Shuffle the Nano will probably not have a special USB cable that plugs into the headphone jack, but will retain the 30-pin connector. [AppleInsider]

GOOGLE VOICE VOXOX GETTING A FACE-LIFT

Google Voice's desktop software VoxOx is getting a facelift.  Gone is the black and red in favor of a more updated look.  Functionality will remain the same, which is a good thing. 

VoxOx lets users call, text, chat, fax, share files and more for free or cheaply.  You can sign up for an invitation at VoxOx. [Gizmodo]

KINDLE 3 REVIEW

Engadget has posted a review of the just released Amazon Kindle 3.  Per the review the new Kindle is extremely iterative.  It is lighter and thinner than previous models and page turn is 20% faster.  Pricing for the WiFi model is   $139 and the WiFi/3G model is $189, which are competitive prices for this quality device.

Head on over to Engadget for the full review.

PEOPLE READING MORE THANKS TO E-READERS

Amazon is reporting their customers are buying 3.3 times more books if they purchase a Kindle.  Almost 11million people will be reading ebooks by the end of the month and ebook sales have grown 183% over last year.  [WS Journal]

RUMOR: RED DEAD REDEMPTION MOVIE

Brad Pitt is up for the film role of John Marston, the lead character in Red Dead Redemption, the wildly popular video game.  This isn't Brad's first foray into a western theme having played Jesse James in the movie Assassination of Jesse James.

Showbizspy states "Sources say the hollywood heartthrob is the hot favorite to play renegade John Marston in an epic cowboy shoot-em-up based on the Playstation game."  "This is an exciting project with a great character at the center of it."  "The idea is to make this in the style of an epic Western movie but with a few modern twists."  "Brad is perfect for the role and he is being given first refusal."

MICROSOFT SPENDING BILLIONS ON WINDOWS PHONE 7

Microsoft is spending billions of dollars on marketing and development of their upcoming Windows Phone 7.  Microsoft has a lot riding on this project and could make or break their presence in the mobile OS field.

Compared to Microsoft, Verizon, Motorola and Google spent roughly $100 million to bring Android to market and make it viable according to Jonathan Goldberg, telecommunications analyst at Deutsche Bank. [TechCrunch]

MARSHMALLOWS WITH A KICK

Stay Puft Marshmallows come with a kick.   Sure that sweet blob of sugar is delicious, but these also come with a caffeine kick to them.  Each one of these Ghostbuster collectibles contains over 100mg of caffeine.

Stay Puft Marshmallows can be purchased over at Think Geek for $19.99 for a box of 16.  The box is rubbery to make this a truly unique item.

APPLE PARTS WAYS WITH DESIGN COMPANY SURFACEINK

Apple has ditched design firm SurfaceInk after a 10 year relationship.  Apparently, SurfaceInk showed off a prototype tablet back in June that was too similiar to the iPad.  The prototype is 12.1 inches and runs Linux.

SurfaceInk also designs for HP and Palm, but it wasn't until they showed of the prototype that Apple got worried. [NY Times]

LEAKED: HTC VISION/VANGUARD/G2 TO SHIP SEPT. 29

HTC and T-Mobile are expected to announce on September 15th the Vision/Vanguard/G2 Android phone.  The is the hotly anticipated replacement to the aging G1.  The new phone is expecting to be released on September 29th.

The G2 is expected to run stock Android 2.2 (Froyo) and have a new processor.  The processor is a MSM7x30 Snapdragon with an Adreno 205 GPU on board.  [Android Central]

BLOCKBUSTER TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY IN SEPTEMBER

According to several LA Times sources, Blockbuster will be filing for bankruptcy protections next month.  According to the sources Blockbuster's chief executive met with representatives of their major debt holders and  the six major movie studios to announce the companies decision.

Blockbuster is trying to restructure it's existing $920 million in debt and keep the movies coming in.  It is expected to close another 500+ of it's remaining 3,245 US stores.  Since 2008 Blockbuster has lost $1.1 billion.  It is expected that Blockbuster's senior debt holders will hold a significant portion of the company after bankruptcy is over.

OVER 1 MILLION CALLS MADE FROM GMAIL

Google has released a statement saying the new calling feature in Gmail has seen over 1,000,000 calls placed in under 24 hours.  The new service allows users to place VoIP calls right from their browsers.  Calls to US and Canada for free and for reasonable rates to other countries around the world.

INTEL NEAR TO PURCHASE OF INFINEON

Intel is close to a purchase of Infineon Technologies wireless unit according to a Bloomberg report.  Infineon is the maker of the processors for the iPhone.  Intel is said to be offering $1.5 billion euros or about $1.91 billion dollars.

"Intel's big strategy is to be at the heart of computing everywhere" according to Alex Gauna, an analyst at JMP Securities LLC in San Francisco.

LG PUTTING FLEXIBLE E-PAPER INTO PRODUCTION

LG is putting a 9.7 inch color e-paper display and 19-inch flexible e-paper display into mass production by the end of the year according to an SEC filing via PC World.  Details are light, but the 19-inch display is the same as what was revealed back in January (pictured below).  It could be used for newspaper sized devices or digital signage.

HOTMAIL TO GET ACTIVESYNC SUPPORT

Over at CNET there is an report that Hotmail will get Exchange ActiveSync on Monday.  Their report has Dharmesh Mehta, director of product management for Windows Live, as the source.

If you have a desktop client or mobile app that supports ActiveSync you will be able to get push email, contacts and calendar appointments.

OFFICIAL FROYO UPDATE COMING FOR HTC DROID INCREDIBLE

For those of you who are skittish on rooting your HTC Droid Incredible to get Froyo (Android 2.2), don't despare.  According to our friends over at DroidLife, the official release of Froyo is coming tomorrow!  This update will include all the goodness of Froyo including Flash 10.1.

LEAKED: ANDROID 2.2 FOR HTC DROID INCREDIBLE

Shipped-Roms has a leaked version of Froyo (Android 2.2) available for download.  If you can't wait for the official release, go grab this executable dated August 26, 2010.

LEAKED: SAMSUNG GALAXY TABLET

There is a very blurry leaked video of the Samsung Galaxy tablet in operation over on Youtube.  This is going to be competing against a slew of other tablets coming out Q4 and the iPad.

IPHONE BECAMES CREDIT CARD PROCESSOR THANKS TO MOPHIE AND INTUIT

Credit card processing is becoming the hot app for the iPhone.  Thanks to Mophie and Intuit there is now a competitor to Square.  Using the Mophie created app and reader device you can except credit card payments for an initial set-up fee of $179 and $0.30-$0.34 per transaction through the Intuit's GoPayment system.  This transaction fee is double that of Square who only charges $0.15 per transaction.

However, the Mophie/Intuit system will charge a smaller total overall payment fee of 1.7% - 3.7% depending on the type of card being used.  Square is charging 2.75%-3.5% comparatively.

Currently, this only works on the iPhone 3G/GS, but an iPhone 4 app is in the works.

NETFLIX APP UPDATE INCLUDES IPHONE AND IPOD TOUCH

The newest version of the Netflix app, previously only for the iPad, is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  The app, version 1.1.0 is available for download now.

DROID 2 ROOTED

The recently released Droid 2 on the Verizon network has been rooted.  If you are looking for free tethering or just to run apps that may require root access head on over to the xda-developers forum and grab the instructions.  As always proceed at your own risk.

'GHOST RIDER' GOES 3D

The sequel to Ghost Rider is going to be filmed in 3D vs. having it done in post-production.  Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence is set to begin filming in Romania this fall.  Nicholas Cage will be reprising his role of Johnny Blaze and stated:

"I'll be filming it in Romania, which is exciting, since that's where Dracula's castle is.  The Ghost Rider has to write (sic) up to the Dracula's castle."


Why he is riding up to Dracula's castle is up for debate as the official plot synopsis has not been released yet.

MEIJER TESTING INDOOR GPS

Midwestern superstore Meijer is testing the use of an indoor GPS from Point Inside.  Since satellites aren't available inside, they are using WiFi access points.  The system is being tested in four Michigan stores.  It will allow users to locate "more than" 10,000 items in store along with bathrooms and customer service.

The stores have 26 WiFi nodes deployed, which helps triangulate users down to a reasonable area of precision. It is a free download for iPhone and Android users.  You can read the press release here.

RUMOR: MS EXPLORER 9 INTERFACE EXPOSED

According to Mary-Jo Foley of ZDNet, she has seen the new interface of IE9.  The UI is not suppose to be unveiled for another month, but through a slip-up of Microsoft's Russian press site, it appears in all it's glory.

Through the slip-up and some translation Foley says the new layout consolidates existing functions for a larger, clearer less cluttered view of the internet.  The URL bar and search box have been consolidated and familiar 'Favorites' and  'Suggested Sites' are noticeably absent.

Foley also mentions a feature that will let users turn "recognized" and "protected" sites into web apps that can be launched from the taskbar..whatever that means.

AMAZON SELLING SAMSUNG CAPTIVATE FOR 1 CENT

That's right...for just one shiny penny (and a 2-year contract on AT&T), you can get yourself a Samsung Captivate!  AND, if you order between August 15th and August 31st, Amazon will waive the $36 activation fee.  This is unfortunately only for new activations, if you are already a subscriber on AT&T you can have the Captivate for $99.

The Samsung Captivate has a 4-inch AMOLED display, 1GHz processor and up to 32GB of expandable memory along with a 5MP camera.

GARMIN RECALLING NUVI NAVIGATION DEVICES

Garmin is voluntarily recalling 1.2 million nuvi navigation devices due to faulty batteries.  Some of the devices, with a specific printed circuit board could contain defect 3rd party batteries.  The devices could in "rare circumstances, increase the possibility of overheating, which may lead to a fire hazard".  Go to Garmin to see if your devices is on the recall list.  Your devices serial number will be used to see if it is subject to recall.

YAHOO SEARCH NOW BING POWERED IN US AND CANADA

Yahoo has announced they have converted their web, image and video searches over to Bing.  Microsoft has noted that this is only for Yahoo's English searches in the US and Canada.

The change comes after almost a year since Microsoft and Yahoo agreed on search and ads in an effort to combat Google.  The Yahoo search results still appear the same, with exception of a small tag line "Powered by Bing" at the bottom of the page. [Ars Technica]

MAKE CALLS THRU GMAIL

Google is hooking up gmail users with the ability to make calls over a web-based VOIP client.  According to CNET the VOIP client is the reason Google bought Gizmo5 and could make life a little simpler by letting use Google Talk in our web-based gmail client to make calls.

APPLE HOSTING AN EVENT SEPT. 7TH

Apple will be hosting and event on September 7th.  This is, as almost all Apple events, on a Tuesday and in line with an iPod refresh announcement.

DELL RELEASES FIRST CELL PHONE

Dell has released it's first US smartphone, the Aero, through AT&T.  This $100 (with 2-year contract) Android phone was initially promoted "as the worlds lightest" phone, but has been downgraded to "one of the lightest" smartphones.

The Aero has Android 1.5, with no word on an upgrade to a new version.  Internally, it has a 5MP camera with an 8x zoom and up to 32GB microSD memory and a 624Mhz processor with a display of 3.5".

RUMOR: APPLE READYING 99 CENT TV SHOW RENTAL

Apple is working on bringing 99 cent TV show rentals to iTunes according to Bloomberg's report.  They have nearly locked in Fox with CBS and Disney not far behind.  Apple is in advanced talks with Fox to allow rental of their TV shows for 48 hours for 99 cents.  

CAMERON STATES 2014 UNTIL AVATAR SEQUEL

James Cameron is still writing extensive notes on the sequel to Avatar and does not expect it to hit the big screen until 2014.  Cameron has always envisioned Avatar as a trilogy and wants to film parts two and three together.  He is currently mapping out the story arc and has a definite ending for part two.

Avatar has earned $2.7 billion at the box office so far and that amount is expected to sky rocket when the film is re-released in theaters for a limited run, featuring nine minutes of never before seen footage. [WENN]

CAPTAIN AMERICA SET PICS

Latino Review has a bunch of pictures from the currently in production movie Captain America: First Avenger.  The pictures are mostly crowd shots showing period costumes and waving British flags celebrating the end of the war.

APPLE PATENT FOR TOUCHSCREEN iMACS FOUND

Engadget has found a patent by Apple for a touchscreen iMac.  The patent apparently shows the new iMac will be able to switch from mouse to touchscreen input by flipping the screen.  The patent is extremely vague, as most patents are, but the basics show the high resolution screen (for mouse input) shifts to a low resolution screen (perfect for finger input) by changing the position of the screen.

EQUESTRIAN AIR BAGS

Airbag vests are commonly available, but not widely used, by motorcyclists.  Now that same technology is being adopted by the equestrian community.  A vest with inflatable bladders is worn by the rider.  The vest has a safety cord which attaches to the saddle and when a rider falls off the cord pops off and the vest is inflated by a small CO2 canister. [NY Times]

TOSHIBA TO LAUNCH 3 GLASSLESS 3D TVs THIS YEAR

Toshiba is getting ready to launch the worlds first 3D televisions that do not require special glasses to be worn by the viewer.  They will not launch 3 models, each costing several thousand dollars, by the end of the year according to Yahoo News!.

GOOGLE GOGGLES COMING TO AN iPHONE NEAR YOU

According to Yahoo News! the Google Goggles app is coming to the iPhone by the end of the year.  Google Goggles is a visual search service.  The user takes a picture of a specific item and it is sent to Googles cloud service which returns search results, including shopping links.

GOOGLE MOBILE APP ADDS PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

Google has updated it's mobile app for iPhone.  The update includes push notifications for Gmail and Google calendar.   The update should be available very soon here.

An icon badge appears to alert you to new Gmail and event reminders appear on your home screen for Google calendar.

Also, information will appear faster.  When searching for flight info, weather, stock quotes or currency conversion, you'll see answers before you hit Search. [Google Mobile Blog]

RUMOR: FANTASTIC FOUR REBOOT CASTING

The Fantastic Four franchise is going to reboot and is starting to cast the roles of Mr. Fantastic, The Thing, Invisible Woman and The Human Torch.

Rumor has it Amber Heard might be up for the role of the Invisible Woman.  Heard has starred in Pineapple Express and Zombieland.

According to Fox, the owner of the rights to Fantastic Four, the movie will not move into production until X-Men: First Class has been proven a success.

TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR ANDROID BATTERY LIFE

When cell phones only made calls or even included texting getting a few days out of single charge was possible.  Now with the inclusion of 3G/4G, GPS, faster processors, larger screens and software that runs in the background some users are lucky to get a single day out of their devices.

PCMag has 8 tips that will help with that battery hogging device and hopefully give you a little more juice.  These tips include setting brightness, turning off polling software and dumping unnecessary home screen widgets.

MERCEDES UNVEILS NEW 2012 CLS CLASS

Leftlane has a great slideshow of the new 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS Class four-door coupe.  The vehicle is set to make it's official debut at the Paris Auto Show later this year.

The new CLS has a more aggressive front and rear and is considerably more styled than it's predecessor.

MOTOROLA UPDATES ANDROID UPGRADE PAGE

If you want to know when your Motorola handset will be upgraded to Android 2.1 or 2.2 head on over to the Motorola support forums.  They have updated their "Android Software Upgrade" page with new three to six month windows for the update for your phone.

Below is the info for the US.  Head over to the forums for the full list.

RUMOR: TOSHIBA TABLET MAKES APPEARANCE

We already know what the Toshiba tablet is going to look like, technically anyway.  It was waved around briefly in Australia and these shots seem to confirm it, however complete confirmation is a little light.  

According to Toshiba, the Smart Pad will have HDMI and USB ports along with an attractive slender profile.    The four buttons on the right indicate an Android OS.  

According to Notebookitalia(Google translated), Toshiba will unveil this at IFA this year.

JUPITER GETS HIT BY METEOR

On Friday an amateur astronomer caught an apparent meteor impact on Jupiter on camera.  More observations and analysis is needed to confirm this is a real impact and not sunlight reflecting off a satellite.

Researchers doubt this impact will leave a scar like the impact from July 2009 did.

CHATROULETTE UPGRADE COMING TODAY

If you are a user of Chatroullette you will encounter an announcement when accessing the site today.

"The experiment #1 is over now. Thanks for participating. Renewed and updated version of the website will be launched today."

Teenager, and founder, Andrey Ternovskiy has something up his sleeve and hopefully it will keep people interested in his site.

LEARN TO MAKE YOUR OWN BATARANG

Thinking of dressing as Batman this Halloween, or just for casual fridays?  Then you need to learn how to make your own folding batarang as seen in the game "Batman: Arkham Asylum".

According to spookylean at instructables.com it only takes about 10 hours and $17 to make your very own realistic looking batarang.

RUMOR: BEST BUY TO PUSH TABLETS THIS HOLIDAY

According to a Forbes report, via Gizmodo, Best Buy will have a huge influx of tablets for the holidays this year. No mention of specific models/brands, but one can imagine the iPad will not be alone on the displays this year.  Buyers will be inundated with choices from Android, Windows7 and iOS.

MOVIE ABOUT GOOGLE FOUNDERS PLANNED

A movie based on Sergey Brin and Larry Page is in the works.  Groundswell Productions and producer John Morris have purchased the rights to "Googled: The End of the World As We Know It".

The plot?  The rise of Brin and Page as their search algorithm makes them billionaires.

With this movie and the soon to be released "The Social Network", are we going to see more "real-life" based rags to riches tech movies?

ANIMALS THAT HAVE BEEN TO SPACE

Newsweek has a slideshow of the animals that went into space.  From dogs to frogs and everything in between.

PREVIEW: GOOGLE TV

The fine folks over at StuffWeLike.com have a video up showing a preview of the Google TV interface. This was recorded at Comic Con 2010.  Head on over and take a look.

2012 BMW M6 SPOTTED

This heavily camouflaged BMW M6 was spotted in Nurburgring.  It appears to share many of the exterior shapes of the recently unveiled Gran Coupe concept.  The Gran Coupe was shown as a 4-door concept at Beijing Auto Show.   The M6 is a 2-door with a more aggressive looking M spec bumper up front.  The twin kidney front grill and Gran Coupe-esque front headlights along with the quad exhaust in the rear give a hint of the speedy nature of this vehicle.

Under the hood, it is being reported that  the new M6 will receive a twin turbo-charged V8, just like the new M5.  The new M6 should reach BMW showrooms early next year as a 2012 model.

GOOGLE GMAIL VOICE AND VIDEO NOW SUPPORTS LINUX

Google announced on Thursday that their gmail voice and video chat now supports debian based Linux distributions. To download the plugin, head on over to gmail.com/videochat.

Text of Google's announcement:
If you’ve been wanting to use voice and video chat on Linux (our top video chat request), then we have good news for you: it’s now available! Visit gmail.com/videochat to download the plugin and get started. Voice and video chat for Linux supports Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions, and RPM support will be coming soon.

SEABREACHER X DOING IT'S THING

Watch Seabreacher X, the shark like submersible, go through it's paces.  Shamu, watch out your place as the star at Sea World may be in jeopardy.

5 WAYS TO DOWNLOAD TORRENTS ANONYMOUSLY

Looking for a way to download torrents, but afraid of running into RIAA, MPAA or any of the other torrent cops?  Lifehacker has just the list for you.  Some of the suggestions cost money, others are free.

Teh Gay Geek does not condone, nor advocate, downloading copyright material.

SNEAK PEEK: T-MOBILE G2

The T-Mobile bound G2 from HTC has made an appearance on Gizmodo, via Engadget.  Rumor has it the G2 is the American version of the HTC Vision.  Check out the great pics at Gizmodo.

Droid X update to Android 2.2 leaks out

My Droid World is reporting that Android 2.2 Froyo for the Droid X on Verizon is hitting the airwaves.

Wii Fit used to help diagnose concussions in football players

Concussions have become a major headline in sports pages across the globe.  Two universities are trying a novel approach to help diagnose this dangerous and sometimes deadly injury.

According to the Washington Post, athletic trainers at the University of Maryland and Ohio State University have been using the Wii Fit to test the balance of football players in order to more accurately diagnose concussions.  These tests are used to supplement, not replace, other forms of diagnostics.

PREVIEW: Kia Pop Electric Vehicle Concept

The fine folks over at Autoblog Green have a preview of the Kia Pop all electric concept vehicle debuting at the Paris Auto Show next month.

Kia has released very few details about the Pop, but we do know it is under 10 feet in length and has a three seat layout.

Is this a sign of the design direction Kia will be taking in the future or strictly an interesting concept?

Trillian IM client now in Android beta

Trillian, the awesome multi-IM client, is now available for Android, though it is a beta version.  Trillian has been available on the iPhone for awhile now and has just now become available on Android.

Trillian has photo sharing capabilities, along with the ability to push IMs to your email if Trillian is suspended.

Trillian is a free download for devices running Android 1.6 or higher.  It's not available in the Market so make sure you allow your device to accept non-Market apps.

San Fran airport wireless now free

San Francisco airport is the latest and the largest airport to get rid of their pay providers and launch free wireless internet service.  San Francisco joins Denver and Seattle airports in offering free wifi to their visitors.

AHHHHH...the moon is shrinking!!!!!

New research published in last Friday's edition of the journal Science indicates cracks in the moon's crust, that have formed as the interior has cooled and shrunk over the last billion years or so.  That means the surface has shrunk too, though not anyone could really see by looking at it.

People Magazine iPad version to be free to subscribers

According to CNN Money for the first time since the app debut 4 months ago People will be free on the iPad to subscribers.  Previously, it cost $3.99 per issue, regardless if you were a subscriber or not.  


Fortune and the rest of Time Inc.'s flagship magazines are expected to adopt the same pricing structure in the next 30 days.


It's not clear what took so long.  Publishers were ready from the start to make their titles free to subscribers.  Apple would not give them the tools they needed and would not explain what was holding them up.  Publishers are still unable to sell subscriptions thru the app store, which is how they would prefer to do it.

Gays Lesbians more likely to be early adopters of tech

According to Experian Simmons Fall 2009 LGBT study, gays and lesbians are 29% more likely to be above average early adopters of tech vs. 1% less likely for straights.

Almost 45 of gays and lesbians are above average early adopters while only 34% of heterosexuals are above aveage early adopters.  Conversely, almost 47% of heterosexuals are below average for early adoption of tech vs. 38% for gays and lesbians.

Should the tech sector put more money and effort into marketing to the gay and lesbian community?

Intel buying McAfee for $7.68 billion

Chip maker Intel has announced they are purchasing security software maker McAfee for $7.68 billion.  The $48/share price is a 60% premium over McAfee's Wednesday closing price of $29.93/share.

Intel, said security is now a fundamental component of online computing, but today's approach to security isn't adequate for the growing availability of internet connections on mobile phones, medical devices, ATMs, automobiles and elsewhere.  The industry needs a new approach that combines software, hardware and services to meet tomorrow's needs.

RUMOR: Next PSP to have touch controls on back

According to sources at Gamescon in Cologne, Germany this week, the upcoming PSP from Sony will feature touch controls on the back of the device for added gameplay input.  This version is expected to go on sale by end of 2011.

Is Sony finally taking note of the Nintendo DS and it's range of touch controls?

Previous rumors of the next PSP have it having dual cameras, a touchscreen, a four-cell processor and embedded 3G connectivity.

What are your thoughts?  Will any or all of this make you want to buy one?

Facebook launches Places

Facebook has announced they are launching a Foursquare competitor called Places. Places is designed for three things, to help you see where you are, help you see who's around and help you see what's going on nearby.

You can check in to your location and tag your friends with you.  Places will automatically check you in and create a news feed story showing where you are.  Facebook has also created an API for access to Places and Gowalla is the first partner to use it.  Rumor has it Foursquare and Yelp are also interested in using the API.

Places is available now for the iPhone, via an application update, and in Facebook's mobile website for advanced  mobile devices

Next iteration of Android will be called Honeycomb

The next version of Android, after Gingerbread (Android 3.0), is heavily rumored to be called Honeycomb according to TechRadar.  They state "Android Honeycomb will probably be Android 3.1 or Android 3.2, rather than a leap of unimaginable magic of Android 4.0".  What do you think of the name?

Incredible Macro Eye Pictures

Artist Suren Manvelyan has some incredible photos up of the human eye.  She used a macro view to capture the textures and colors unique to each individual.