GOLD DISPENSING ATMS COMING TO U.S.

Ever been out and found yourself a few grams of gold short?  Now all your troubles are solved.  Gold to Go vending machines are now coming to the U.S.  These ATM style machines will take your old nasty dirty paper money (or credit card) and spit out fresh 1, 5, 10 or 28 gram 24-carat gold bars.  You can opt to receive international coins from South Africa, Australia or Canada as well.  The machine will call back to the German headquaters to check gold prices six times per hour.  Hundreds have been slated for introduction to the U.S. with Las Vegas and Florida being the test areas. [Engadget]

KINDLE 3 EASTER EGGS

Eliot Hartley has done some digging into the Kindle 3, the latest e-reader from Amazon and has found some interesting easter eggs (hidden functionality).  There are 2 games, Minesweeper and GoMoku, an image viewer and some hotkeys.

To access the games click SHIFT + ALT +M.  This will bring up Minesweeper.  Clicking the G key will start the GoMoku, a strategy game also called 5 in a Row.  The image viewer has a few more steps, but is relatively easy.

1. Plug your Kindle 3 into the computer with the USB.
2. Open the Kindle drive that is now in your displayed with your removable drives, in the root (i.e. not in another folder) create a folder called “pictures” within that folder you can create a number of other folders (think of them as collections), then add your images/pictures to this (or these) folders. I’ve only tried Jpegs and they work fine.
3. Once finished safely unplug the Kindle and then press “alt” and “z” on the homescreen, this will refresh the screen and add your new folders.
4. Click on the folder/collection and Image Viewer should launch.
5. Once in the viewer the following control options are available:
f = full-screen
q = zoom in
w= zoom out
e = reset zoom
c = actual size
r = rotate
nav controller = pan

The hotkeys, helpful in quick navigation are:

• alt + shift + G = screenshot
• alt + G = screen refresh
• alt + home = Kindle Store
• alt + top row of letters on keyboard = numbers 1-9

And while reading a book:

• alt + B = add and remove bookmarks
• shift + Sym = Turn text to speech on and off
• set cursor down the page to start text to speech from there
• right arrow on nav controller = skip to next chapter
• left arrow on nav controller = skip to previous chapter

[Geek]

TRADE-IN SERVICE LAUNCHED BY VERIZON

Verizon has launched a new service that will allow users to trade-in their old phones for a Verizon Wireless gift card.  Users can go to www.trade-in.vzw.com and select the type of device they have, it doesn't have to be a Verizon device either.  A series of questions about the device are then displayed for answers by the user concerning the condition of the device.  An appraisal is then displayed for your device with an offer to send a pre-paid box to be shipped to you.  The gift cards can be used towards purchases for Verizon Wireless goods and services. [BGR]

JUDGE RULES 'PRIVATE' FACEBOOK DATA CAN BE USED AS EVIDENCE

In a ruling on a  personal injury case New York Justice Jeffery Spinner has ruled that data marked as private on social networks like Facebook and MySpace can be used as evidence in court.

The case was brought by the plaintiff against a chair company.  The chair company wanted access to her private pictures and wall postings.  Justice Spinner agreed that her public postings suggested a "reasonable likelihood" that her private stuff would contain evidence material to the trial.

Conversely, a judge in California ruled the exact opposite and kept the private information out of the court. [Engadget]

MONSTERS TRAILER

Monsters, the sci-fi, horror, thriller invasion movie has released the official trailer on YouTube.  The story revolves around a photo-journalist hired to bring back a wealthy man's daughter from an area around the alien infection zone.  The movie does not focus on the alien invasion, but instead on the photographer and daughter as they try to get back to the United States and what they see and document on the way there.

This movie, according to rumors, was shot with a budget between $15,000 and $500,000.  Gareth Edwards wrote, directed, shot, edited and handled special effects for the movie.  Most of the dialogue is ad-libbed with a loose framework scripted around it.

DELL TO SELL 7-INCH TABLET IN NEXT FEW WEEKS

Dell will launch a new 7-inch tablet computer in the next few weeks according to The Wall Street Journal citing Dell's Greater China President Amit Midha.  Midha also claims there will be a whole family of tablets coming from Dell over the next 6 to 12 months, including a 10-inch, a 4-inch and a 3-inch form factor.  All will be running Android, but it is not certain which version has been chosen at this time. [Engadget]

SKYPE TO GET INTIMATE WITH FACEBOOK

Sources close to the Skype 5 beta have let some new features slip concerning a deep integration with Facebook.    Skype is planning on deploying Facebook connect when the new version ships, which will allow users to log into Skype using their Facebook login information.  Also, they will be able to make voice and video calls to their Facebook contacts directly from the software. [Engadget]

BORDERS UNVEILS NEW KOBO EREADER

Borders has updated their Kobo ereader just in time for the start of the holiday shopping season.  The new Kobo will retail for $139, which is a $10 price drop.  It has a new processor and built in WiFi for downloading.  Also the OS has been tweaked with reviews being positive.  You can pre-order the device now in your choice of black, silver or lavendar, but it won't start shipping until November 1. [Engadget]

CISCO TO RELEASE HD CONSUMER TELEPRESENCE SYSTEM

Cisco has had a corporate telepresence system for quite some time.  Now, it wants to move into the consumer end to give the average person the ability to teleconference in HD.  A device and service priced between $200 and $500 (depending on carrier subsidies) is expected to be announced at a press conference next week.  It would allow for video calling, much like SkypeHD.  The company will be launching "inexpensive home telepresence product for personal use" according to All Things Digital.  Marthin De Beer, Cisco Senior VP, stated earlier this year "We didn't buy Flip to have it be only a video recorder." [Engadget]

ALL STAR WARS FILMS TO BE RE-RELEASED IN 3D

George Lucas has decided to re-release all 6 Star Wars movies in 3D according to the Hollywood Reporter.  The article goes on to say

"Part 1, "The Phantom Menace," would be first out of star-dock in the early months of 2012. After that, each of the films would be released in order at the same time each consecutive year, depending on how well the first re-release does.
Each conversion takes at least a year to complete, with Lucas personally overseeing the process to make sure each one is as perfected as possible. Lucas has said that the "Avatar" experience convinced him that "Star Wars" was ready for the state-of-the-art 3D treatment." [Gizmodo]

NINTENDO 3DS LAUNCHING IN MARCH IN US

The highly anticipated Nintendo 3DS system will launch February 26 in Japan, followed very closely in the U.S. in March.  The 3DS comes bundled with a charger stand, AC adapter, a 10cm (~4") Nintendo 3DS touch pen, 2GB SD card, six augmented reality cards and instruction manual.

New functions, according to Nintendo, include a slide pad, a motion sensor and gyrosensor.  Like its predecessors, the 3DS will have parental controls. It is backwards compatible with games from the DS system.  The top screen is a 3.53 inch liquid crystal display running at 800 x 240 while the bottom button screen is 3.02 inch liquid crystal display running at 320 x 240.  It has two cameras on the outside at 0.3 megapixels each and one camera on the inside.  WiFi functionality is built in as well.

On the outside there is a game cartridge slot, an SD card slot, an AC adapter slot and a headphone jack.  Stereo speakers are on the left and right of the upper shell.  The Nintendo 3DS will be powered by rechargeable lithium ion batteries. [Gizmodo]

BEST BUY "FREE PHONE FRIDAY" COMING

Best Buy will launch a new promotion starting Oct. 1st named "Free Phone Friday".  Every Friday in October they will give away free phones, one from each carrier.  Best Buy explains "Beginning Friday, Oct. 1 and running every Friday in October, Best Buy Mobile will feature four free mobile phones (one from each carrier) in all Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile specialty stores, as well as online at BestBuy.com/Mobile. Each week this new promotion will feature at least one high-end, in-demand smart phone. The free promotion phones require a new two-year activation.” “The specific weekly deals will be announced in stores and online, including Best Buy Mobile’s Facebook page and Twitter account, at 1 p.m. central time on the Thursday prior to that Friday’s one-day specials.”

The phones aren't dumb phones either.  The October 1 phones include Samsung Fascinate (Verizon); Blackberry Curve (Sprint), HTC Aria (AT&T) and Samsung Gravity (T-Mobile). [BGR]

AOL BUYS TECHCRUNCH

No, it is not an early/late April Fool's joke, AOL announced today they have purchased tech blog TechCrunch for undisclosed terms.  AOL already has Engadget, Switched, TUAW and DownloadSquad in their tech portfolio.  Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL stated "TechCrunch and its team will be an outstanding addition to the high-quality content on the AOL Technology Network, which is now a must-buy for advertisers seeking to associate their brands with leading technology content and its audience.”

TechCrunch will remain headquarted in San Francisco as a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL. [TechCrunch]

RIM LAUNCHING BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK TABLET

RIM has announced they will be launching a tablet computer, called the BlackBerry Playbook, early 2011 running a new BlackBerry Tablet OS.  It will be able to connect to BlackBerry Enterprise Servers out of the box via Bluetooth secure pairing to BlackBerry. Key features and specs include:

• 7” LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
• BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
• Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
• Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
• HDMI video output
• Wi-Fi - 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
• Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
• Ultra thin and portable:
o Measures 5.1”x7.6”x0.4” (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
o Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
•  RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.
[BGR] [RIM Press Release]

XMARKS BROWSER SYNCING SERVICE CLOSING IN JANUARY

Xmarks, formerly Foxmarks, the popular free browser bookmark syncing service will close down within the next 90 days.  CTO and Co-Founder Todd Agulnick stated:

"With the emergence of competent sync features built in to Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, it’s hard to see users paying for a service that they can now get for free. For four years we have offered the synchronization service for no charge, predicated on the hypothesis that a business model would emerge to support the free service. With that investment thesis thwarted, there is no way to pay expenses, primarily salary and hosting costs. Without the resources to keep the service going, we must shut it down."


Xmarks was founded in 2006 and started as a free service for Firefox browsers.  It expanded to other browsers in 2009 adopting the current Xmarks name. [BGR]

LEAKED: TWO NEW iPHONE MODELS

Looking through the Apple TV firmware there are two new iPhone models listed, iPhone 3.2 and iPhone 3.3.  What these are is not clear yet and Apple is remaining tight lipped about it.  It appears the new models will have the same form factor as the iPhone 4, but have some internal tweaks possibly.  Are these new models the rumored CDMA or LTE versions?  Possibly a fix for the antenna issue? [BGR]

CLEAR'S NEW ROUTER PASSES FCC

The FCC has approved a new home router from Clear, the company behind the countries first WiMax 4G network.  The new router will be called the "Clear Modem with Wi-Fi".  It will make available the 4G signal, if available, to all your home devices via the 802.11 standard.  There appears to be a RJ11 jack on the back possibly for VoIP calling in the future. [BGR]

RUMOR: AMAZON WORKING ON iPAD-LIKE TABLET

TechCrunch has received a tip from a source close to Amazon that says Amazon is working on an iPad like tablet that will likely run Android.  This would make sense since there is another rumor Amazon is working on an Android app store.  There have been plenty of rumors about more hardware from Amazon and Jeff Bezos confirmed about a year ago that the Kindle was not going to be Amazon's only hardware device.  There are no specs for the rumored tablet only speculation at this point. [TechCrunch]

RUMOR: AMAZON LAUNCHING ANDROID APP STORE

TechCrunch is reporting that various sources and tips have led it to determine Amazon will be launching an Android app store.  Some of the details include:

• For each sale of an App, we will pay you a royalty equal to the greater of 70% of the purchase price or 20% of the List Price as of the purchase date (70/30 is standard, the 20/80 split is somewhat odd and confusing)
  
• The List Price is apparently in place so that you can’t sell your app cheaper on other “similar services” — meaning other app stores, presumably
  
• The “similar services” should also include the forthcoming Chrome Web Store
  
• There is a $99 fee to be a developer in this program (the same as Apple’s iOS developer program)
  
• If your app is available on other platforms, you have to make sure to update it at the same time on Amazon’s store that you do in any other store
  
• Apps will have to be laced with Amazon DRM — meaning they will only work on devices they approve
  
• Amazon has the right to pull any app for any reason
  
• Apps can also be shown on amazon.com
  
• Free apps can be offered
  
• The app store is U.S.-only
  
• Amazon will have sole discretion to determine all features and operations of this program and to set the retail price and other terms on which we sell Apps
  

[TechCrunch]

RUMOR: STUDIOS IN TALKS TO OFFER STREAMING MOVIES

Bloomberg is reporting that Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony are in talks with In Demand to offer movies "soon after their theater runs" via a streaming option.  They will offer the movies for $30.  Disney is looking to stream movies through the Xbox 360 and Playstation3 as well.

This is not the first time a studio has tested this method.  Sony tried it twice before with Hancock and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  They charged $25 for those movies. Would anyone pay that kind of money to watch a movie early? [Gizmodo]

USERS KEEPING MOBILE PHONES LONGER

J.D. Power and Associates has released findings from a new study showing Americans are holding on to their mobile phones longer than ever.  Customers are keeping their phones 20.5 months, on average, which is 17% longer than in 2009.  It is the longest time period since the study began back in 1999 when the average amount of time was at 17.3 months.

There are probably a lot of reasons for the increase, but Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power, feels the downturn in the economy has played a principal role.  Also, people are feeling their current phone is just good enough for now.  With 4G/LTE right around the corner, people are holding on to what they have so they won't be caught behind the curve when those technologies emerge in the marketplace. [Engadget]

MICROSOFT MOVING BLOGGERS TO WORDPRESS

Microsoft has decided not to continue the fight in the blogging software arena and will be transferring all Windows Live Spaces users over to Wordpress.  Automattic, the company that runs and maintains Wordpress, and Microsoft have been working on the transfer so users of Live Spaces take all their data with them when transferring over and have visitors automatically fowarded to the new site.

If Live Spaces users do not wish to be transferred over they have the option to download their data or delete it completely, but have to make a decision quickly since Live Spaces will go dark in six months. [Geek]

VOLVO FAILS IN PR DEMO...AGAIN!

Volvo, considered one of the safest vehicles on the road today, just can't catch a break when it demonstrates it's new pedestrian avoidance system.  For the second time, the technology has failed during a press conference to show off the innovative system.  To Volvo's credit the system did work a number of times before the crash happened.  Volvo has blamed the problem on improper dummy placement, try using that excuse to a cop..."gee officer the guy I just ran over wasn't in the proper place for my new fangled Volvo pedestrian avoidance system to see."  I'm sure that would go over really well! I hope this isn't what we have to look forward to now that Volvo is Chinese owned. [Engadget]

CLIMBING A TRANSMISSION TOWER

We have all seen them and probably not thought too much about them, the long skinny towers with red lights flashing on top to warn airplanes.  Those are transmission towers and are used to transmit video and audio to televisions and radios in the area.  What happens when something breaks though?  Who fixes and how?  This video shows how the workers climb up the towers to the top to service them.

DIGITAL MUSIC SALES FLAT

Nielsen has released a report showing U.S. digital music sales have been flat in the first half of 2010, showing no positive growth.  In contrast, digital sales rose 28% from 2007 to 2008 and 13% from 2008 to 2009.  While it is still possible to have an increase for the entire year, the report should still be concerning for the music labels. Nielsen cited lack of consumer confidence and confusion over the plethora of ways to acquire your digital music online as possible reasons for the sudden slowdown.

Tell us what you think the reason for the plateau may be. [BGR]

LEAKED: PALM INTRODUCING TWO NEW PHONES

Palm has been a bit of a roller coast the last few years.  After introducing the Pre and Pixi, which really were needed to save the company, they get snapped up by HP.  Everyone thought that might be the end of the phone side of Palm but they were wrong.  TUV Rheinland, a certification site that first announced the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, is now listing two new models from Palm.  The P102UNA and P102EWW.  This fits with Palm's version numbers.  With the leaks WebOS 2.0 recently this might shape up to be a decent software hardware combination. [Gizmodo]

TiVo GETTING OUT OF HARDWARE?

TiVo marketing VP Joe Miller suggested to PC Magazine their hardware business won't be the companies focus for long.  Miller also stated software is the "core competence," said it was "in our blood" and "the thing we do well," and even added that "the software is what we're all about."  With the plethora of DVR devices on the market, it is no surprise TiVo would move to focus on their outstanding software and license it to the hardware manufacturers. [Engadget]

DIRECTiVo HD DVR DELAYED AGAIN

Five years ago TiVo announced a HD DVR for DirecTV customers.  They reaffirmed this again two years ago.  Now TiVo marketing manager Joe Miller has announced the device will appear "early next year".  DirecTV customers can only sit and hope TiVo sticks to that promise. [Engadget]

DROID R2-D2 LAUNCHING THIS WEEK

Verizon Wireless and Motorola will launch a special Droid mobile phone this week.  The limited edition Motorola Droid R2-D2 is running a 1.2GHz processor.  The R2-D2 will launch on Tuesday September 29th at midnight at select Verizon Wireless stores.  The stores will have Stormtroopers, live DJs, video gaming and a give away of 5 Motorola R2-D2 devices per store. [BGR]

APPLE'S PING GETS MUCH NEEDED UPDATE

Apple announced Ping with a lot of fanfare and promise, but when users flocked to the new music social network they found it seriously lacking.  In order for a user to share their songs with others (you know being social) you had to find it in the iTunes store.  This was cumbersome and most people just stopped using it causing activity on Ping to come to a standstill.

Apple has released an update to iTunes which they hope will remedy this situation.  Ping will now interact with your iTunes library so you can share with your friends directly from there.  You can right click any song and use the drop down menu to share any song you are listening to or have in your library.  [TechCrunch]

LEAKED: NEW APPLE iPAD DESIGNS

Patently Apple has released some new design specs for Apple's iPad, which they have obtained from the Chinese patent office.  While these are new features it is not clear when or even if they will ever make it into the actual product.

The first shows a new 30-pin connector that will allow for docking in landscape mode.  The current iPad only docks in portrait mode.

The second design shows a smart bezel, which has been rumored about since February 2010.  The exact function of this design is not explained, but there are three distinct renderings showing this feature off.

There have also been rumors about Face Time coming to the iPad.  While there have been some drawings showing what appears to be a front facing camera there is some debate over whether it is a camera or a light sensor.  

With these leaked documents, it does appear that the next generation of  iPad will have a major face lift. [Patently Apple]

THE AVENGERS HULK WILL BE MOTION CAPTURE

Mark Ruffalo, who will play Bruce Banner/Hulk in the Avengers movie, tells NY Mag that the Hulk will be shot using motion capture, much like in the Avatar movie.  Ruffalo talking about playing Bruce Banner goes on to say ""I really love the first TV version of it, the Bill Bixby one," Ruffalo told us. "I'm gonna shoot for that a little bit. He was an everyman in it. He's always on the run and trying to find love. It's really a sympathetic character, before he turns into the Hulk and fucks everything up." [Latino Review]

APPLE GETS GOOD NEWS FROM THE EU

Apple received some good news about the European Unions investigation into Apple decision earlier this year to  block third party developer tools and ads.  The EU has dropped the investigation citing Apple's recent relaxation of those rules and allowing third party developers tools to be used.  It is still undetermined if the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission  will drop their investigation for the same issues, but it is expected they will as well. [Engadget]

WINDOWS PHONE 7 WILL NOT ALLOW TETHERING

Earlier this week Director of Windows Phone 7, Brandon Watson, stated on a TWiT (This Week in Tech) podcast that Windows Phone 7 (WP7) would allow for tethering and it would be up to the carriers to allow it.  A spokesperson for Microsoft quickly dispelled that by stating that Watson misspoke and "“Windows phone 7 does not support tethering.”

That is a pretty emphatic denial.  It does leave one to wonder if tether is in the OS and not enabled or if they have stripped it out all together. [BGR]

TARGET TO ROLL OUT iPAD OCTOBER 3

Target has announced they will begin selling all versions of the Apple iPad on October 3rd, just in time for the holiday shopping season.  Target also noted that if you use your Target credit card you will receive a 5% discount. [BGR]

* Teh Gay Geek does not suggest shopping for an iPad or any other items at Target due to their political campaign contributions in Minnesota. *

NETFLIX TO INTRODUCE STREAMING ONLY SUBSCRIPTION IN U.S.

Hot on the heels of the Canadian launch, which offers a streaming-only subscription, Netflix has announced it is seriously considering the same subscription for the U.S.  The Canadian model costs $7.99/month and allows streaming to your computer, mobile device or Netflix enabled connected device.  Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said "We are looking at adding a streaming-only option for the USA over the coming months.” [BGR]

SYMBIAN DYING?

Sony Ericsson has announced they have no plans to for any new Symbian products.  As Aldo Liguori, spokesman for Sony Ericsson stated "we have no plans for the time being to develop any new products to the Symbian Foundation standard or operating system."

While this doesn't kill Symbian outright, other manufacturers still use the OS, it does put quite a damper on the popular (outside the U.S.) operating system.

BING GOES OLD SCHOOL TO GET USERS

Microsoft thinks not enough people are using it's search engine Bing.  So, to get interest they have decided to dust off an old promotion used during the bubble period of late 90's early 00's...Rewards!  That's right you can now get reward points good on Xbox Live or Zune.

Download and install the Bing bar (that is now stuck in my head btw)...bing, 250 points, do 16 searches with Bing, bing that's 8 points.  Get enough points and you get video games, Bing merchandise, gift cards and other dust collectors. [Gizmodo]

NETFLIX TO STREAM NBC UNIVERSAL SHOWS

NetFlix and NBC Universal have inked a deal that will allow NetFlix to stream a number of current and past NBC TV and cable shows.  This comes one day after NBC Universal declined Apple's overture to be on the re-launching Apple TV, fearing the low price would devalue their content.

NetFlix customers will be able to stream Saturday Night Live shows one day after they air and the entire back catalog of SNL.  Also included in the deal is Battlestar Galactica, last season's 30 Rock and The Office as well as Friday Night Lights.  The Press Release below:

NEW YORK and BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ — Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution today announced an expanded license agreement through which Netflix members can instantly watch a selection of broadcast series from the NBC television network and – for the first time on Netflix – content from some of NBC Universal's popular cable channels.
The multi-year deal kicks off next week and continues the relationship between Netflix and NBC Universal.
The agreement adds significantly to the growing selection of movies and TV episodes that can be streamed instantly from Netflix with memberships starting at $8.99 a month. Among the highlights, Netflix members will be able to instantly watch:
* Episodes from every season of NBC's signature comedy franchise "Saturday Night Live," including day-after broadcast of the upcoming 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons plus hundreds of episodes from the first 35 years of "SNL."
* Every episode from the last season of the multiple Emmy® Award-winning series "30 Rock," "The Office" and "Law & Order: SVU," as well as earlier seasons of those shows renewed for streaming from Netflix under the current deal.
* All prior seasons – and eventually next year's final season – of "Friday Night Lights," the small-town drama surrounding high-school football in Dillon, Tex.
* All prior seasons of USA Network hits "Psych," the comedy featuring James Roday as a fake psychic who solves crimes with his best friend, Dule Hill; the drama "In Plain Sight," starring Mary McCormack as a U.S. Marshal in New Mexico; as well as all seasons of "Monk," starring Emmy® Award and Golden Globe® Award winner Tony Shalhoub in the title role. Prior seasons of all three shows are available to watch instantly at Netflix for the first time.
* More than 75 prior season episodes of Syfy's mainstay "Battlestar Galactica," as well as prior seasons of the network's popular series' "Destination Truth" and "Eureka" – all streaming from Netflix for the first time.
"We are very pleased to continue our successful relationship with Netflix," said Frances Manfredi, executive vice president and general sales manager of cable and non-theatrical sales for NBC Universal Domestic TV Distribution, who forged the deal. "We applaud Netflix for recognizing the value of content like 'SNL,' 'Friday Night Lights,' 'Monk,' and 'Battlestar Galactica' to their subscribers." [Gizmodo]

WIN A CHANCE TO SEE MEGAMIND AT IMAX

Dreamworks will be releasing it's newest animated movie soon.  Megamind is the story of good vs evil and what happens when evil wins and something even more evil comes along.  With the release of the movie, Dreamworks is having a promotion where you and your friends get a free IMAX 3D screening of Megamind.  Click the image below to enter.

*Teh Gay Geek is not affiliated nor endorsed by Dreamworks, Megamind or any of its subsidiaries.  The drawing and promotion are exclusive domains of Dreamworks.  Teh Gay Geek takes no responsibility for any content or rules of the promotion.

RUMOR: APPLE UPDATING MACBOOK AIR WITH 11.6" SCREEN

Apple Insider is citing sources from Taiwan that state an 11.6" backlit LED display will headline the update to the Macbook Air.  DigiTimes is reporting that Quanta has an order to build half a million 11.6" screen size "Macbooks" for 2010. [Apple Insider][DigiTimes]

MICROSOFT SECURITY ESSENTIALS FREE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Microsoft has some good news for small business.  It's popular anti-malware/anti-virus software Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), which is free to consumers, will be free to small business beginning in early October.  Microsoft is defining a small business, for MSE anyway, as one that has 10 or fewer PCs. Microsoft claims that enterprise security software is too expensive, complicated, and hard to use for these organizations, hence its decision to expand the reach of MSE. [Ars Technica]

VERIZON CHIEF DENIES iPHONE RUMORS

At an investor's conference on Thursday, Verizon Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg denied a CDMA version of the iPhone was in the works and coming to Verizon Wireless.  He then stated "We would love to carry [the iPhone] when we get there, but we have to earn it," Seidenberg also told investors "I think 4G will accelerate the process, and any other decisions Apple makes would be fine with us. Hopefully, at some point Apple will get with the program."

So does this mean a LTE compatible iPhone is in the works and will debut on the Verizon network next year as they roll out their LTE deployment? [Ars Technica]

VERIZON WIRELESS DITCHING UNLIMITED DATA

Verizon's Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg at an investor's conference stated that Verizon Wireless would be moving to tiered data plans in four to six months.  The plans would be different than their closest rival AT&T, who introduced tiered data plans in June of this year.

Currently Verizon Wireless charges customers $29.99/month for unlimited data access.  AT&T's introduced two plans to replace their unlimited offering, one for with a 200MB limit for $15 and the other with a 2GB limit for $25 with additional fees for going over the limits for both plans.

No word on pricing or caps from Verizon Wireless at this time, but with the coming LTE markets being lit up by end of year, an announcement should be forthcoming relatively soon. [WSJ]

BLOCKBUSTER FILES CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY

 It is official, Blockbuster has filed for "pre-arranged" Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  It should come as no surprise since the rumors have been swirling around Blockbuster for months. The bankruptcy will allow Blockbuster to go from about $1 billion in debt to around $100 million.  According to the press release Blockbuster is evaluating its US store portfolio as part of the plan.  They currently have close to 3,000 stores and those will remain open during the Chapter 11 proceedings, operating as normal.  However, sources indicate that up to 1,000 of the stores could be liquidated. [Engadget]

HP SLATE RUNNING WINDOWS 7 CAUGHT ON VIDEO

YouTuber x313xkillax has a video showing off the HP Slate tablet computer running Windows 7.  The HP Slate is very similiar to what was seen in April with some minor changes.  The touchscreen seems responsive, however it is very obvious in the video Windows 7 is not designed for touch operation. [Engadget]

T-MOBILE GOES SOLAR

T-Mobile has just brought it's first solar powered cell tower online.  The tower is in Chalfont, Pennsylvania and utilizes 12 panels.  If the tower is able to stay up  and running using the solar panels, this should greatly reduce the cost of construction as they will not need to have powerlines run out to them and some of these towers are in very remote locations. [ZDNet]

METRO PCS STAYS UNLIMITED

With the launch of the first LTE 4G service in the U.S., MetroPCS has reiterated it's commitment to stay unlimited.  Ed Chao, network operation Senior VP, stated the company has no plans to switch to tiered service plans and will stick with unlimited plans for future LTE launches as a way to differentiate itself from other providers.

MetroPCS launched the first LTE 4G service yesterday in Las Vegas. [DSL Reports]

DROPBOX UPDATES MOBILE APPS

Dropbox the internet syncing service has updated it's mobile apps.  You can now use Dropbox on the iPhone, iPad, Android or Blackberry devices.  Dropbox also noted that there are over two million mobile users are now using Dropbox on their mobile devices and over 100 million mobile applications are using the Dropbox API. [BGR]

JET BLUE ADDING WI FI TO FLEET

Jet Blue and ViaSat announced in a press release today a preliminary memorandum of intent has been signed.  This is the first step to bringing WiFi to the Jet Blue fleet of airplanes.  From the press release:

ViaSat and JetBlue have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the provision of in-flight broadband access and other services for customers on JetBlue’s fleet of more than 160 aircraft using ViaSat advanced Ka-band satellites. Under the arrangement, ViaSat will provide Ka-band antenna components and SurfBeam®2 modems for installation on the airline’s EMBRAER E190 and Airbus A320 aircraft types along with two-way transmission bandwidth services using the WildBlue-1 and high-capacity ViaSat-1 satellites. JetBlue subsidiary, LiveTV LLC, will manage the integration of the ViaSat broadband and related components onboard the aircraft as well as providing the Wi-Fi enabled services into the overall cabin experience.


The memorandum is non-binding but both companies expect to have a difinitive agreement in place by the end of the year.  Jet Blue which offers live TV feeds in all sections of it's cabins feels the addition of WiFi will improve the "overall cabin experience." [BGR]