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What to expect from the RealDVD decision

The future of RealDVD, and possibly a consumer's right to create backup copies of their DVDs, now rests in the hands of Marilyn Hall Patel.

On Thursday, the U.S. district judge wrapped up a preliminary injunction hearing in the RealDVD case. Last fall, RealNetworks began selling RealDVD, the software that duplicates DVDs and stores copies to a hard drive. The Motion Picture Association of America, the trade group representing the six largest film studios, filed a lawsuit claiming RealDVD violated copyright law.

In September, Patel placed a temporary restraining order on sales of RealDVD, saying she had serious … Read more

This Week: Cars of NFL Stars

I'd imagine that quite a few readers out there spent this last weekend checking out the 2009 NFL Draft, hoping for the best for each of your favorite NFL teams. So it seemed like a neat idea to dedicate this week's set of blogs to the fabulously tricked-out rides of NFL stars.

This vid was produced by the NFL network, checking out the bad-ass rides of a few NFL players. To say these cars have been customized is a severe understatement. Big Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings shows off his flashy Range Rover as modified by Automotive … Read more

Twitter founders: Innovation before business plan

Twitter's co-founders are singing a new song when it comes to explaining why they famously haven't put a business plan in place yet: it's too expensive!

Maybe I'm being a little bit mean there. But in a video interview with AllThingsD's Kara Swisher, the so-buzzed-it's-ringing-in-your-ears company's founders, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, said possible revenue strategies are currently in the process of getting bounced off the walls.

But, they said, it will invariably take some time because the company has a whole lot else to deal with--you know, monster worm attacks and ravenous fail-whales, … Read more

Turn this salt and pepper mill on its side

We've all been there: right in the middle of preparing a meal--say, a chicken dish--and you need to grab something, but your hands are a mess. In the case of the aforementioned chicken, it's usually a pretty good idea to keep cross-contamination to a minimum. Heck, it is always a good idea to keep cross-contamination to a minimum. So, you walk over to the sink, and wash your hands, only to mess them right up again after you reached for whatever you needed to grab. If it was salt and pepper you were after, things just got a … Read more

Go boldly and smell like James T. Kirk

I was unaware that there is a company that specializes in licensed science fiction jewelry and perfumes.

Until I discovered the Planet Genki.

Genki Wear, a company with copious imagination, would like you to know that, in complete coincidence with an impending new Star Trek movie, it is launching three bold new fragrances especially for the more mature Trekkie.

First there's Tiberius, which has a very fetching image of a younger Priceline spokesperson on its packaging. Now I hope no one will be writing in to ask why this, of all perfumes, is called Tiberius.

So let's move … Read more

Lenovo CEO steps down

Lenovo President and CEO William Amelio resigned Thursday after the Chinese PC maker reported a nearly $97 million loss for its fiscal third quarter.

Yang Yuanqing has relinquished his role as chairman to replace Amelio as CEO, effective Thursday, the company said in a statement filed with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. Yang will remain as an executive director and had served as the company's CEO until April 2005 when he was appointed board chairman.

The announcement comes at the end of Amelio's three-year contract with the company, Lenovo said, adding that Amelio will serve as a special … Read more

Report: YouTube may usher in Hollywood stars

YouTube reportedly wants the William Morris Agency to make it a star.

The video-sharing site is reportedly close to clinching a deal with the William Morris Agency, in which the talent agency's clients would create videos for YouTube, according to a report Thursday in The New York Times.

The deal apparently would give William Morris Agency clients an ownership stake in videos they create for YouTube, and, in return, YouTube would receive professionally produced videos, according to the Times report.

For YouTube and its owner Google, the question is whether such efforts will eventually generate advertising revenue.

YouTube and … Read more

Stay warm with this hot chocolate pot

Wow. Hot chocolate season really snuck up on me. It seems as if only a few weeks ago I was complaining about the heat. Well, since I am in San Francisco, that very well could have been the case, but there is no mistaking it now: it is cold. We may have oddly timed summers around here, but winter still gets the cold treatment. Granted, not like elsewhere, but it is still definitely time for hot chocolate.

As a fan of the Bialetti stove top espresso maker, I am drawn to their version of the hot chocolate maker. Bialetti teamed … Read more

A tray for the grill

I like to grill as much as possible--steak, chicken, and more--but I always get a little frustrated by the long list of things I can't cook on the grill. Even if I have the grill already heated up, cooking fajita meat doesn't work; it just falls through the slats. The Grill Tray provides a flat surface that lets me cook just about anything on there. I can even pile up tortilla chips and cheese and serve up nachos hot off the grill.

Williams-Sonoma sells the Grill Tray, although it's actually handmade at a Pennsylvania foundry. It is … Read more

A peeler to the third power

If we had more room in our kitchen drawers--and maybe a few more dollars in our pockets--we might have a couple different vegetable peelers. Maybe we would have a heavy-duty peeler for the thick-skinned vegetables, like zucchini, and another peeler for the softies, like tomatoes or peaches. We might even have a julienne peeler, for shredding thin strips of vegetables. Rather than giving up drawer space to three peelers, however, we can now use Williams-Sonoma's new Trio Peeler.

The Trio Peeler has three retractable blades, all of which are stainless-steel. The soft-grip handle is a little oversized, which makes … Read more