Amazon

Microsoft's licensing cripples its relevance to the Amazon cloud

Could Microsoft's proprietary licensing end up hurting it in the cloud?

That's the question asked on the Cloud Avenue blog, and the answer seems to be a clear "yes." Whatever the benefit to Microsoft in a desktop and server world, proprietary licensing stands to hobble its attempts to be widely relevant in the cloud or, at least, in Amazon.com's EC2 cloud.

Why? Because Microsoft's proprietary licensing ensures it can't be a viable player in Amazon's newly announced Paid AMI (Amazon Machine Image) Support marketplace. The program allows users to "share … Read more

Lossless audio will come to portable players eventually

The great draw of portable MP3 players is quantity.

I remember when my wife and I took a six-month backpacking trip back in 1999. We never even considered bringing an MP3 player, which might have had a whopping 64MB of flash memory, enough for about a hour of audio compressed at 256kbps. Instead, we brought a Discman and about two dozen CDs in a soft case. We grew extremely bored with those CDs and ended up jettisoning or trading most of them.

Today, you'd laugh if somebody told you they were considering bringing CDs on a trip--why would you, … Read more

Retractable Periscope reading light for Kindle does more than you think

For Amazon Kindle owners who want to read in the dark, there's a new lighting option available: The $49.95 Periscope Lighted Folio. It's actually a retractable reading light, Kindle cover, notepad, and pen holder, rolled into one contraption.

In case you're wondering, the case is made of "leatherette," not real leather, and the lights are "twin" LEDs. The unit's powered by three AA batteries (not included), which should offer "at least 40 hours" of lighting. And when you're finished using the light, it retracts into the spine of … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 844: Number one in space junk, USA!

First if you're a U.S. citizen, then go vote on Tuesday. Second, feel the pride of what we suspect to be our country's lead in space junk. We also cover the new Nehalem processor details, uncover a few more details about Windows 7, and of course, give you more details on the space junk that may hit your head tomorrow. I suspect it's the nefarious plot of one candidate or another to keep you from the polls. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 844

Intel Core i7 chip reviews arrive–yes, it’s fast http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10080831-64.html … Read more

The 404 219: Where Wilson can't stop looking at himself

On today's show, we discuss the Halloween weekend, our escapades into Hasidism, and a few very poor costume choices. The whole time, Wilson just can't stop looking at his self-made portraits, so we concentrate our efforts in welcoming up-and-coming videographer Marvic Paulo to the show. He joins us in discussing our apathy toward Circuit City, defends the heavenly burritos from Chipotle, and we each reveal the shrouded secrets of our tragically bullied childhoods. TOO REAL!

Good friend and dedicated 404 listener Marvic Paulo helps us figure out a few stories on today's show, one of which involves a Web site that gives children the opportunity to report school bullies and other deviants in complete anonymity online. The site, School Tip Line, is designed to give young people a voice to report information about thefts, drugs, and harassment. Wait, what?! I think I've heard of this site, it's made by the founders of narc.com, jabroni.com, and howtogetyourbuttkicked.com, right? Don't get me wrong, I definitely got bullied in middle school, but I did what everyone else did: enrolled in a karate class, watched a bunch of Ninja Turtles episodes, and befriended the biggest kid I could find. What happened to good ol' American ingenuity? You wonder why our nation breeds socially inept hermits, it starts when they can weasel their way out of facing real life scenarios such as these! While you're here, why don't you check out my site, www.stopSNITCHING2009.com.

Don't forget about this week's Video game contest! You have a week to send in your custom LittleBigPlanet or MotorStorm: Pacific Rift box art submissions; the covers must feature The 404 in some capacity and this time, try and keep them PG-13. Need pics of The 404? Try our Flickr or the Facebook Group!

EPISODE 219 Download today's podcast … Read more

Amazon.com's green idea is brown

Sometimes the greenest technology improvement is going back to the old low-tech option.

Amazon.com announced Monday it's working with retailers to cut back on the packaging you'll need to open to get to your goods.

The Seattle-based company plans to start shipping items in plain brown cardboard boxes, instead of putting a pre-boxed or plastically sealed item inside another Amazon box. The cardboard box will have Amazon, and in some cases the retailer's name, on the front.

Memory cards, for example, are often sold in disproportionately large clear plastic packaging to prevent shoplifting at physical stores. Transcend's memory cards when bought via Amazon will be shipped in a recycled cardboard envelope. Children's toys, such as a Fisher-Price pirate ship set, will be shipped in a plain brown box with cardboard padding and a plastic bag holding the toy people and whatnot.

So, in addition to being less annoying to open, the new packaging will also be more environmentally friendly, according to Amazon.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 843: Nine legal uses for BitTorrent

We asked. You answered. Our listeners provided not seven, not eight, but nine real legal legitimate uses for BitTorrent. Plus Apple's getting into an old-fashioned spat with IBM. Just like 1979 all over again. Plus Rafe says stop whining about Windows 7. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 843

National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Trojan virus steals bank info http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7701227.stm http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10079593-83.html

Apple hires top IBM chip designer and blade server guru http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10079494-37.html

Download full seasons of popular TV shows for $5

In an effort to push its new-ish Video On Demand service, Amazon is offering cheap deals on full seasons of popular TV shows. For example, you can get the first three seasons of Battlestar Galactica for just 5 bucks each. Also in the bargain bin: House (four seasons' worth), Heroes (seasons 1 and 2), The Office, and, if you're really hard up for entertainment, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Saved By the Bell.

In case you're not familiar with it, Amazon Video on Demand lets you stream shows and movies right in your browser (Mac or PC), no … Read more

Wal-Mart MP3 store relaunches

Correction: AC/DC's 1981 album For Those About to Rock We Salute You peaked at #1 on the U.S. charts, which means Wal-Mart's press release is wrong.

American retail giant Wal-Mart relaunched its online MP3 store Tuesday, and it's a worthy competitor to Amazon in the DRM-free MP3 sweepstakes. (To remind you: unlike many songs from Apple's iTunes, or Microsoft's Zune Marketplace, or Nokia's music store, every song sold on Amazon and Wal-Mart can be played an unlimited number of times on just about any portable device and in any software application out … Read more

Amazon launches WindowShop: A 3D shopping experience

WindowShop is a new content-viewing layer for Amazon.com. If you've ever used Cooliris' PicLens before, you'll feel right at home, as WindowShop turns Amazon's selection of online goods into a giant wall, which you can scroll back and forth across, and zoom in and out of to find things to buy. The tool was built by Amazon and runs entirely off its S3 storage service.

Within the giant wall of product thumbnails, each of Amazon's sales categories is broken down into interactive tiles which can take up nearly your entire browser window when zoomed. Movies, … Read more