ups

California Clean Tech Open names 44 finalists

The California Clean Tech Open, dubbed the "start-up in a box" contest, named 44 finalists Tuesday. It awards $100,000 in cash, office space, and professional services to each of the six winners. Categories are air, water, and waste; energy efficiency; green building; renewables; smart power; and transportation.

The Google-sponsored contest, run by the nonprofit Acterra, touts success stories such as GreenVolts, which makes photovoltaic solar concentrating systems, and BuildFast, which sells eco-friendly house kits for developing regions. Contest organizers said that tech for the developing world has become an increasing area of focus.

Prizes are due to … Read more

The 404 147: Where we're looking for the big E

Self-proclaimed audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg sits in with us today and gives us the inside scoop on the many benefits of ear cleansing. Light candles in your ear, pouring hydrogen peroxide into the ear canal, what the...? We also talk more about the latest headphones on the market and even gain some insight into the Steve's former political agenda! We also play a heartbreaking voicemail that Natali received from our buddy Phil Ryan and EVENTUALLY get into the rundown at the tail end of the show, talking about (dare we say) hot, sweaty lesbians! 'Tis true, take a peek! EPISODE … Read more

E3 2008: The wrap-up

This year's smaller, quieter E3 video game trade show may well mark the end of an era, with no solid plans announced for next year's show, and many participants lamenting the stripped-down vibe. Despite powering a multi-billion-dollar industry, the big game companies collectively decided that the massive shows of previous years were too expensive to put on anymore--but the pared-down version of E3 that started last year failed to inspire the industry or generate much significant media coverage.

Despite the melancholy feel, the big stories driving the gaming business were clearly visible (even if almost all of the … Read more

TuneUp Companion cleans up iTunes

I use iTunes on both my Mac and Windows machines here at work. On my Windows box, it's not quite as smooth and takes up a few too many resources, but I still run it to listen to music from other users on my network. On my Mac, it couldn't be better, but I've found that the biggest problem I have with iTunes is not with the program itself.

In fact, even though it's mostly my fault, my music library is what gives me the most trouble. Like most people, I've gotten my music from … Read more

Send around video-annotated sites with Bubble Comment

If you've been a longtime Webware reader you might remember a service called Bubble Guru I checked out back in late 2007. It let you create small video pop-ups you could stick on your site to say hi to users, or simply to serve as a more attention-grabbing sticky note. Just launched Bubble Comment is a very similar service, and in fact it's from the same folks. The big difference is that it's completely free, albeit with some limitations.

One of those limitations, for example, is that you can't simply embed Bubble Comment bubbles on any … Read more

My speakers can beat up your high-end A/V receiver

Are high-end A/V receivers, which for the purpose of this blog is any receiver with a MSRP over $1,500, worth it? True, they're loaded with features, stuff like all of the latest surround formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. But wait a sec--Denon's soon to be released $649 AVR-1909 receiver has them, too. It's got three HDMI inputs and all of the latest Audyssey auto speaker set up and equalization doodads.

Let's take a look at Sony's $1,699 STR-DA5300ES. What does the extra $1,000 buy you? Not so much. … Read more

Carnival atmosphere in security

Summertime is the season for traveling circuses and local fairs, so I shouldn't be surprised that this carnival atmosphere has spread to security. A company named Permanent Privacy just announced a $1 million prize to the person who can crack its algorithm and uncover the underlying encryption keys.

Now I realize there is some history here. In January 1999, a group of academics cracked the 56-bit Data Encryption Standard in just over 22 hours and won a prize of $10,000. That said, I am not a big fan of security showmanship like this from unknown security start-ups.

Why? … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 759: Worms on the tongue

And that, my friends, is how we get you to listen all the way to the end. But in actual news of the day, a judge ordered Google to expose the viewing habits of millions of YouTube users. But it's OK, because only a few people will get to look at them. That's fine, right? Also, we freak out about privacy and identity theft, just in time for a study that acknowledges that consumers are freaking out about privacy and identity theft. Plus, the power of video compels you...to switch to broadband.

Listen now: Download today's podcast … Read more

Report: Some dial-up users wish to stay that way

Got dial-up and don't want to give it up? You're not alone.

An estimated 10 percent of Americans are surfing the net via dial-up connections, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

And a lot of those people apparently see no compelling reason to change. The report indicates that those users are not itching to make a change to a speedier broadband connection in large part because, they say, broadband is too expensive.

Of this dial-up group, 35 percent cited the cost issue, while 19 percent say nothing will ever prompt … Read more