week

The Federal Communications Commission's chief has a plan to ensure that people have unfettered access to Internet content and services.

Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed this week that the FCC officially turn its four principles of network openness into regulation and suggested that the FCC add two more "principles" as part of these new rules. The existing principles can be summarized like this: network operators cannot prevent people from accessing lawful Internet content, applications, and services of their choice and cannot prohibit people from attaching nonharmful devices to a network.

The first new, proposed principle would prevent Internet … Read more

Microsoft took another swipe at the iPod this week with the launch of the latest version of the Zune media player. After three years and untold millions spent on the line, Microsoft's hopes of cutting into the iPod's big lead are now on the Zune HD, with its 3.3-inch multitouch screen, streaming-music feature, and the ability to play back video, with the help of an HDTV, in 720p. A 16GB Zune HD is available at retailers for $219.99, and a 32GB version will cost $289.99.

But at this point in Zune's evolution there's … Read more

Nothing can compare to someone whispering sweet nothings in your ear...unless that person is Wilson Tang...in which case you should probably pick up the phone and quickly dial 911. The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is coming to a close in New York, but there's one more runway show that we don't think got the attention it deserved: the Snuggie! The blanket with sleeves somehow rose to ridiculous popularity and became an actual phenomenon, and the company is trying to continue its revenue stream by introducing a new "urban jungle" line of robes featuring zebra and leopard prints. I managed to get my hands on a a Snuggie of my own and we each take turns trying it on before brainstorming our own ideas for Snuggie customization.

We also lament the passing of 960 Blockbuster video rental stores, all sentenced to die by the end of 2010. The company obviously suffered at the hands of free, legit streaming-video sites like Hulu and even network homepages, but CNET's own Don Reisinger reports that over 18 percent of Blockbuster's stores aren't turning a profit, so the company is practically forced to cut back on locations. We can't say that we're surprised, especially since none of us has actually stepped foot in a Blockbuster in awhile, but there's still hope for the company in the form of small rental kiosks to be placed in stores throughout the country.

The final big news item today is the debut of Google's newest RSS reader ripoff, also known as Fast Flip. As Rafe Needleman reports, the service is essentially a digital version of the old microfilm readers in that the service presents screenshots of news articles in a horizontal landscape layout. Readers can preview the first page of news stories categorized by popularity, recent views, topics, etc... but the odd part is that none of the hyperlinks actually work. Instead, clicking anywhere on the page takes you to the original article landing page. Our initial reaction is wondering about this new relationship between Google Fast Flip and the actual Web publishers. We like the ability to read a quick snippet of news and quickly scroll through several news sites at once, but the horizontal scrolling is too limiting. Listen to the show to hear more complaints without solutions.

Google is set to launch a public version of the ad exchange developed by its DoubleClick unit, according to a report.

The exchange, which has been open on an invitation-only basis to certain partners, will make its formal debut in two weeks as part of the Advertising Week festivities in New York, according to Clickz. The idea is somewhat like a swap meet for display ads, allowing publishers to offer excess ad inventory they can't sell to advertisers looking for a bargain.

Google's dominance of the search engine advertising market has been fueled by text ads. In 2008, … Read more

Too busy mourning the fast-approaching end of summer to stay up to the minute on Crave? Well, it was a plenty busy week in the gadget world. Here are just a few highlights (and lowlights: we're talking about you, dorky robot iPhone mask).

• Apple's fifth-generation iPod has it all covered: good, bad, and weird.

• Motorola got Cliq-y with the social-networking crowd.

• Palm thought small with its Palm Pixi.

• As for the Palm Pre... oops!

• The Asus Eee-book grew a spine.

• HDTV to Samsung: Super Size Me.

• We couldn't help it; we fell in love with a Rogue. … Read more