Local

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook asks permission to change its privacy policy

Skype tweaks Skype To Go, letting you make international calls as local ones

Sony drops the price of the PlayStation Portable to $129.99

A Chinese version of Groupon is announced

Motorola sues TiVo for alleged patent infringement in its DVRs

Motorola is sued for using the name Xoom on its new tablet

New York Sen. Charles Schumer wants HTTPS to be the default security setting on major Web sites

A man in Florida is arrested for allegedly planting viruses in Whac-A-Mole arcade games

A … Read more

OS X and its included programs are fully localized to a variety of common languages, allowing for full translation of the OS to these languages right out of the box. Language preferences can be set up in the Language & Text system preferences if not done when the initial OS X setup assistant runs, and should work when the system is next started; however, sometimes odd problems may happen with the incorrect language showing in some situations.

Language support? Even if the system is set to a specific language, that language will only be used if support for it is … Read more

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Google's Eric Schmidt steps down as CEO

A new Logitech mouse is designed to work on your couch

Verizon files an appeal against the FCC's Net neutrality rules

HP replaces four board members with five new ones

Google is getting ready to compete with Groupon with Google Offers

A German software program could set an expiration date for your online photos

Angry Birds is being developed into an animated series

The 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition is released with all sorts of useless gaming facts

Just after the big news of the iPhone coming to Verizon, Apple released a beta to developers for iOS 4.3 and it looks like it will add some big changes from previous versions--especially on the iPad.

New multitouch gestures will make it possible to close apps or just switch to another open app without having to press the Home button. You'll also now have the option to make the iPad switch on the side of the device either a mute or lock rotation switch--apparently, many iPad users complained of the previous version change to turn it into a mute button like the iPhone.

If you want to see some of the new enhancements in action, check out our First Look at iOS 4.3 video with Brian Tong.

This week's apps include a newsreader that lets you view actual newspapers and a motocross game that's both fun and extremely challenging.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Last year we and our readers were pretty excited to hear about the Sony XBR-HX909, which was the company's first television to include our favorite kind of LED backlight--full array with local dimming--since the excellent KDL-XBR8 from 2008. In our full review the HX909 did a lot of things right, including production of some of the deepest black levels we've seen on any TV, but in the end a couple of flaws kept it out of the top ranks.

For 2011 Sony's flagship television, the XBR-HX929, offers a similar LED backlight and a few improvements. … Read more

Update March 29, 2011 LG has announced that this series of TVs, along with the LW7700 series, will not be released. Instead the company tells us that it will release another series (or maybe more than one)--featuring the full-array local dimming Nano backlight detailed below and using passive 3D technology and not active--in mid-September 2011. We expect to hear more details closer to the products' launch. In the meantime we're keeping the information below for reference since we expect the new models, whatever their model names end up being, to closely resemble the ones here.

LG's … Read more

Update March 29, 2011 LG has announced that this series of TVs, along with the LW9500 series, will not be released. Instead the company tells us that it will release another series (or maybe more than one)--featuring the full-array local dimming Nano backlight detailed below and using passive 3D technology and not active--in mid-September 2011. We expect to hear more details closer to the products' launch. In the meantime we're keeping the information below for reference since we expect the new models, whatever their model names end up being, to closely resemble the ones here.

LAS VEGAS--LG … Read more

Today Vizio announced a slew of HDTVs that feature passive 3D technology, which the company is calling "Theater 3D." The best-featured of the bunch fall under the company's XVT line of LED-based LCD TVs.

The XVT models include a pair with the Google-TV-equipped Via Plus Internet suite and the already-shipping 65-inch XVT3D650SV. Vizio also announced five other XVT sets, the XVT3D5 models described here.

Passive 3D, which is used in most U.S. theaters, is said by proponents like Vizio to reduce crosstalk (an artifact that appears as a double image) and be more comfortable than active … Read more

Google is arousing the anger of rival search providers who argue that the company is intentionally and unfairly ranking content from its own specialized search services above their own.

The complaint centers on searches for specialized or local content, such as travel services, health sites, and reviews of local restaurants and businesses. In the past, users searching on Google for such content were typically directed to specialized search providers, companies like TripAdvisor.com, WebMD.com, and Citysearch.com.

But as Google has increasingly ramped up its own specialized search services, these companies believe the search giant is stacking the deck … Read more