conferences

At SXSW, a peek at the post-laptop age?

AUSTIN, Texas--Digital futurists have been saying for years now that they believe the promises of mobile technology are ushering in an era of technology that goes beyond the PC and even the laptop. At this week's South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW), we may have gotten a look into the future: With the enormous festival sprawled out all over the city, toting around a laptop can hold anyone back. More importantly, the immediacy of it all--where to go, where not to go, which party has a longer or a shorter line, where a surprise musical guest has shown … Read more

Lost innocence for start-ups at a flashier SXSWi?

I woke up on Monday morning to about two dozen text messages, and none of them were really for me.

Rather, they all came from two separate group messaging accounts set up through a start-up called GroupMe, both of which had been created in the prior few days specifically to corral people before the annual South by Southwest Interactive Festival--part of the broader South by Southwest music and film festival--kicks off Friday in Austin, Texas. One was a posse of New Yorkers trying to coordinate carpools to and from their Thursday and Friday flights. The other was a group … Read more

Missing in green tech: Long attention span

Oil has climbed to over $100 a barrel and there's historical unrest in oil-producing countries of the Middle East. Yet, at times it's hard to tell how strong this country's commitment to clean-energy technologies is.

A vivid example is the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which was funded two years ago to research potential breakthrough energy technologies and determine their commercial potential.

The U.S. prides itself on its technology and many people believe that innovation will revitalize our economy. Economic competitiveness was perhaps the dominant theme at the ARPA-E Summit, a conference held last week. Yet … Read more

San Franciscans angry over video game balloon stunt

Update (Wednesday, 5:17 p.m. PST): This story now has a response from The Marine Mammal Center and The California Department of Fish and Game about the potentially hazardous effects of balloon litter on wildlife.

SAN FRANCISCO--Dozens of red balloons released today as a video game promotion ended up in the San Francisco Bay, causing anger among those who see the balloons as an environmental threat and an immediate danger to fish, birds, and other wildlife.

During the Game Developers Conference here, video game publisher THQ released hundreds of the balloons in conjunction with a promotion for its new … Read more

Skype 5 beta for Mac adds group video calls

Skype's VoIP calling is by now well known to most Mac users, and the ability to make computer-to-computer calls anywhere in the world for free is already extremely popular to international users. Skype's official version on the Mac is 2.8 and is still a bit behind its Windows counterpart (Skype 5 for Windows). But a beta release today brings the software to version 5.0 on the Mac, and the Skype team has added some great new features to get excited about.

Sporting a familiar, more iTunes-like interface, Skype makes it easy to search through contacts and … Read more

Rumor: Apple to hold top secret iOS developer summit

Business Insider reports that Apple is holding a top secret summit for iOS developers in order to improve the overall quality of iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch applications.

The "industry source" claims the event begins next week and last three days. The summit would allow developers to have an opportunity for exclusive face time with Apple engineers and perhaps some hands-on help with apps.

With iOS 4.2 set to release sometime in the next month or so, hosting a developer's summit makes sense for Apple. Google's Android OS continues to gain market (and mind) share … Read more

Fuze Meeting probes iPad's business chops

There may be a category of business apps on the iPad, but most people I've spoken with struggle to see how a tablet is currently relevant as a standalone business device the way that a laptop or even a smartphone is. Fuze Box (operated by CallWave) is attempting to bridge the gap with Fuze Meeting HD, a free audio conferencing app for the iPad that joins the company's other mobile apps for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry.

As with most Web conferencing tools, Fuze Meeting HD has audio and visual components. You can both host and participate in meetings, … Read more

YouTube gets live streaming

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded: YouTube ready to test Live Streaming Yahoo set to revamp and improve service China is ready to welcome Apple's Wi-Fi iPads Caution: Social Network bandits are increasing

CNET TV Apple Byte: Uncle Steve hands out free Bumpers

CNET TV's Brian Tong discusses the latest in the world of Apple. This week, Brian recaps Steve Jobs' press conference about iPhone 4 antenna issues, examines the iOS 4.1 developer release, and talks about rumors for the next generation iPod touch.

Can't see the video? Have an iPhone or iPad? Click the following link to download this week's Apple Byte (should show in the HTML5 viewer in Safari):

→ Apple Byte 7/19/2010 ←

Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums. Submit a fix to MacFixIt! Email Us.

Buzz Out Loud 1271: Happy Bumper Day (podcast)

We'll do you a favor and give you the news in a nutshell: free bumpers (even non-Apple bumpers) and full refunds within 30 days of purchasing your phone if you're still not happy. There you go. Also, Droid X is sold out, the Facebook movie is going to be cool after all, if the new trailer is to be believed, and it turns out Palm was in fact the belle of the ball for a while there, but RIM and Nokia both blew it. Plus: Drunk HULC!