I sure am glad I'm done with college. A Japanese university is giving away Apple Inc's trendy iPhone to students for free, but with a catch: the device will be used to check their attendance. Dohhhp.



-posted by Justin

Darren Gladstone, PC World, posted an interesting article about PlayOn from MediaMall Technologies. PlayOn allows users to use a game console or networked television to access shows from places like YouTube, Hulu, etc., to watch on their TV. The software pulls in the media streams and sends them directly over your home network to you device, even converting the format on the fly to make sure devices can play them.

This sounds pretty fantastic, as someone who has a furious love/hate relationship with Comcast (I love TV, but hate everything about my cable bill, service and did I mention the huge bill?). So how does it measure up? According to Darren the quality is no 1080p, but looks good enough considering the money savings. No fancy interface, just simple folder navigation. Consistent software updates to fix quarks from MediaMall. Not the smoothest performance overall. But Darren seems hopeful that with some work, PlayOn can evolve into a great experience for people looking for an alternate way to view television programming.

-posted by Stephanie

Thanks to an MSNBC story, my mind is upside down. I had no idea the state of robotics. Yes, I've read Wired stories about the advance with things like ASIMO, but had no idea these crazy models had been made. Not only are they freaky, but given the upcoming release of Terminator Salvation, I'm afraid to go in the woods or in the water now.


-posted by Justin

We've all seen it by now: text messages from unlikely senders like Dad, Grandma and maybe even Great Grandpa. This growth of texting among late-adopters has driven up the number of U.S. subscribers using text to nearly 60%. This research, covered by FierceMobileContent, indicates that the greatest growth has occurred in older age groups. Of course the tween and teenage segment continue to lead the pack, sending on average more than 500 texts per month.

Earlier this month, a California teen apparently sent a record 300,000 texts in a single month from her iPhone. Now that's just plain crazy.

-posted by Lindsay

Frustrated with your cell phone? Then maybe you need a vacation. The New York Times travel section recently suggested you consider a visit to Punkaharju, Finland, which on August 22 will host the ninth annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships.



You can compete in the over-the-shoulder throw (where contestants are judged on distance) or the freestyle throw (where points are given for choreography and aesthetics). According to the New York Times, the contest was created in 2000 to provide mobile phone users with a cathartic way to express their frustrations with dropped calls and dead batteries. Note, you are not allowed to use your phones, one is provided by the competition's governing body.

The all-time record long throw at the contest according to the event's web site was 94.97 meters or approximately 312 feet. First prize is what else but a new cellphone (no word on what kind).

For those of who aren't satisfied with just a picture and some links, you can check out a video of the 2005 competition here.

-posted by Andrew

Keith Parson, our friend and wireless expert, turned me on to a website that provides huge amounts of data on most issues and shows how it effects the world.

The tool from GAPMINDER is amazing. You can look at data about economies, health, birth rate, technology, environment... the list goes on and on. You can cross reference, look at different years, basically manipulate the data however you'd like, play timelines and more.

For example, I was interested in finding out what regions in the world apply for and are granted the most patents. The tool provides a range of 1984 - 2002 for data in this area. You can evaluate each year or play a timeline. The timeline reveals that while the US leads in accepted patents throughout history (in 2002 they had almost 170,000), in 1995 China pulled ahead for two years (hitting almost 220,000 accepted patents), until the US again overtook in 1997.

The information you can generate is very cool. Did you know: Slovenia has historically had the highest rating for literacy in adult females over the past 15 years! While African nations have plummeted.

If you're looking to generate some data, you may want to see what Gapminder can offer.



-posted by Justin

Oh how the mighty are falling....continue to fall... or are on there way to falling hard. You get my point. Mainstream media outlets continue to believe in a failed business model that doesn't address the realities of online information. For the past several years, we've watched as other new-media groups are able to maintain a more effective silo of news content (by trolling and pirating content), and more often than not, when they repackage it, it's just as compelling as some of the premier outlets (ie, major city news outlets, etc.). Sooo, it's nice to see a major high-end magazine change it's model before all the wheels come flying off (even if it's a year or two too late).

Newsweek announced that they are completely changing their business model and strategy. They will still deliver a print version (although it will undergo a massive redesign), but will also broaden the online content and cut certain elements, such as entertainment. Its new site just launched on the 15th. Check it out... it's a step in the right direction.



-posted by Justin

Apple has rejected an iPhone app that enables users to fashion their faces into portraits resembling the holy one, J.C. himself. The app, called Me So Holy (cue the 2 Live Crew song), has users take a picture with their iPhone, and then scale and crop that picture to replace Jesus' face. Take a look at a vide of the process below:

Me So Holy iPhone App from Benjamin Margolis on Vimeo.

According to Me So Holy developer Benjamin Kahle, Apple rejected the app saying, "it contains objectionable material." The move comes after recently Apple did a 360 following outrage of its approval of an iPhone app called Baby Shaker, a game whose objective was to shake a baby to death. Apple removed the app after a good deal of parental push-back saying Baby Shaker's approval was a mistake.



Other than being criticized for approving questionable apps such as Baby Shaker, Wired Magazine reports some developers have slammed Apple for being unclear about its App Store approval process. For example, FreedomVoice Systems in March told Wired.com that Apple hadn’t said a word about its iPhone voice app Newber for six months, potentially costing the company $600,000 in wasted investments. But for every app disappointment, there's a success story like Ethan Nicholas, an independent developer whose iPhone game iShoot earned him $600,000 in a single month.

No back to Me So Holy, the iPhone SDK agreement reads, “Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users.”

Does Me So Holy break the rules? Looks like its a matter of subjectivity. What do you think?

-posted by Andrew

I recently spent a few days in Las Vegas for an annual vacation. We try to stay in a different hotel each time. This year it was MGM Grand's turn. Very quickly I decided this would be MGM's only turn. There were a couple of reasons, but one of them was the fact that there was no TV in the bathroom. How could there be no TV in the bathroom? You're rated four stars, get with it MGM! And while you're at it, please get a luggage software tracking solution that helps vacationers who temporarily misplace their claim ticket to more easily find their bags. Walking your Costco-sized warehouse of checked luggage is exhausting!

On a recent trip to Santa Monica, I was pleased to find my must-have flat screen TV in a single room at the Loews Hotel. The provider? You guessed it -- VOXUS client Totevision. Thank you Totevision for making my dream of having a TV In every hotel bathroom a reality.



-posted by Lindsay

In my... weekly ode... to... Star Trek.. I must... focus on... an injustice. Okay, I'll stop. What is this injustice? It appears our own Captain, Paul Forecki, is getting to attend a sneak peak of the the new Star Trek film. While Paul and I both battle for ultimate geek supremacy here at VOXUS, he has been invited to this private show... and I'm left feeling like Tuvok in Voyager's episode 13 of season five (oh yes I did). But alas I must let this go and focus on some real news.

According to Wired: With J.J. Abrams’ flashy new Star Trek landing in theaters this week, Apple’s iTunes Store is brimming with Trek-themed apps for iPhones and next-generation touchscreen iPods.
Here are a few of the coolest Star Trek iPhone apps, which draw from the sci-fi series four-decade run on TV and movie screens.

Star Trek Phaser: Originating at Paramount Digital Entertainment, the free Phaser app turns your phone or MP3 player into the handy weapon that the youthful Enterprise crew use in Abrams’ flick. Both a game and a simulator, the app comes packed with images and trailers for the movie’s May 7 release.

Star Trek Wisdom Quotations: A less flashy, but more inspiring, entry comes from CHS Systems. The $1 Star Trek Wisdom app offers insightful quotes from Spock and the gang (or the folks writing scripts for them, anyway).

Star Trek: Alien Spotlight: Quickly brush up on the Star Trek universe’s alien races with the Star TrekAlien Spotlight series. Released by iVerse Media, these $1 graphic novel-style apps present the background data on various Trek aliens, including the Gorn, the Andorians and those pointy-eared bastards the Vulcans.

Star Trek: Countdown: Also from iVerse comes the $1 app version of Countdown, the official comic book lead-up to the new movie. The movie prequel is only one title in an ever-growing collection of Trek comic apps.



-posted by Justin

With Mother's Day right around the corner, I have been searching high and low for a personal (yet, affordable) gift idea. I came across a couple cute options that I thought I'd share incase you might find yourself in a similar struggle during this time:

1. Mom's Personal Coffee Blend: A company called Dean's Beans allows you to make your mom her own custom blend coffee out of certified organic, fair trade and kosher whole beans. Each 1 pound bag can be packaged and labeled with a custom name. Price: $8.99 per pound of coffee.

2. Mom's Signature Wines: On a bottle of mom's favorite red, white or rose wine comes with a custom label designed just for her. Signature Wines & Beverages enables you to load pictures and create your own personalized label. Wines come from all over the country, as well as non-alcoholic sparkling wines. Price: $8.00 and up per bottle.

3. Mom's Spruce: A tree is a gift that will last long into the future and provide for generations to come - just like mom. The Arbor Day organization "Give the Gift of Trees" lets you choose either a redwood, pine or spruce for your mom, along with a custom label with a quote, saying or personal message. Price: $3.00 per tree.

4. Mom's Memory Book: Make the perfect brag book gift for mom with photos from past vacations, holidays and cherished moments through Blurb/Tiny Prints. As an added bonus, the company also offers up a line of premium recycled paper as a printing option for the eco-friendly mom. Price: $4.95 and up per book.

Here's to a truly happy Mother's Day!



-posted by Shawnna

This PR movement has particular interest to me since I used to work on Microsoft's Windows Mobile PR account at Weber Shandwick. Recently, AdAge reported Microsoft's main PR agency, Waggener Edstrom, won the Windows Mobile PR account, which has been held for the last five years by Weber Shandwick. This is the first time since Weber won the Windows Mobile account that Microsoft has held a review for the business. AdAge has a good article on the move. Windows Mobile was arguably a much stronger brand a few years back before the launch of the iPhone. The change comes as Microsoft gears up for the release of Windows Mobile 6.5. Now the question is, will the change in business change the public perception of Windows Mobile?



-posted by Andrew

Finally getting around to posting pics from last week’s TechFlash Live, TechFlash's quarterly meet-up, at Seattle's Palace Ballroom. It was a great evening of drinks, food and networking.

The highlight of the night was an on-stage interview between TechFlash's John Cook and Ben Huh of I Can Haz Cheezburger. Who knew someone could grow a company based on cats and LOL speak? According to Technorati, I Can Haz Cheezburger is the 10th most popular blog on the Internet with over 10 million page views a week. For those of you are not in the "know", I Can Haz Cheezburger is a repository for LOLcat images. Ben says he just wants to spread some smiles. While humor is one of the motivators, the money can't be a bad thing with I Can Haz Cheezburger being profitable from day one according to Huh through mainly advertising money.

Besides all of the LOLcat talk, the night was a great chance to meet up with old industry friends and make new acquaintances. Here are some pictures I took at the event.





Keep on LOL'ing. Ben Huh wants you to.

-posted by Andrew

Not much substance but it is quite cute. Check out this video from Zillow.com COO Spencer Rascoff video taping his 4-year-old daughter looking up homes via his real estate website's new iPhone app.


-posted by Andrew