Digital-Lifestyles

USA

  • iPhones Take Out WiFi Network

    iPhones Take Out WiFi NetworkiPhone’s appear to be taking out chunks of the wireless network at Duke University in the US.

    We won’t get all technical on you by delving in to the tech-laden reasons as to why it _might_ be happening – they still don’t know how it is happening for sure – but the upshot of it is they think the iPhones are generating up to 18,000 requests per second.

    Barrages like this are crippling the WLAN kit, as it tries to deal with and make sense of each of them.

    Duke have been in touch with Apple about the problem, but so far the communication with Apple has been “one-way.”

    Given the number of tech mad loonies that have bought iPhones in the US, it is a little strange that no other sites have recorded the same problem.

    For the details on the story, trot over to Network World

  • Dow Jones Board Votes Yes: Murdoch One Step Closer To Ownership

    Dow Jones Board Votes Yes: Murdoch One Step Closer To OwnershipWe received a newsflash from the Wall Street Journal (I guess they would be the first to know) at 4:27 this morning that the Dow Jones board had voted in favour of the News Corp take over, with only Leslie Hill, a member of the Bancroft family, and Dieter von Holtzbrinck abstained from the vote.

    Christopher Bancroft – who it is understood is actively seeking alternatives to the News Corp. bid – left the meeting early.

    It’s reported that News Corp. was “grateful” to Dow Jones board for its vote.

    News Corp have been trying to get their hands on Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal, to add to their already large portfolio of highly influential media titles and companies around the world.

    The next, and possibly final stage, is for the Bancroft family to approve the boards approval. Given the family has asked for more than $60 per share in the past – the current News Corp offer, valuing the company at $5Bn – it’s anyone’s guess which way it will go.

    There’s been considerable concern voiced about how good an idea it is for Rupert Murdoch to be in control of a major force of financial reporting in America.

  • Chatpad On Xbox 360 Announced

    Chatpad On Xbox 360 AnnouncedMicrosoft have confirmed that they will be releasing the Messenger Kit for the XBox 260 in the US this September, after a long period of building up anticipation for it.

    As well as a headset for voice chatting – which have been around since the original Xbox – the interesting part is the introduction of a full-sized, if mini, qwerty keyboard, letting you IM your mates until your thumbs bleed.

    While Microsoft aren’t disclosing any plans for Europe or the UK, they say it should retail at $29.99 when it goes on sale on 6th September.

  • PS3 Price Drops, Or Not: Sony Lose The (Gaming) Plot

    PS3 Price Drops, Or Not: Sony Lose The (Gaming) PlotI don’t what the people driving the European wing of Sony think that they’re up to, but they appear, of late, to be perfecting the art of making the wrong decision.

    We learnt last week that Sony will be dropping the price of Playstation 3 in the the US by $100, but will not be offering a reduction in the UK or Europe.

    Do they think that no-one in the UK reads the International press? Do they not realise that UK gamers already feel insulted by their action on the PS3?
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  • New PSP Shown at E3

    New PSP Shown at E3Sony made a big song and dance at E3 yesterday in showing the new version of the PSP.

    Much press reaction is pretty unimpressed – which seems to be a increasingly reaction to Sony news these days. A shame for a company that five years plus ago could do no wrong.

    The changes for the new PSP centre around the reduction in size and weight – and video output.
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  • MizPee For When You’ve Got To Go On The Go

    MizPee For When You've Got To Go On The GoProof indeed that there’s still room for daft online services that you never thought you were needed, MizPee is a website for directing mobile users to the nearest khazi.

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  • iPhone Give 55% Margin Say iSupply: Apple Share Rise

    iPhone Give 55% Margin Say iSupply: Apple Share RiseiSupply did one of their usual Teardown’s on the Apple iPhone, estimating that they are on a 55% margin for each 8Gb phone that they sell.

    The Teardown involves taking new consumer devices apart, as soon as they’re released, and working out how much they cost manufacturers to build and therefore how much profit – or loss – the sale of each device brings.

    Such is the influence of iSupply these days, the news of the very healthy margin appeared to cause a rise in the value of Apple’s shares, up 4.9%.

    The bill of materials and manufacturing costs totalled $265.83, with the iPhone selling for $599.

    Given the close-to-lunatic media coverage (you’ll have noticed that we’ve been rather restrained, if not a little dismissive of the madness), we suspect that there’ll be triples all around at Apple’s 1 Infinite Loop office and some big celebrations over the 4 July holiday in the US today.

    iSupply

  • Video Gamers Do Less Reading And Homework

    Video Gamers Do Less Reading And HomeworkKids playing video games on school days spend up to a third less time doing homework than those who do play games.

    Figures from a study in America revealed thath video gamers spending far less time reading and doing homework, with fragging boys found to spend 30 percent less time reading, with the girls registering a 34 per cent reduction in homework.
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  • Universal in Dispute With Apple Over iTunes

    Universal in Dispute With Apple Over iTunesUniversal, the planet’s biggest music corporation, has told Apple that it won’t be renewing its annual contract to sell music through iTunes.

    According to an anonymous executive cited in the New York Times, the mighty Universal Music Group of Vivendi will now market music to Apple at will, leaving the company free to remove its songs from the iTunes service at short notice if pricing and terms can not be agreed.
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  • Apple iPhone Launch Goes Hyperbolic

    Apple iPhone Launch Goes HyperbolicThe most over-hyped event in the history of consumer electronics offered plenty of troubling insights into what happens when over-excited tech geeks come into contact with the object of their lust.

    Starting with a mass public countdown on the street, the iPhone Launch TV channel coverage showed slavering first buyers for the iPhone gleefully charging into Apple’s New York Soho store and being treated like celebrities, with their every move being captured by banks of photographers and cameraman.
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