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Once in a while, I stumble across a story so remarkably absurd that I question whether or not I’m awake. Today, I saw such a story. Forbes blogger David M. Ewalt wrote about how the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has criticized Nintendo and the Mario series for animal cruelty. It all stems from an item you can find in several Mario games called the Tanooki Suit. This is a costume of a raccoon-like animal that gives Mario limited flying abilities.
I think it’s safe to say that the iPhone 4S feature that has received the most attention is the virtual personal assistant Siri. Just in case you haven’t heard, Siri uses voice-recognition technology to interpret requests and retrieve the best response. In some cases, the response may be an answer to a question such as “how much is five pounds in kilograms” (answer: about 2.27 kilograms). In others, Siri might launch an appropriate app or initiate a Web search to get the answer you need. And a lot of time has been spent asking Siri silly questions to see what sort of answers might pop up.
In a couple of weeks, TechStuff is going to cover the story of Nintendo in a two-part special. The company is over 100 years old and managed to succeed in an industry that, after a disastrous crash in 1983, most people thought was finished. But this same company, which many considered to be an unstoppable [...]
The news about Steve Jobs passing away is taking the Web by storm. That’s only fitting considering Jobs’s impact on technology. Chris and I have recorded two TechStuff episodes about Steve Jobs. We could probably record two dozen and only scratch the surface of what Jobs accomplished.
Yesterday’s episode of TechStuff was the culmination of a month-long experiment. In August, I asked Chris “what would happen if we outsourced the research for one of our episodes?” Chris got that sparkly, happy look in his eyes and said “that means we wouldn’t have to do any work!” Believing that we had stumbled onto [...]
Hot on the heels of recent changes to your Facebook profile is the f8 conference. That’s a developer conference held by Facebook that gives app developers a look into upcoming changes to the platform that will help them design the next generation of Facebook apps. Facebook was kind enough to live stream the keynote presentation of the conference, giving all of us a glimpse into what we can expect (beyond the predictable backlash that always accompanies any change). So what did we learn?
Google Plus Opens Up, Facebook Tells You What’s Important
by Jonathan Strickland | September 21, 2011
Today is a day that will live in online social network myths and legends — the day when Google Plus drops the invitation-only requirement and allows anyone to join. It’s also a day that sees Facebook making more changes to the way your news feed displays on your page. Since there’s a long history of Facebook users reacting negatively to changes, this might mean Google Plus will get a boost right out of the gate. But is that boost going to have any staying power at all?
Online retailer Amazon.com is in negotiations with publishers to create a digital library service for customers of its Amazon Prime service, according to Stu Woo and Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg of The Wall Street Journal. The authors compared the service to the movie-rental and video-streaming service Netflix, where people would be able to access electronic books as part of the $79-per-year service that includes unlimited two-day shipping and streaming video.
Yesterday the U.S. Justice Department filed a suit to block telecommunications giant AT&T from acquiring T-Mobile USA based on concerns that the proposed deal would make the mobile telephone marketplace less competitive, according to Bloomberg’s Tom Schoenberg, Sara Forden and Jeff Bliss. CNET’s Don Reisinger quoted an AT&T spokesperson, Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel Wayne Watts, who said that his company had worked with the Department of Justice to answer its questions and was surprised that the agency had filed suit.
I admit, my headline is an example of baiting an audience. But if you’ve ever wondered why people who love certain brands react in a seemingly irrational way whenever that brand receives criticism, read on. According to research performed by Shirley Cheng, Tiffany White and Lan Chaplin, the reason discussions about brands often turn into enormous flame wars is because we incorporate the brands we love into our own self-image. When someone else criticizes or attacks a brand we love, we feel as if we ourselves are under attack. That’s why so many people respond passionately to attacks on brands — it’s a matter of self-defense.
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