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So if you haven’t heard the stories on the internet about GoDaddy announcing that they are firmly behind the act that will put major penalties to people who download things on the internet with copyright protection well that was a mistake. Once GoDaddy announced they were behind this act people started to dump GoDaddy as a whole. The funny thing is you have to see that GoDaddy is flip flopping their stance on the SOPA. The problem I see here is that Godaddy is losing major business because they first backed the act and lost tons of business and had tons of transfers to other domains. They are now just changing their stance because of money, no matter what garbage the CEO spews from his venomous mouth, I know they are doing for greed and not because they believe that this SOPA act is a bunch of junk. GoDaddy just lost even more points with me if that was even possible. If truly believe in the act that is fine but I will tell you that if you change your stance purely because you are losing business due to your convictions then you really need to check yourself. I am disgusted and outraged that GoDaddy would change their stance just in time for Dump Godaddy day.

So we all know how innovative Japan can be right? I mean they have pods for busy people to sleep in, clothes in vending machines, I mean come on how could they take on the go busy any further. Well I just found something that rivals that of the underwear vending machine, the wi-fi dispensing vending machine. A soft drink company by the name of Asahi Soft Drinks has put Wi-Fi signals on their machines within a 50m radius. From what I have read it will be free to access this without any restrictions. So you don’t even have to buy something from the machine to use the Wi-Fi which is pretty nice. The only limitations I have read is you get a connection for about 30 minutes but you can reconnect after the 30 minutes are up. These machines will be around Japan starting in 2012 with about 1,000 going around the regions of Japan. If this is successful, they plan to roll out 10,000 within a five year span.

First I would like to say I hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday weekend. Now for a gift that keeps on giving form the people over at xda-developers, a pre-alpha version of the Android operating system I know I have been waiting for, Ice Cream Sandwich! They have it running on the Kindle Fire which is really exciting for me since well, I have a Kindle and I have been less than impressed with it so far. From reports here is what I have gathered, it does run pretty smooth on the Fire but there are some issues, there are times when the sound isn’t as consistent as it should be and there is some video glitches that tend to happen as well. As there is more developing and tested on this lovely OS I will keep you updated and once it gets better maybe I will see an Ice Cream Sandwich in my Fire. Above is a video of the Kindle Fire with the Ice Cream Sandwich OS, so please enjoy!

First off I would like to wish all my readers a safe and happy holidays. Now I would like to talk about something that I found very interesting. A comedian by the name of Louis CK has done something that in recent memory I haven’t seen anyone do before. He created his own comedy special and instead of getting it done through HBO or Comedy Central, he decided he was going to show it through the internet. Now if you don’t know much about Louis CK, he is a comedian that started right here in the home town of Geek Choice, Boston and has had decent success over the years. Now that success has gone to a new realm, an online comedy special. The comedy special is Live at the Beacon Theater which you can purchase for $5 on his website. In just 12 days of this special being put on his site he has cleared the $1M mark. Which just goes to show you that you always don’t need the brass of high power TV executives to make something happen for yourself. If you have followed anything that Louis CK has done in the past, the great thing about this is that he has a TV show on FX just called Louie. Now that might not seem like it is special, it is more or less just like anything else right? Wrong, he has total and utter creative control of the show with no say from the people at FX. So this is probably the greatest thing for artists who want to make something special for themselves. I salute you Louis CK for making such a bold move that paid off in a big way.

Gone will be the days of multiple set top boxes in a home. Verizon is working on a media server that will revolutionize how you watch TV. Apparently from what I have read you will be able to stream your cable to any device that has an internet connection. Also there will be a device that you connect to the other TV’s in your home that will get the signal from the media server so it eliminates a set top box in every room there is a TV. From the looks of it you could actually have an Xbox 360 or a PS3 connected to your TV and as long as it is connected to your FiOs internet you can get your cable. Although right now if you have FiOS and Xbox 360 Live Gold membership there are channels that are currently streaming on your XBOX 360. I have played around with it and I must say it is a pretty cool thing to have, too bad I already have a set top box on my TV. Above I have put the promotional video that Verizon has out regarding this new media server.

Amazon announced this month that it was debuting a new update to the kindle to address some issues on its tablet. The updates are suppose to help with the fluidity and performance of the tablet.

The New kindle Fire 6.2.1 update will allow people to choose which apps are in the devices carousel instead of it just being the last used apps and webpages along with the ability to put a password lock on Wi-Fi access. Although there is are still going to be lingering problems with the Kindle just based on the design, the biggest flaw I see is that there is no volume button. Others have reported issues with the power button being in a poor place but I have yet to have any problems myself.

If you are a Kindle Fire user you can check what software version they are running by selecting the Quick Settings icon, choosing More, and then selecting Device. You must be connected to a Wi-Fi network and the Kindle Fire’s battery must be fully charged in order to update.

To initiate the update, tap “Quick Settings” and then select “Sync.” It will download in the background and be automatically applied once the download is complete and the Kindle Fire is asleep.

If you are having trouble with the over the air download, click here to go to Amazon’s support and download the update via the PC.

If you woke up this morning and have had trouble accessing the data connection on your Verizon wireless phones this morning you are not the only one. There have been reports that tons of Verizon customers have been having trouble due to a widespread outage across the carrier’s mobile data network. From the VZWsupport Twitter feed it looks as if the 3G and 4G networks have been affected. From what I have read it has been confirmed in California that they are out. Here in Boston so far mine is working. So hopefully it will be fixed in other areas soon.

The SSRun is a fun fundraising event that started in Boston in 2000. Geek Choice in 2010, helped with the cause. This year the SSRun was for the benefit of the Play Ball Foundation which is an organization that gives middle school students of Boston a chance to play and build friendships and character through the lessons of sport, teamwork, communication and discipline. The SSRun raised $280,975 and Geek Choice is proud to be part of that number.

Apple has been discussing it’s future on the TV front with many media executives at many large companies. It is also being reported that Apple is working on designing a TV that would rely completely on wireless technology that can access TV shows, movies and other content, according to people that are with this project.

The TV device Apple is working on would use a version of Apple’s wireless-streaming technology AirPlay to allow users to control it from iPhones and iPads, according to people briefed on the matter. When the company plans to start selling such a device and whether it would receive traditional broadcast or cable signals remains unclear, said these people, who say Apple may change its plans.

The technology could allow users to stream video from mobile devices to their televisions, without a set-top box. That process is already possible through its Apple TV set-top box, but it is cumbersome and some media companies, such as Time Warner Inc.’s cable channel HBO, prevent their apps from using the technology because they want closer control of how and where their content appears. An HBO spokesman says it hopes to use AirPlay once it is comfortable with the antipiracy protection.
Apple has worked on technologies for integrating DVR storage and iCloud, its online syncing and storage service, into the device, according to a person briefed on the matter. Such technologies could allow users to watch shows they have saved or purchased on two different devices, like a TV and a computer, without having to buy or record the shows twice.

Other media outlets have reported that Apple is developing a TV. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

While very few are still buying netbooks, many manufacturers have continued to release the small Intel Atom-powered computers (see Asus, Toshiba, etc.). However, Dell isn’t going to be one of those companies. Dell confirmed that it is no longer making consumer netbooks (the business-aimed Latitude netbooks are still available on Dell.com). Not only are the Inspiron Minis being put in the grave, but the company confirmed that it will not be releasing new netbooks based on Intel’s forthcoming Cedar Trail platform. In other words, it is done with the category.

That said, it did clarify that its netbook / tablet hybrid — the Inspiron Duo — continues to sell well, and although it isn’t in stock on Dell.com right now, it would available again before the holidays are over. Of course, Dell is still planning on being a lead player in the mobile laptop space and stressed that it has been spending time developing higher-end, premium laptops like the XPS 14z. Dell’s Marketing Director Alison Gardner was very clear about the strategy: “Thin and powerful is where it is at for us.” Seems like ultrabooks are indeed the new netbooks, now Dell’s just got to impress us with whatever it has up its sleeve.