technology filter: Rumors

Dumb Law #234: UK to Outlaw Standby Mode

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 20:23:17 GMT

Used to be you'd hear about truly stupid legislation just every once in a while. But with the recent telecommunciations laws in the US that frequency has increased dramatically. This one, however, doesn't come from the Hill. This comes to us from the UK where some real genius law makers have decided to put forth a law that would outlaw standby mode in electronic devices arguing that standby mode eats up 8% over the nation's overall energy costs.

Never mind that standby mode was invented specifically to save power because folks weren't turning their equipment off. Kinda makes you want to smash yourself in the head with a hammer.

(via Real Tech News)

A Sept. 9/11 movie? Already?

Fri, 06 Jan 2006 16:08:23 GMT

I realize that Hollywood is hard up for original scripts and new ideas (just witness the remake deluge of the last few years--I mean, a Miami Vice movie?!), but I'm not sure about a 911 movie. Maybe it's because I'm from the NYC area so I'll always be a little raw about it; but the idea of 'cashing in Hollywood style' on that particular tragedy is always going to bug me.

You'll need QuickTime to view the trailer.

(via Digg)

Austria Rejoices! Mozart's Skull Found!

Tue, 03 Jan 2006 21:47:20 GMT

No, even though I'm an ex-German myself, I had no idea that Mozart's skull has long been a lost item of antiquity. Seems an enterprising grave digger somewhere between 1855 and 1900 dug the old musician up and nabbed his noggin. Apparently so he could sell it on whatever passed for eBay in 1850+.

The skull was supposedly found again in 1902 and was passed to an org calling itself the International Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. Apparently, the Mozarteum...ers have been trying to establish it as the composer's official cabeza for some time but have been unsuccessful due to successive inconclusive results (too much beer before testing time?). This year, tho, the researchers got on the wagon and obtained the first clear DNA results which will be compared to the rest of Mozart's available DNA as soon as possible.

After that, they're going to stick a candle on it and give it to David Hasselhoff for a desk lamp.

Early Look PS3 Game Lineup

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 21:26:14 GMT

It is way too early to know what games will be available when the PS3 ships next year, but that isn't going to stop us from trying to figure it out anyway. This list was put together by folks at the Tokyo Game Show 2005. So far, all Sony will say is that it has 71 publishers and 102 games. How many will be available at launch is anyone's guess. I am particularly looking forward to Namco's somewhat mysterious offerings:

Unnamed RPG, RPG
Unnamed fighting game, fighting
Unnamed shooting game, shooting
Unnamed sports game, sports

Are You Really Getting the Best Buy?

Fri, 02 Sep 2005 18:26:33 GMT

This is lighting up Digg.com right now. I haven't been able to verify this memo is actually from a Best Buy employee, so I will file it under Rumor. Still, if it turns out to be legitimate, I don't think anyone will be terribly surprised.

More iPod Phone Details Leak Out

Fri, 02 Sep 2005 15:06:53 GMT

No photos are out yet, but details are starting to leak out abvout the iPod phone. The scary thing here is the rumor that the phone will only support 25 songs, regardless of how much memory it has. This makes sense as a way to protect Apple's existing iPod business, but I doubt Apple will do this in the final version. Other vendors are just going offer phones with more capacity, like the Sony Ericsson W800i Walkman. This is just a rumor, right Steve?

QOTD: Do You Still Like Google?

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 18:27:57 GMT

Microsoft isn't the only tech giant building and empire. Search. Email. Chat. News. VoIP. What will Google gobble up next is the question on everybody's mind. (My money is on eBay.) Today the Times tells Bill Gates he can relax, that Google can be the bad guy now. We got that vibe a few weeks back when they cut off News.com' access to the company.

Which brings us to the question of the day: Do you still like Google? Or are they the new evil empire bent on dominating the Net? And if the products work, should we care? Drop me a note and let me know.

Trekkie/Ped Connection Just Won't Go Away

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 17:59:50 GMT

Just when you thought it was safe to watch those Star Trek re-runs, Ellen Ladowsky opens up the Star Trek/pedophilia debate again. Ladowsky is riffing off the original story in the LA Times in April in which a Toronto detective made an off-hand comment about how all pedophiles were Star Trek fans. Since then the issue has been pretty well put to rest. Her analysis of "sexuality on the Enterprise" reads a lot like the fan discussions you find in certain newsgroups:

"For both Kirk and Spock, their true shared love object is the luminous Starship Enterprise, and it essentially serves the purpose of a fetish object – a non-human, inanimate detour for evading anxieties belonging to genuine intimacy."

Methinks, Ladowsky should probably leave the Star Trek analysis to the professional Trekkies. Or even the Trekkers.

Thanks for the link ,Adam!

Amazon to Sell MP3s?

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 15:09:03 GMT

Will Amazon launch a digital music store? We thought it was a no-brainer years ago, but the retail pioneer did nothing but sell CDs by mail as iTunes, MusicMatch, even WalMart got into the game. Now a stray job post for a "Content Acquisitions Manager, Digital Music" is fueling rumors again. We saw it here first, but we think BusinessWeek is angling for a scoop.

Will Amazon finally make the leap? Do they have any chance in this crowded market? Let us know at technologyfilter@hotmail.com.