ComputerNutz

MakerBot brings 3-D printing to your home
A new 3-D printing machine is aimed at home consumers. The Thing-O-Matic from MakerBot will cost about $1,200. Similar products for manufacturing cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Thing-O-Matic is currently limited to creating small, plastic objects. You can take pictures in 3-D, too

After years of rumor and speculation, the iPhone 4 will be available from Verizon Wireless starting February 10. Existing Verizon customers can pre-order the phone starting February 3
Verizon’s coup: Apple’s iPhone
Verizon has confirmed it will indeed sell Apple’s iPhone 4 on its CDMA network. Apple COO Tim Cook says it’s the "beginning of a great relationship."

Facebook movie wins National Critics awards
The movie The Social Network won four awards from the National Society of Film Critics. It won best picture, best director, best screenplay and best actor. The Social Network is considered a leading candidate for an Oscar nomination

New Internet ID program to be announced
The Obama Administration is ready to announce plans for an Internet identity system. The goal is to reduce fraud and make online transactions easier. Several communications companies, like AT&T and Verizon, support the program

Meyer axed as AMD’s chip strategy founders
In some important market segments, Advanced Micro Devices’ chip strategy was not promising. But whether this had anything to do with the CEO’s ouster, is not clear.

Intel to pay Nvidia $1.5 billion in licensing fees
In addition to the six-year agreement involving licensing fees, the two companies have agreed to drop all outstanding legal disputes between them.

U.S. military eyes new unmanned planes
Three aeronautics companies are testing new unmanned aerial drones. Each plane has a unique mission. One soars at 65,000 feet and acts as a spy plane. Another can carry laser-guided munitions. And the last uses liquid nitrogen as fuel

‘App’ becomes Word of the Year
The American Dialect Society has named the term "app" 2010′s word of the year. App beat out the slang word "nom," meaning tasty food

Why young people pirate (Pssst: It’s not just about money)
Why do the younger generation and students pirate music, software and television and movies? Failing main street shops? Or plain old exploitation of weak systems? It’s not all about the money.

Facebook going public soon?
Reports say that Facebook is preparing for an initial public offering. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company will soon reach 500 shareholders. The Securities and Exchange Commission will then require Facebook to file financial information

WSJ: Verizon will offer unlimited data plans with iPhone 4
Even if Verizon Wireless announces the availability of the iPhone within its network tomorrow, it’s still last year’s iPhone 4. So what’s a good way to attract consumers? Unlimited data plans.

Verizon’s iPhone: Here comes the fallout
Verizon Wireless will finally get Apple’s iPhone on Tuesday and the network and sales machine appears to be ready to roll, but the launch is only the beginning. The fallout will take quarters to play out for the likes of Motorola Mobility, AT&T and others.

Another huge round of job cuts for MySpace
MySpace is preparing to cut half of its staff by next month. That would be a loss of more than 500 jobs. MySpace hopes to reach target revenues set by parent company News Corp. Last summer MySpace cut 30 percent of its work force

Three reasons to dump your cable provider: Boxee, Roku, Apple TV
I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t want to cut the cord with their cable provider and now it’s possible thanks to several inexpensive solutions like: Boxee, Roku and Apple TV.

Skype buys Qik for $100 million
Skype has purchased video sharing company Qik. According to reports, Skype paid $100 million for Qik. Skype confirmed the acquisition on its blog. The post said Skype would take advantage of Qik’s Smart Streaming technology.

Android runs down iPhone in the Smartphone Races
Blackberry is still number one, but Android has passed the iPhone iOS for second place in the race to the top of the smartphone operating system hill.

Three bug fixes on the way from Microsoft
Microsoft is planning to patch three vulnerabilities tomorrow. The first fix is rated as critical and affects all versions of windows. However, the upcoming patch won’t address two zero-day bugs already being exploited

CES 2011: The biggest winners and losers
The Consumer Electronics Show is the biggest stage of the technology industry and every CES has its winner and losers. Here is the scorecard for CES 2011.

LG introduces new 3-D TV technology
The 3-D TV battle is still heating up. LG has revealed its new Film Patterned Retarder 3-D screens. It says these are less expensive than current methods. And the technology carries fewer health risks to viewers

Piracy possibility emerges with Mac App Store
A hack lets some software originally from the Mac App Store run even if it wasn’t purchased–but the problem seems to be more with the software than the store.

TV manufacturers hoping new features will entice customers
TV manufactures are hoping to pick up sales by promoting new technologies. But researchers expect consumers to react slowly to 3-D TV and Internet connections

CES Highlights

The Motorola Xoom
Exclusive shots of the first Android Honeycomb tablet in action at CES 2011.

CES: Underneath Microsoft’s new Surface
Microsoft’s big update to Surface has made it considerably smaller, more accurate to touch, and even cheaper. But is it ready for your living room?

Polaroid’s Lady Gaga Tech
Polaroid announced the fruits of its collaboration with Lady Gaga: a rather conventional-looking photo printer, a pair of sunglasses that can take pictures, and a reworking of the traditional Polaroid camera

The Best CES Tech You Can’t Get
The Samsung Galaxy Player is a beautiful Android 2.2-powered device. Unfortunately, you can’t have it–unless you live in (or are willing to move) to Korea

Nvidia, Motorola Mobility get top marks
The Consumer Electronics Show is about to wind down—mercifully—and it’s time to hand out grades for the major tech players. Motorola Mobility and Nvidia move to the front of the class.

Google’s surprise demo of Android 3.0 Honeycomb
At CES on Thursday, Google provided a 10-minute live demo of Android 3.0 Honeycomb in action, running on the Motorola Xoom tablet. We shot this video of the demo.

The Real Cost of 4G
4G is going to allow carriers to permit their subscribers to download data at unprecedented wireless speeds. But what is that really going to translate to in terms of cost?

Facebook suicide note falls on deaf ears
A 42-year-old woman posted a suicide note on Facebook. The note said that she had taken all of her pills. Police found her dead in her apartment the following day. Tragically, none of her more than 1,000 friends did anything to help her.

Chip makers seek better graphics
With processors of the past, the main goal was speed. Now with the newest iteration of processors, the goal has changed. The focus has shifted to graphics and how well processors can display media

CES: What Microsoft’s Ballmer didn’t say
This isn’t a typical keynote write-up. At the kick-off Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011 keynote by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on January 5, the more interesting bits were what Ballmer didn’t say.

CES: Motorola reveals iPad-rival Xoom tablet
Motorola’s Xoom boasts more features than the iPad and will run the new version of Google’s Android OS.

Samsung adds Wi-Fi-only Galaxy Tab, drops TV bezel
At its CES press event, Samsung sped through more than 30 products over about 40 minutes, including HDTVs, a Wi-Fi-only Galaxy Tab, and a Blu-ray player that it claims is the world’s slimmest

Is Amazon Set to Go After Apple in the Mobile Space?
While competitors are scratching their heads trying to figure out how to give Apple a run in mobile, Amazon, a company not seriously competing with Cupertino, could become a major threat, and easily.

Amazon to open Android App store, and it could be a game-changer
From the "I really didn’t see that coming" files – Amazon is preparing to open an Android App store of its own, one that sounds a lot like Apple’s App Store.

Internet may replace cable, satellite
Experts expect Web-ready TVs and set-top boxes will be hot gadgets this year. That gives cable and satellite companies a lot to worry about. The popularity of these streaming devices could cut deeply into their profits

Restaurants use iPads as menus
Restaurants across the country are turning to iPads for high-tech menus. One restaurant purchased 40 iPads that it uses as wine lists. It lets customers sort and select from more than 750 wines. Other eateries are using iPads as a quick way to place orders

Intel releases new processors
Intel released the newest versions of its Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. Formerly codenamed Sandy Bridge, these CPUs focus on video implementation. Intel is initially launching 20 iterations of the processors

Deleted Hotmail e-mail blamed on server issues
Microsoft is faulting server issues for a recent Hotmail debacle. Starting from Dec. 30, some Hotmail users reported missing e-mail. Microsoft says that it has fixed the issue. However, some users still report issues

Verizon to debut 4G Android smartphones
Verizon Wireless is set to announce several new Google Android smartphones at the Consumer Electronics Show this week for its new 4G wireless broadband network.

Microsoft to debut ‘Windows TV’ at CES
Microsoft is said to be unveiling set-top boxes and TVs running an embedded version of Windows built for the living room.

‘Daily Show’ coming back to Hulu?
The Daily Show could be making its way back to Hulu, a report from The New York Times claims

Digital newsstand on the way from Google
Google may be working on a new digital newsstand. Reportedly, the search giant has approached several publishers. The newsstand would provide another outlet for media companies to sell their products

Wikipedia meets $16 million goal
Wikipedia has met its $16 million fundraising goal. Founder Jimmy Wales said there were nearly 500,000 donations. They averaged $22 apiece. Meeting its goal means Wikipedia will continue to operate ad-free

Intel’s 2nd-gen chip arrives, with Hollywood in tow
Chip giant’s second-generation Intel Core processors are upon us. Hundreds of PC models will be released over the next several months based on Intel’s highest-performing chip to date.

Security expert: Chinese hackers exploit bug in IE
A Google security researcher has used a fuzzing tool to find a bug in Internet Explorer. The researcher also warned that Chinese hackers were likely already exploiting the bug. Similar vulnerabilities were found in Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera.

Chrome finishes 2010 with 10 percent share
Google and Apple browsers strip away usage share from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer overall, but IE8 and IE9 do show growth.

Nintendo says only 7 and up for new gaming system
Nintendo is warning parents to keep toddlers away from its upcoming 3-D handheld. The company says that the 3-D mode could harm their still-developing eyes. Nintendo’s 3DS is a 3-D gaming system slated for release in 2011

50 billion reasons why Facebook is not worth $50 billion
Facebook’s latest valuation verges on the absurd — its stable of investment partners don’t inspire confidence either.

Verizon to make Galaxy Tab $100 cheaper
Verizon will soon drop the price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab by $100. This will make the tablet $500 without a contract. The price drop comes only two months after the Tab’s debut

Microsoft co-founder refiles patent suit
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is relaunching his huge patent suit. The suit alleges that Apple, Google and other companies infringed his patents

Real-life Frogger lands man in hospital
Police say a man tried to play a real-life version of the game Frogger. In the game, players move a frog across a busy highway. But the man was struck by an SUV. He’s currently hospitalized in stable condition

Mozilla passwords mistakenly published
A database of 44,000 Mozilla user accounts was accidently made public. The usernames and password hashes were discovered by an external security professional. Fortunately, Mozilla says no one else has accessed the database.

Apple sued for apps that track personal info
A number of iPhone and iPad users are suing Apple. The lawsuit alleges that several apps share users’ personal data with advertisers.

Samsung preparing to square off with iPod touch
According to a fan site, Samsung will launch an Android-based media player. Samsung intends to compete directly with Apple’s iPod touch. The site says the player will have similar features as the iPod touch

Evidence supports Stuxnet sabotaged Iran’s nuclear plant
A new report strengthens suspicions that the Stuxnet worm sabotaged Iranian centrifuges. The report indicates that the Stuxnet code intended to raise the frequency of its targets. Increased frequencies would likely have broken the centrifuges.

Apple increases order for iPhones in 2011
Apple told its partners it wants 20-21 million iPhones for the first quarter of 2011. That’s about two million more than originally requested. Of that total, about one-fourth of the phones are CDMA-based. That means they will work on Verizon’s network.

Man on trial for reading his wife’s e-mail
A Michigan man is facing 5 years in prison for reading his wife’s e-mail. He logged into her laptop and used her password to access her Gmail account. After reading her e-mail, he learned she was having an affair with her ex-husband

Windows 8 on ARM, but don’t hold your breath
The next version of Windows will run on ARM chips that already power some of the most popular personal computing devices. But don’t get too excited–Windows 8 will likely not appear until 2012.

The Best and Worst from Google in 2010
With 2010 coming to an end, it’s time to reflect on the year that just passed. What better place to start than with Google, which continues to grow as one of the most influential tech companies in the world. In 2010

CIA starts new taskforce, chooses terrible name
The CIA has created a taskforce to assess the damage caused by leaked documents. Officially, it’s called the WikiLeaks Task Force. But most CIA members refer to it as WTF.

Amazon’s Kindle selling better than expected
Many analysts expect that Amazon will sell more than eight million Kindles this year. According to an inside source, only 2.4 million Kindles were sold last year

Craigslist cuts off adult services worldwide
Following the removal of its adult services section in the U.S. several months ago, the classified ads site has gone global with the shuttering of the controversial section.

Report: Microsoft bringing Windows to ARM chips
Microsoft will soon unveil a full-fledged version of Windows that runs on ARM chips, a drastic departure from the x86 architecture, sources tell Reuters.

Kodak sues Shutterfly over patent
Kodak is suing Shutterfly for patent infringement. Shutterfly denies the claims and is counter-suing. The suit could also affect other online photo sites like Google’s Picasa and Yahoo!’s Flickr.

The FCC’s Beautiful Net Neutrality Compromise
It has been a long time coming, but the FCC finally managed to bring a set of general rules for managing how the Internet can and can’t be used in the U.S. Telcos are angry, net neutrality purists are irate, but these new FCC rules are a pretty good deal for the average American

Google extends free calling through 2011
Google is extending free Gmail calling through 2011. Gmail users will need to have Google Voice to make free calls. Then they can call phones using their computers and their Gmail accounts

A Very Chrome-y Christmas
The Cr-48 and Google’s Chrome OS makes a great light vacationing computer. But can it and will it replace tens of millions of PCs? I think the answer is yes.

Google won’t disclose Wi-Fi data
Google has refused to hand over data from its Street View cars. Earlier this month, Connecticut’s attorney general demanded the data. Google has not said why it will not turn over the information.

FCC makes Net neutrality rules official
Vote essentially creates two classes of service with different rules, one for wireless networks and the other for fixed broadband. The agency’s ability to enforce, though, may still be in question.

Update for Outlook causes issues
Microsoft is pulling a recent update for Outlook 2007. Microsoft says the update contains flaws that make Outlook perform slowly. The update also prevents certain e-mail from sending.

Apple TV to hit 1 million unit sales this week
With the new version of the Apple TV poised to reach that milestone, Apple marks healthy progress in the transition from the earlier "hobby" version of the set-top box.

iPhone apps secretly send out personal data
Several of the most popular iPhone apps have been found to share personal information. Apps like Angry Birds and Pandora are sending this information to advertisers. Some of the personal data included the device’s unique ID and the user’s location and age.

Apple struggles to keep secrecy
A long-running operation has rooted out insider trading among some Apple partners. One man was arrested for allegedly leaking upcoming product information. He is accused of selling information about the iPad and iPhone to investors.

Google seeks delay for new Google TV products
Google has asked several manufactures to delay upcoming Google TV-based products. Among these manufacturers are LG, Sharp and Toshiba. This will likely mean a lack of Google TV products at January’s Consumer Electronics Show.