Impetus Archive

  • Google ditching Windows because of Chinese hackers?

    Google ditching Windows because of Chinese hackers?

    Posted on June 1, 2010 | No Comments
    "See you in hell, Windows." That's Google talking, according to a report in the Financial Times. (Not an exact quote, mind you.) The company is taking several steps to phase out the use of Microsoft's operating system following the well-publicized China hacking situation. New employees are given the option of using a Mac or a Linux-based PC, and others are simply being switched over to Mac or Linux when the time is right. It's not an official Google policy, but rather something that's just being done.

    Full Story

  • Nokia will kick off MeeGo effort with ARM-based silicon, not x86

    Nokia will kick off MeeGo effort with ARM-based silicon, not x86

    Posted on May 30, 2010 | No Comments
    We've heard a similar message from Nokia dating all the way back to MeeGo's introduction at MWC back in February, so it comes as little surprise that Espoo is apparently trumpeting the virtues of ARM for its first MeeGo-powered device that's still targeted for the tail end of 2010. What might make this particularly interesting is the fact that MeeGo 1.0 is clearly further along for Atom devices than it is for the Cortex A8-based N900, not to mention that Nokia has already warmed up to Intel thanks to its Booklet 3G -- but regardless of the silicon, getting the platform solid enough for any sort of retail device by the end of 2010 still seems like a tricky proposition when you figure that the ARM build doesn't even have a proper user interface yet. Ultimately, it might come down to a question of size; Intel still hasn't proven that it can scale Atom down far enough to tackle the smartphone market head-on, so if Nokia wants to go small with its first MeeGo hardware, that alone could be impetus enough to go ARM.

    Nokia will kick off MeeGo effort with ARM-based silicon, not x86 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 May 2010 21:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • An interview with Joel Johnson on why he’s funny

    An interview with Joel Johnson on why he’s funny

    Posted on March 3, 2010 | No Comments
    Joel and I were so angry at each other in this picture that Cat Schwartz literally had to keep us apart. I don’t usually want to bring people’s personal lives into focus here on CG. After all, we’re dedicated to, as Joel himself always pointed out, self-deprecation and dick jokes. However, since Joel is my mentor [...]

    Full Story

  • An interview with famed comic artists Drew and Natalie Dee

    An interview with famed comic artists Drew and Natalie Dee

    Posted on February 26, 2010 | No Comments
    Idling in the CrunchGear chatroom the other day, John says to me, that's John Biggs, he says, "Why don't you interview that guy from Toothpaste for Dinner?" I says to John "Why?" and John says "He seems like a nice guy." Who am I to argue with John? Plus, the guy from Toothpaste for Dinner lives in Columbus, which is where I live, so I sent the guy an email. We had a little back and forth, and he introduced me to his wife, Natalie Dee, so I interviewed her, too. They are, in fact, nice people, and I really enjoyed interviewing them. I hope you enjoy reading my interview.

    Full Story

  • Verizon’s mobile broadband customers get bundled WiFi access

    Verizon’s mobile broadband customers get bundled WiFi access

    Posted on December 16, 2009 | No Comments
    Verizon's playing catch-up this week in a game some of its rivals have been playing for ages now -- the WiFi business -- by bundling access to a fairly extensive network of hotspots in the US, Canada, and Mexico with its broadband data plans. It's a double-edged sword, though, because they're not stepping up to the plate with as much conviction as AT&T and T-Mobile have; first off, Verizon's limiting the service strictly to users of its modems and MiFi boxes while the other guys have succumbed to bundling it with smartphone data packages, and secondly, it appears hell-bent on forcing connections to go through the same crapware connection management app used with its data cards. Of course, you could argue that Verizon's larger 3G footprint gives 'em less impetus to offload users to WiFi, but by the same token, they're charging more for service -- so yeah, we're gonna predict they relent at some point just as AT&T ultimately did.

    Verizon's mobile broadband customers get bundled WiFi access originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Full Story

  • Hacking the Sony Reader

    Hacking the Sony Reader

    Posted on August 12, 2009 | No Comments
    The Register has a nice piece on hacking the Sony Reader, allowing you to install all sorts of goodies onto the Linux-powered e-reader. I've never been a big fan for the Sony Reader but clearly hackers prefer this device over the closed Kindle.

    Full Story

  • Radio Shack rebranding: Why? Why!?

    Radio Shack rebranding: Why? Why!?

    Posted on August 3, 2009 | No Comments
    So Radio Shack - AKA RadioShack - is planning to call itself the Shack. Radio Shack has been Radio Shack for 88 years. Radio Shack should not change its name. I understand that the store is in a unique position right now. Most of its major competitors are gone and it’s going up against Best Buy. [...]

    Full Story