Back In Action

I'm back from vacation and it was a good one...for the most part. There were highlights & lowlights, but overall, a great experience. But that's not what you're here to read. This is tech, right?

So first of all, what did I miss taking a week off from tech news? A lot, it appears:

• A hacker cracked Apple's DRM - "Songs purchased from Apple's online iTunes Music Store can't be played on portable devices made by other companies. Songs purchased from many other online music stores also won't work on iPods because they similarly use a form of copy-protection that Apple doesn't support. Jon Lech Johansen said he has developed a way to get around those restrictions." Even better, Johansen plans to sell this technology to make a profit. Evil genius!
• Digg Aquisition Rumors - Digg was in talks with News Corp? Noooooo.....
• Arrington causes a big stir over a rumored Google purchase of a *spaceship.* It was a replica. The real one sits at the Smithsonian.
• Google Earth offers an Election Mashup
• Google unveils a Custom Search Engine. You can place a search box and search results on your website, specify or prioritize the sites you want to include in searches, customize the look and feel to match your website, invite your community to contribute to the search engine, and last but not least, using the AdSense for Search program, make money from the resulting traffic.
• Bush says he "uses the Google." - BUSH: "One of the things I’ve used on the Google is to pull up maps. It’s very interesting to see — I’ve forgot the name of the program — but you get the satellite, and you can — like, I kinda like to look at the ranch. It reminds me of where I wanna be sometimes."
• Vox launched - invites no longer needed. Join instantly!
• Pando branches out from file-sharing - "Pando now offers a free new product that allows people to share files directly from a website. This can be done via an embed or link" (via TC). I LOVE Pando.
• More MySpace backlash. Will fickle teens move on to Facebook instead?
• T-Mobile rolled out their HotSpot @ Home service to customers in an area of Washington State for public testing. This is the wi-fi phone service I've been waiting for. I have a Verizon telephone with a basic plan just for a fax line & haven't felt the need for VOIP. Everyone knows to call my cell. But unlimited calls from T-Mobile hotspots!  Including the "hotspot" you make at your home with a T-Mobile router! Using your cell phone! Seemless switching from wi-fi to cellular! Ahhhhhhh!!!!
• Firefox 2 is out! Downloading now...more later

OK, so those were my top stories of the week. Did I miss something huge?

Comments

[TheMadAdmin]

Welcome Back Sarah. Must have been hell not having an internet connection.